Nancy Pelosi has officially announced she will lead the House in proceeding with legislation to impeach Donald Trump for a second time. The decision comes after the chaos Trump brought to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday during the 2020 election vote certification at the Capitol.
Pelosi outlined her plan for impeachment in a letter to fellow House members, promising to act swiftly to impeach Trump before he leaves office on Jan. 20. According to Bloomberg, her motivation is the view that Trump is a threat to the United States democracy in the aftermath of Wednesday’s attack.
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PELOSI outlines her plan of action in a letter to Democrats.
A House vote Monday or Tuesday on a resolution calling on @VP to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump.
He’ll have 24 hours.
“Next, we will proceed with bringing impeachment legislation to the Floor,” she says. pic.twitter.com/8pVoRXedos
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 10, 2021
“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” Pelosi wrote. “The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”
Before impeachment becomes the route Congress will travel, Pelosi is first going to force Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to evoke the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office. The votes will begin Monday with lawmakers working to pass legislation to urge Pence to act, despite the likelihood that Republican representatives will block the vote.
The goal of the first resolution is to force Pence to act and take the lead to “declare the president incapable of executing the duties of his office.” If passed, Pence would immediately have powers to act as president, though the action isn’t at the forefront of Pence’s mind.
Tuesday would then see the House convene for a full vote then, addressing the new articles of impeachment and set the stage for a Senate trial later in the year. Rep. Jim Clyburn outlined the reason for the delay in a statement on Sunday. “Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running,” Clyburn said.
Several key Republican senators joined in on calls to impeach and remove President Trump from office. The preisdent’s efforts to stir up his base and somewhat defend their actions on Capitol Hill left several key names removing their support. This includes Sen. Pat Toomey out of Pennsylvania and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, both who feel Trump should leave office and never look back.
“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said about Trump returning to run in 2024. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”
The House could also force a vote in the Senate to block Trump from holding office again in the future. According to Bloomberg, the vote on future elections would only need a simple majority, where impeachment requires two-thirds vote.
