House Moving Ahead With Trump Impeachment

WASHINGTON ― House Democrats announced on a private call Monday that their chamber will vote to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time on Wednesday, one week after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and a week before Democrat Joe Biden’s inauguration.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders told members Monday that they would be calling the House back in session on Tuesday night, first to vote on a bill to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from power, and then ― assuming that legislation doesn’t result in Trump leaving office ― the House will vote Wednesday on impeachment.

It still isn’t clear what the Senate will do with that article of impeachment ― or when the House plans to transmit the impeachment resolution. There’s been some discussion about the House not sending over the article until Biden’s Cabinet has been confirmed by the Senate. But the House appears to be moving forward anyway.

Democrats currently have more than 218 co-sponsors for the impeachment resolution written by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and other House Judiciary members. The legislation is a single charge, incitement of insurrection, and it details the false claims of voter fraud that Trump has made as well as the encouragement Trump gave his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress was gathered to certify the election results.

“Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States,” the legislation concludes.

Trump’s removal from office is unlikely, given that he is expected to vacate the office on Jan. 20 anyway, and Senate Republicans seem reluctant to force Trump out sooner. But the impeachment resolution’s adoption would come with a historical marker: Trump would become the first official, let alone president, to be impeached twice.

Democratic members have been overwhelmingly supportive of impeaching Trump for a second time. And it seems inevitable that Trump will be impeached Wednesday. 

But it’s far more unclear what the Senate will do. If they convict Trump, it will come after he has left office. That would likely prevent him from holding another office again, which could be an incentive to some Republicans, but many may also calculate that they can win points with their GOP voters by once again defending Trump.