House passes bill calling on Pence to withdraw Trump

The House passed a law on Tuesday calling on Vice President Pence to appeal to his constitutional authority to remove him President TrumpDonald TrumpHouse GOP Leader Tells Members To Stop Spreading Riot Lies, DC Antifa Attorney General Says Trump Organization Badly Paid K Bill In Inaugurating 70K QAnon Accounts Twitter suspended following the Capitol riot MORE from the office in response to the president’s role in the deadly mob attack on Capitol Hill last week.

representative Jamie raskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinManchin: House impeachment plan ‘Misguided’ Republicans rate their support for Trump’s impeachment Hill’s 12:30 p.m. report: Democrats officially present article on impeachment MORE (D-Md.) Led the resolution, which calls on Pence, joined by other Cabinet members, to oust Trump by activating the 25th Amendment, which allows for the president’s impeachment if he is deemed ‘incapable of s’ discharge the powers and duties of its office. “

Promoting the impeachment of Trump, Raskin, a constitutional law scholar, said it was imperative that Congress send the message “that what has happened is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable.”

“It is essential for us now to make it clear that this was an absolute dereliction of presidential duty,” Raskin said.

The bill was passed 223-205. A GOP lawmaker, Rep. Adam kinzingerAdam Daniel Kinzinger: Republicans gauge support for Trump impeachment Democrats, GOP faces defining moments after Sunday broadcasts on Capitol Hill – Capitol Headquarters, Trump’s future dominates MORE (R-Ill.), Joined all voting Democrats in approving the measure.

Most Republicans, however, opposed the effort. Some have defended Trump’s actions as harmless; others denounced the president’s behavior, but opposed his dismissal so close to the end of his term.

representative Tom coleThomas (Tom) Jeffrey ColeREAD: Republicans Who Voted To Challenge Election Results LIVE COVER: Congress Certifies Biden Victory After Pennsylvania and Arizona Challenges Fail Trump Signs Bill Authorizing the memorial to deceased journalists MORE (Okla.), Senior Republican on the House Rules Committee, said the decision to initiate the removal of a president under the 25th Amendment was simply not within the powers of Congress.

“There is no role for Congress in the absence of a dispute between the President and Vice President and the Cabinet over its ability to perform these functions,” he said.

Cole has little reason to fear that Raskin’s proposal has legs.

Pence, a stalwart of Trump, had previously sent a letter to the Speaker of the House Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi Man Seen Carrying Pelosi’s Lectern During Capitol Riot Freed On Bail K Trump And Pence Speak For First Time Since Capitol Riots FBI Calls For Help Identifying Capitol Riot Who Carried Confederate Flag (D-Calif.) Before Tuesday’s vote informing him that he would not be invoking the 25th Amendment. But the resolution put Republican leaders in an awkward position as more and more GOP lawmakers stepped out to denounce the president for his role in the deadly attack on Capitol Hill.

Prior to the assault, Trump had refused to acknowledge his electoral defeat, even though every state certified the result and a host of court rulings dismissing his claims of rampant fraud. Trump then encouraged his supporters to march on Capitol Hill on Wednesday – just as Pence and Congress were inside to certify Joe bidenJoe Biden Capitol Police Confirm Investigation into Behavior of Some Officers During Riot GOP lawmakers say Trump has some responsibility for the Capitol riot Army personnel director disputes account of Capitol Police Chief of National Guard Deploymentvictory – to prevent this process from succeeding.

“If you don’t fight like hell, you won’t have a country,” Trump told thousands of White House supporters shortly before the astonishing siege.

The crowds that followed burst into the Capitol, smashing windows, crushing Capitol police officers, degrading historic art and ransacking offices in three hours of heckling unprecedented in the country’s history.

Five people died in the riot, including Capitol Hill cop Brian Sicknick, who was hit by a fire extinguisher. A protester, a 35-year-old from California, was fatally shot by another police officer as she attempted to access the Speaker’s Lobby just outside the House.

Asked Tuesday morning about his role in the violence, Trump washed his hands of it.

“If you read my speech … people thought what I said was very appropriate,” he told reporters at the White House.

Democratic leaders have a decidedly different point of view, accusing Trump of sedition. And they launched a double effort to remove him from his post in the last days of his mandate.

Pelosi has repeatedly stated that she is in favor of Pence by invoking the 25th Amendment to quickly remove Trump. But since Pence is unlikely to continue down this path, Democrats are also embarking on another ploy: to impeach Trump for the second time.

A single impeachment article, accusing Trump of inciting violence, is expected to arrive in the House on Wednesday if Pence does not act first. The measure is expected to pass easily, especially following the astonishing announcement by a handful of prominent House Republicans that they will back it. This list includes representatives. Liz cheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn Cheney Republicans Rate Support for Trump’s Impeachment Wave of Businesses Cut Donations – Much to GOP Davis: To Impeach Trump: Four Reasons Not To, And One Reason We Need MORE (Wyo.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) And John katkoJohn Michael Katko Republicans gauge support for Trump impeachment US intel agencies accuse Russia of massively hacking SolarWinds No Labels by calling in Larry Hogan as co-chair MORE (NEW YORK). GOP leaders expect more to follow.

It is still unclear whether Pelosi will immediately send the article to the Senate, forcing action in the upper house, or whether she will wait a while to give Biden the space to sit his Cabinet first.

“Take it one step at a time,” Pelosi said Tuesday.

The lightning-fast reprimands, coming just days before Trump leaves office, reflects the seriousness of the concern of lawmakers on both sides that Trump’s behavior, if left unchecked, would encourage future ones. presidents to adopt similar disruptive tactics after the defeat.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch mcconnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Michigan GOP lawmaker says he is ‘strongly considering’ impeachment House Democrats unveil resolution to censor Representative Mo Brooks over Capitol Riots Capitol Police officer hailed as a hero for keeping rioters away from the Senate chamber (R-Ky.) Privately supported the Democrat impeachment effort, citing a desire to extricate the Republican Party from the tight grip of a popular but vindictive figure who demanded absolute loyalty.

Other Republicans opposing the president have made it clear that Trump’s decision to encourage a crowd to descend on Capitol Hill – and not to intervene immediately when the violence started – was simply untenable for someone in the position of trust. of Trump.

“The President of the United States called this crowd, gathered the crowd and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing, ”Cheney said. “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”