VP rejects Trump removal, impeachment on
National Guard in U.S. Capitol to protect legislators; 10 Republicans join majority to impeach president second time
Donald Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. A trial pending in the Senate might have to wait until he’s removed from office. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
Vice President Mike Pence rejected congressional calls for him to remove Donald Trump from office, leading the U.S. House to move forward Wednesday with a second round of impeachment for the president.
The House voted midafternoon Wednesday 232-197 to make Trump the only president to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans joined Democrats, who were unanimous in voting for impeachment.
The House approved a resolution Tuesday night calling for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. It passed by a partisan vote of 223-205 in the Democratic-controlled House, with U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon the only Republican to vote in favor. But Pence had already sent a formal letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejecting the idea.
It was the first time Congress had formally attempted to remove a president from office. Pence’s defiance led directly to an impeachment debate on the House floor Wednesday, which led to a vote and passage — this time with more Republican support.
Kinzinger again voted in favor, this time joined by nine other Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking GOP member of the House. She did not speak on the House floor during more than three hours of debate, but stood by a statement she issued Tuesday night.
Cheney’s statement cited the events of last Wednesday, pointing out that “a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death, and destruction in the most sacred space in our republic.
”Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough,” she added. “The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Many Republicans said it was too late to impeach, with the inauguration of President-elect Biden set to proceed next Wednesday, while others suddenly made pleas for unity. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago rejected that in no uncertain terms, saying, “Now we hear talk of the president’s notion of a peaceful transfer of power — which apparently means what? Minimal casualties? Now we hear talk of healing, after the criminal acts are completed.”
With the resolution on the 25th Amendment rejected by Pence, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York set the stage for impeachment by releasing a majority staff report Tuesday night declaring Trump “a clear and present danger to the Constitution and our democracy.”
The report states: “In the words of Vice President Pence, the ‘presidency belongs to the American people, and to them alone.’ President Trump has falsely asserted he won the 2020 presidential election and repeatedly sought to overturn the results of the election. As his efforts failed again and again, President Trump continued a parallel course of conduct that foreseeably resulted in the imminent lawless actions of his supporters, who attacked the Capitol and the Congress. This course of conduct, viewed within the context of his past actions and other attempts to subvert the presidential election, demonstrate that President Trump remains a clear and present danger to the Constitution and our democracy. The House must reject this outrageous attempt to overturn the election and this incitement of violence by a sitting president against his own government. President Trump committed a high crime and misdemeanor against the nation by inciting an insurrection at the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The facts establish that he is unfit to remain in office a single day longer and warrant the immediate impeachment of President Trump.”
It put forth a single count for impeachment: incitement of insurrection, stemming from Trump’s calling on his supporters to march on the Capitol a week ago and “fight” against congressional moves to certify the Electoral College vote formally declaring Biden the president-elect.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, delaying the vote certification, prompting legislators to fear for their lives, and resulting in five deaths, including one Capitol Police officer beaten over the head by the insurgents with a fire extinguisher.
Following the impeachment vote, Gov. Pritzker issued a statement saying: “For the first time in United States history, a sitting president has been impeached on two separate occasions by the House of Representatives — a testament to the resiliency of our Constitution, but an ugly stain on our nation’s history. Make no mistake: to hold accountable those who smear our democracy, who unleash violence and death upon the halls of Congress, who dance on the desks of duly elected public servants in the name of insurrection — and yes, those who incite it all from inside the world’s most powerful office — is the most patriotic thing we can do.
“We cannot rebuild without ridding ourselves of what’s rotten. We cannot hope to unify without upholding the ideals of justice, democracy, and liberty that tie us together as one nation. Today, Republicans joined with Democrats to send that message.”
National Guard troops spent the night in the U.S. Capitol, many sleeping in the halls of Congress, ahead of Wednesday's debate and expected vote on a second round of impeachment for President Trump. (Twitter/Kitty Eislele)
Washington, D.C., was reported to be under tight security Wednesday morning, with the National Guard stationed in the Capitol and many troops having slept in the halls of Congress overnight.
Congressman Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, charged on the House floor that many Republicans were “paralyzed with fear” over the possible violent retribution from Trump supporters should they vote in favor of impeachment.
FBI reports circulated that militias across the nation were planning to lay siege to state capitols, with another round of Washington, D.C., resistance reportedly planned ahead of Biden’s inauguration next Wednesday.
The House first impeached Trump a year ago over his phone call with the Ukrainian president in which he sought to coerce his counterpart to dig up dirt against Biden to be used on the campaign trail, immediately followed by Trump’s attempts to cover it up. The Republican-controlled Senate rejected that out of hand in the ensuing impeachment trial.
But the vote is not so certain this time, and not because Democrats appear to have seized control of the Senate with the runoff election last week of Georgians Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who have yet to be seated. Instead, current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was reported to favor impeachment.
Pritzker pushed for a quick trial, saying: “Today, amid sorrow, amid worry, amid the bruising impact of a pandemic on pace to soon take over 400,000 American lives, I am hopeful. By impeaching President Trump on the charge of incitement of insurrection, the House of Representatives has taken a necessary step toward holding accountable a president whose very hallmark has been the derision of our democracy. In the constant pursuit of our nation’s finest ideals, the promise of a more perfect union lives another day. Our work to secure it continues, and I urge the Senate to take up its duty immediately.”
But on Wednesday McConnell issued a statement saying, “I have not made a final decision on how I will vote.” According to CNN, he resisted calling the Senate back before its current plans to reconvene on Tuesday, apparently prepared to let Democrats run the trial after the new Georgia senators are seated and they take formal control. Trump will have been replaced by Biden by then, but the Senate could move to prevent Trump from ever seeking office again.