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The speed of the vote and Republican backing underscore the fury lawmakers are feeling over Trump’s role inciting rioters who have passed Capitol Hill with months of false rhetoric over the election stolen from him. The impeachment resolution that the House will vote on Wednesday accuses Trump of a single article, “incitement to insurgency.”
The number of Republicans who will ultimately vote for impeachment remains uncertain. So far, five Republicans have said they will vote to impeach Trump. As Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise oppose impeachment – arguing it’s a divisive response – House Republican No.3 Liz Cheney , of Wyoming, announced Tuesday that she would vote in favor, issuing a scathing statement that there had “never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
The division within the Republican Party over Wednesday’s vote contrasts sharply with the impeachment of Trump by House Democrats in 2019, when House Republicans were united in opposition. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he believes Trump’s impeachment would facilitate the removal of the president and Trumpism from the Republican Party, The New York Times, CNN and other media reported on Tuesday, another sign that Republicans are rapidly distancing the party from the president who has led it for the past four years.
Democrats quickly banded together to use impeachment in the final days of Trump’s presidency to serve as an appropriate response to the president’s conduct and as a means of pushing for his impeachment before his term expires, although that scenario seems unlikely. The House approved a resolution urging Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power on Tuesday night, but Pence sent a letter ahead of the vote saying he would not. Separately, a source close to Trump also told CNN on Tuesday night that there was “no consideration for his resignation,” referring to the president, adding: “He won’t.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has brushed aside Republican efforts to take a different measure, such as censorship, in response to Trump’s role in the riots. She named impeachment officials Tuesday night, a team of nine Democrats to be led by Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as a sign that she does not intend to hesitate to send the articles to the Senate.
“The president’s actions demonstrate his utter inability to carry out the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office, therefore the president must be removed from office immediately,” Pelosi said on the House floor on Tuesday. evening.
Trump showed no contrition for his role in last week’s Capitol riots, denouncing impeachment on Tuesday in his first public remarks since pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week.
“It has been analyzed,” Trump said of his remarks last week to the crowd before the riots. “People thought what I was saying was very appropriate.”
Wednesday’s impeachment vote threatens to complicate the opening days of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, both in its efforts to reach out to Republicans and because the Senate is likely to be linked with a trial at the time where Biden takes office.
Although McConnell has been silent on his support for impeachment, he said he does not plan to bring the Senate back until January 19, which means that a possible Senate trial is expected to take place in a Senate led by the new Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer. Biden and Schumer have both argued that the Senate will attempt to divide its days while conducting the trial, so that the Senate can confirm Biden’s candidates and consider Covid-19 revival legislation while also conducting the impeachment trial.
CNN’s Pamela Brown and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.
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