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Donald Trump’s spirited speech at a rally just before the attack on Capitol Hill is at the center of the impeachment charge against him, even as the falsehoods he spread for months about voter fraud are still being defended by some Republicans.
A Capitol police officer died from injuries sustained in the riot, and a woman was shot and killed by police during the siege. Three other people died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.
What to watch as the Democratic-controlled House moves to impeach Trump for the second time in 13 months, now with only days left for the defeated president’s term:
the Democratic impeachment case
Trump faces only one charge – “incitement to insurrection” – following the deadly Capitol riot in an impeachment resolution that the House will begin debating Wednesday. It’s a shocking end to Trump’s presidency as Democrats and a growing number of Republicans declare that he is unfit for office and could cause further damage after inciting a mob that looted the Capitol.
“President Trump seriously jeopardized the security of the United States and its institutions of government,” reads part of the four-page impeachment bill. “He will continue to be a threat to national security, democracy and the constitution if he is allowed to remain in office.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said impeachment is needed despite the limited number of days left in Trump’s term. “The president’s threat to the United States is urgent, and so will our action,” he said.
Trump’s actions were personal to Pelosi and many other lawmakers. She was among those who were forced to huddle in a bunker during the Capitol riots, and armed rioters threatened employees with taunts of “Where’s Nancy?”
The House of Representatives will meet at 9 am ET (2 pm GMT) and will follow an initial debate and some procedural votes. Then, around lunchtime, there should be around two hours of debate on the articles of impeachment, concluding with a vote in the mid-afternoon or late afternoon, around 3pm ET (8pm GMT). Voting in the Chamber will take between 40 minutes and an hour. The vote is almost certain to pass, as Democrats hold a majority and several Republicans have already said they will support the measure. The next step in the process would be to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
How many Republicans will support impeachment?
Unlike the last time Trump was impeachment, when no House Republicans supported the charges against Trump over a call he made to Ukraine’s new president, the current impeachment effort has garnered support from some Republicans.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and his deputy, Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, are expected to again oppose impeachment, but Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican of the House said Tuesday it will support him.
Representatives John Katko, R-New York, and Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, also said they would support impeachment, and other Republicans are likely to follow.
McCarthy, one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, echoed Trump, stating that “the impeachment at this time would have the opposite effect of uniting our country.”
Will the House Censor Trump??
In a move that falls short of impeachment, McCarthy and other Republicans have raised the idea of censorship of Trump in the House. Although it was unclear how much support the proposal has, McCarthy said censorship or some other mechanism, such as a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack, “would ensure that the events of January 6 are legitimately reported and prevented from occurring in the future.” . .
Democrats, impeachment votes in hand, don’t buy it.
When would the articles of impeachment go to the Senate?
Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who remains in charge of the Senate until Democrats take office, perhaps Jan. 20, has said the earliest the Senate could consider impeachment would be Jan. 19, the day before Trump leaves office and Joe Biden is inaugurated. Democratic leaders have been exploring how to impeach the Senate before, although that would still require McConnell’s cooperation. So any vote to convict Trump is likely to take place after he has already left office, with a trial that could take place on January 20 or 21. However, there is a suggestion that the Democratic-controlled House could delay sending the articles to the Senate until the Biden administration is established and the Senate confirms his cabinet elections, so as not to distract from the start of his campaign. term in office. Biden has suggested that the Senate split its time between impeachment and its agenda.
How many votes does it take in the Senate to impeach Trump?
The impeachment must be approved by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, requiring 67 votes. Following the two successes of the Democrats in the Georgia runoff elections, the new Senate will be delicately balanced 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Kamala Harris in the deciding vote. That means 17 Republican senators would need to vote to convict Trump. The outgoing president was easily acquitted of both charges in his previous impeachment and not a single Republican in the Senate found him guilty.
Will any of the Republicans in the Senate vote to convict Trump this time?
Things could be different in 2021. For starters, the accusation is much simpler and more direct: that Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection, rather than the complicated and shady deals in Ukraine that were the subject of the first indictment. So far, five Republican representatives in the House have come forward to say they will vote for impeachment, but, so far, no Senators. It’s hard to imagine hardliners like Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley, who voted against Joe Biden’s election victory, now relying on an attempt to impeach Trump.
Yet reports from both the New York Times and Axios suggest that those close to Senate Leader McConnell seem to believe that he thinks Trump has committed crimes they can challenge and that he may be willing to vote to convict him in a trial at the Senate. If that were the case, it would be easier for other Republicans to do so.
If Trump is found guilty, does that stop him from running for president again?
Not automatically. However, if convicted, the Senate could go ahead with another vote to prevent him from running for office, requiring only a simple majority to pass. This vote would invoke the 14th Amendment, which excludes from federal or state office anyone who participates in an insurrection or rebellion. Adopted after the US Civil War, the amendment states that no one should hold office in the US if they have previously “participated in an insurrection or rebellion” against the US while an elected official.
Can the 14th Amendment be used even if Trump is acquitted?
While it is certain to be contested and subject to legal challenge, some experts believe the 14th Amendment could be used to prevent Donald Trump from running again for office, even if he is acquitted. Again, this would only require a simple majority of votes in the Senate, which, under Democratic control, would likely pass.
How will Trump respond??
So far, Trump has taken no responsibility for his involvement in fomenting the violent insurrection, despite his comments encouraging his supporters to march on Capitol Hill and praising them while they were still carrying out the assault. “People thought what I said was totally appropriate,” he said Tuesday.
One significant difference from Trump’s first impeachment trial: He no longer has a Twitter feed to reply to in real time.
Reinforced security
In a sign of rising tensions in the wake of the attack, House lawmakers will have to go through a metal detector for the first time before they are allowed into the chamber.
This new security measure will remain in effect every day the House is in session for the foreseeable future, according to a directive from Timothy Blodgett, the House’s acting sergeant at arms. Blodgett replaced the veteran sergeant-at-arms, who resigned after widespread criticism over poor security planning for the January 6 certification vote.
Blodgett also told lawmakers that they must wear masks during the Covid-19 crisis and that they face expulsion from the chamber if they don’t.
Will legislators control the emotions in the room?
While the debate in the House is often passionate, emotions are expected to run unusually high as lawmakers debate the impeachment. Not only is this the second time they have voted on such a measure, the debate comes exactly one week after a majority of House Republicans opposed Biden’s certification of victory, setting the stage for the siege. hours that shook the Capitol and the nation.
A recent Covid-19 rift between lawmakers who were locked in with others who refused to wear masks has only increased tensions.
