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Washington – The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for instigating an insurgency on Capitol Hill that left five people dead, strengthening his place in history as the only president to be impeached twice in a bipartisan reprimand that was approved at unprecedented speed.
The final vote was 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining 222 Democrats in supporting a single impeachment article accusing the president of “incitement to insurgency.”
“We know the President of the United States instigated this insurgency, this armed rebellion, against our common country,” House of Commons Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. “He must go. He represents a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
Mr Trump was first impeached in December 2019 for his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Biden family. His second indictment comes just a week before President-elect Joe Biden takes office as successor. Only two other presidents have been indicted since the founding of the republic.
On January 6, the president addressed supporters near the White House, urging them to “fight like hell” as members of Congress prepare to formalize Mr. Biden’s victory. An angry mob then marched on the Capitol and stormed the complex, smashing windows and crashing doors to gain access to the halls of Congress. The crowd managed to interrupt the vote count for several hours.
House Democrats have put the impeachment resolution to a vote at unprecedented speed, reflecting the gravity of the assault on Capitol Hill and the limited time remaining in Mr. Trump’s term. The resolution was first introduced on Monday, with Democrats forgoing the typical process of holding hearings and conducting an investigation.
The impeachment article will soon be sent back to the Senate, where lawmakers are to hold a trial over whether to convict Mr. Trump and remove him from office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he had not made a decision on whether he would vote to convict the president during the trial.
Seven days into Mr. Trump’s tenure, the Senate trial could potentially extend to his successor’s term. If that happens, the Senate could still choose to convict Mr. Trump and bar him from holding federal office in the future. A vote to condemn requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
The president refused to take responsibility for his role in inciting the crowd that stormed the Capitol, insisting on Tuesday that his speech before the riot was “entirely appropriate”.
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