The United States House of Representatives has released its article of impeachment against President Donald Trump. He is charged with “incitement of insurrection.” The House is anticipating a vote on the article this week.
25th Amendment Attempt
A unanimous-consent resolution calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked by Vice President Mike Pence was also attempted by House Democrats. This failed however, as it was blocked by Representative Alex Moony, a Republican from West Virginia.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will reconvene the House for a vote on invoking the 25th Amendment on Wednesday. Should the vote pass with no action from Pence to remove Trump within 24 hours then the House will proceed to vote on impeachment.
What Votes Are Needed
The resolution of impeachment has been signed by 210 Democrats in the House, 217 votes are needed for it to pass. It is likely to move forward to the Senate where a two-thirds majority is needed for a conviction. This would mean that if all 50 Democrat-caucused Senators voted in favor then 17 Republicans would need to join suit.
While this may seem unlikely at first glance, Trump has lost quite a bit of support with Republican members of congress. It is unclear how many would support conviction at this point, but there are calls for him to step down.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said in an interview of “Meet the Press” on Sunday that, “I think the best way for our country is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible. I acknowledge that may not be likely, but I think that would be the best.”
Further Investigation
Also being discussed by House Democrats is how to deal with Republican lawmakers who could be seen as encouraging the violence that occurred when the Capitol was sieged. For this they will be citing the 14th Amendment, which states that no one who has engaged in rebellion or insurrection should hold office.
Even if the House passes the articles of impeachment, it is highly unlikely that Trump will be removed from office before his term is up. The Senate is not set to reconvene until January 19th, a day before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. However, Trump could still be convicted after his term is finished, opening him up to legal consequences and the possibility of banning him from holding federal office again.
The article of impeachment can be downloaded below:
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