The House of Representatives will vote Wednesday to charge Trump for the second time after he incited riots at the Capitol
Washington, D.C. -- The House of Representatives is set up on Wednesday to make Donald Trump the first president in U.S. history to be charged for the second time with a quick, bipartisan vote to condemn his role in inciting riots at the U.S. Capitol.
House Democrats and at least a handful of Republicans, including House No. 3 Republican, will vote in favor of the trial to dismiss Trump just a week after a deadly mob invaded the Capitol, ransacked the compound, and endangered the lives of Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers.
The speed of the vote and Republican support underscores the anger lawmakers feel about Trump's role in inciting agitators who seized the Capitol after months of false rhetoric about election theft. The political trial resolution that the House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday accuses Trump of a single charge: "incitement to insurrection."
Republicans will vote in favor of the political trial, but it is unclear how many will unite
The number of Republicans who will eventually vote for the political trial remains unclear. So far, five Republicans have said they will vote to charge Trump. While the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, and the bank leader, Steve Scalise, oppose the political trial - arguing it's a divisive response - House Republican No. 3 Liz Cheney, a congressman for Wyoming, announced Tuesday that she would vote for it, issuing a scathing statement in which she said that "the betrayal of a U.S. president in her office and her oath had never been greater. Constitution."
The division within the Republican Party over Wednesday's vote stands in stark contrast to the political trial against Trump in 2019, when House Republicans joined in opposition. And Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that accusing Trump will make it easier to get rid of the president and the Trumpism of the Republican Party, the New York Times, CNN and other media reported Tuesday, in another sign that Republicans are quickly putting distance between the party and the president who ruled it for the past four years.
Democrats have quickly teamed up around the use of the indictment in the final days of trump's presidency to serve as an adequate response to the president's conduct and as a way to push for his dismissal before the end of his term, though that scenario seems unlikely. The House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday night urging Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power, but Pence sent a letter - before the vote - saying he would not. On the other hand, a source close to Trump also told CNN On Tuesday night that "there is no consideration of his resignation," referring to the president, adding, "He won't do that."
Democrats want to prosecute Trump for his "inability" to be in office
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ignored Republican efforts to take a different action, such as censorship, in response to Trump's role in the riots. On Tuesday night, Pelosi appointed the political trial managers, a team of nine Democrats who will be led by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, in a sign that he does not plan to hesitate to send the political trial article to the Senate.
"The president's actions demonstrate his absolute inability to fulfill the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office, so the president must be removed from office immediately," Pelosi said at the House plenary on Tuesday night.
Trump has shown no remorse for his role in last week's attack on the Capitol. On Tuesday, he criticized the second political trial in his first public statements since his supporters invaded the headquarters of the Legislative Branch.
"It's been analyzed," Trump said of his speech to the crowd last week before the riots. "People thought what I said was totally appropriate."
Wednesday's political trial vote threatens to complicate the early days of the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, both in his efforts to reach Republicans and because the Senate is likely to be tied up with a fair trial when Biden takes office.
While McConnell has kept quiet about his support for the political trial, he has said he does not plan to bring the Senate back by January 19, meaning a possible Senate trial that is headed by incoming majority leader Chuck Schumer is likely to occur.
Both Biden and Schumer have argued that the Senate will try to split its days while conducting the trial, so that it can confirm Biden's appointed officials and consider the crisis stimulus legislation generated by the covid-19 pandemic while also conducting the political trial.