People wearing protective masks held a U.S. flag at the Barclays Center during the “Do It Out! Defend Democracy” rally, a day after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, in New York City, New York, USA, in Brooklyn. , January 7, 2021.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The House could spend next week accusing President Donald Trump if Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet do not remove the president sooner, a top Democrat said Friday.
Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the fourth Democrat in the House, told CNN that the House could act “in the middle of next week.” She said the House could take steps to bring dismissal items into the chamber without going through committee hearings and votes.
The House is preparing to charge Trump for the second time without precedent after a pro-Trump crowd stormed the Capitol on Wednesday and delayed Congress’ formal count of winning the election of President-elect Joe Biden. At least five people, including a U.S. Capitol police officer, died as a result of the attack on the legislature.
Trump spoke with his supporters before they marched on the Capitol, launching conspiracy theories that widespread fraud cost him the election. He lied to them about the results for two months before acknowledging on Thursday that a “new administration” would take power.
Biden will take office on January 20. Democrats have called for the removal of Trump, as they warn he could further degrade democratic institutions or put more lives at risk during his last days in office.
But it’s unclear if they have enough time to oust the president before the day of the inauguration, or if Republicans will join them in the process.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., called Thursday for Pence and Trump’s cabinet to remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. They said he could not remain in office after inciting an “insurrection.” More than 190 more lawmakers, just one of them a Republican, have also called for Trump’s removal from the attack.
Pelosi and Schumer said invoking the 25th Amendment, which requires the support of Pence and most of the cabinet, would be the fastest way to eliminate Trump. However, Pence apparently does not support the move. While officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the possibility of eliminating Trump, they decided not to take the plunge for now.
The day after hundreds of riots stormed the U.S. Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that Vice President Mike Pence should call for the 25th Amendment to oust President Donald Trump or start the indictment proceedings against the president during a Capitol Hill press conference in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2021.
Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Pelosi and Schumer threatened on Thursday to move forward with the dismissal if Pence and the Cabinet do not take any action. House Judicial Committee Representative Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., called for the removal of the president on Thursday. He said he could take steps to expedite the process.
“We have a limited amount of time to act,” Nadler said in a statement. “The nation cannot afford a long, lengthy process, and I support bringing articles of dismissal directly to the chamber.”
Democrats will hold a rally on Friday where they are expected to debate plans to oust the president.
The Democratic House would have enough support to accuse Trump, probably with a handful of Republican votes. The chamber did so once in December 2019.
But the Republican-controlled Senate, which acquitted the president last year, may not be the same. Only one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, voted to remove Trump after his first indictment.
Until Democratic Gov. Raphael Warnock and Georgia’s Jon Ossoff swear to seal a Democratic majority, Republicans will maintain a 51-48 lead in the Senate. A two-thirds vote to eliminate Trump would need 66 votes, with 18 Republicans on board.
At least one Republican who voted against Trump’s removal the first time would give it a more serious consideration now.
“If the House comes together and has a process, I would definitely consider articles that could move, because, as I told you, I think the president has ignored his swearing-in oath … What he did was bad.” , Said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., On CBS Friday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., argued in a tweet Friday that accusing Trump now “would do more harm than good.” He said the effort to oust a president who helped provoke a siege of the Capitol “not only would not succeed in the Senate, but would be a dangerous precedent for the future of the presidency.”
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