The House of Representatives formally introduced a resolution on Monday to impeach President Donald Trump for the “incitement of insurrection.”
CNN reports that the resolution to impeach the president was introduced by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). On Sunday, Cicilline tweeted that the resolution has 200 mostly Democratic co-sponsors in the House. A separate resolution was also introduced that urged Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office but Republicans used a procedural move to block it, which forces a full vote on the resolution in the House on Tuesday. House Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave Pence 24 hours to invoke the 25th Amendment and will formally begin impeachment proceedings should Pence and the cabinet not take steps to remove the president, according to the Washington Post.
It’s unlikely Pence is going to take the bait which, I can’t even front, is some bitch-made shit. I’m just saying; if a man incited a mob, called me a traitor, and put me at risk of being killed by that very same mob, I wouldn’t have much of a problem with taking that man’s job. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just built different.
In an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday, Pelosi said that while she’s in favor of the 25th Amendment “because it gets rid of him,” impeachment is being pursued because it would prevent Trump from ever running for office again.
“There is strong support in the Congress for impeaching the president a second time. This president is guilty of inciting insurrection. He has to pay a price for that,” Pelosi told 60 Minutes. A floor vote on the impeachment resolution is expected to be held later this week, potentially on Wednesday or Thursday.
The calls for President Trump’s removal from office have only grown in the days following the riot on the Capitol last Wednesday when a mob of Trump supporters managed to break through barricades and storm the Capitol building. Trump is perceived to have incited the riot, having given a speech to the mob earlier in the day, saying “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” As his supporters stormed the Capitol, Trump released a video continuing to push the lie the election was stolen from him and calling the insurrectionists “very special people” and telling them he “loved them.”
The riot resulted in the death of six people, including a former Air Force vet who was shot inside the Capitol, a Capitol police officer who died from his injuries, and a Capitol police officer who responded at the siege and died by suicide.
The response from Republicans in Congress has been mixed. While Senate Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Pat Toomey have called on President Trump to resign, House Republicans have pushed back against impeachment, because, I shit you not, it would be “divisive” at a time when we need “unity.”
There is some concern that a lengthy impeachment trial could hamstring the incoming Biden administration, as the Senate would be too busy litigating the charges against Trump to pass legislation or confirm Biden’s nominees. House Democratic Whip James Clyburn has suggested that the House could postpone sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until after Biden’s first 100 days in office.