Lawmakers in the U.S. House are gathering January 13 to debate an impeachment resolution based on a single charge against President Donald Trump— “incitement of insurrection.”
The debate comes one week after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol directly following a rally held by Trump, where he urged the crowd to march as lawmakers were undertaking the counting of Electoral College votes.
The impeachment debate will happen one week before Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated, January 20.
The proceedings are expected to begin at 9 a.m. ET. Watch on WOSU TV, listen on 89.7 NPR News, or stream below courtesy of PBS NewsHour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnyfYgu5iqg
The House is expected to vote to impeach Trump, which would make him the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. The vote would be a forceful rebuke after Trump egged on supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The impeachment resolution cites not just Trump's address before the Capitol insurrection, but also his months of attempting to undermine the results of the 2020 election – repeatedly making false claims of voter fraud and his phone call pressuring the Georgia Secretary of State to "find votes" to overturn Biden's victory – and threatening the peaceful transition of power.
"President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government," the resolution reads. "He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."
While the previous three presidential impeachments lasted months before a final vote, including investigations and hearings, this time it will have only taken a week.
After the rioting at the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “we must take action.” Unlike Trump's first impeachment, this one will be bipartisan, with at least a few Republicans expected to vote in favor.
On Tuesday night, the U.S. House approved a symbolic resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, declaring Trump "unfit" and removing him from office. Just one Republican joined Democrats in approving the measure, but Pence had already informed Pelosi that he would not invoke the amendment.
"I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution," Pence wrote.
Trump called the move to impeach him "ridiculous," and warned it would cause "tremendous danger" to the country. He also defended the comments he gave last Wednesday.
"They've analyzed my speech and my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence, and everybody to the T thought it was totally appropriate," Trump said.
