Trump impeachment vote: update on what time it might happen, what it means, what comes next

On Tuesday, House Democrats set out the steps that representatives will take to try to oust President Donald Trump. “We asked him to resign. We asked Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment“Democratic Representative David Cicilline, one of the co-sponsors of the impeachment article, said on MSNBC this morning.” If these two things don’t happen, we have one remaining tool, the Chamber’s only tool: impeachment, “said Cicilline.

Trump later on Tuesday morning responded to the threat of impeachment: “It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he said, leaving the White House for an event in Texas. “For [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it is causing enormous danger to our country and it is causing tremendous anger. “

On Monday, House Democrats formally introduced an impeachment article accusing Trump of “inciting insurrection” for his role in the deadly riot at the United States Capitol last week, which sought to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, confirming Joe Biden as the country’s next president. The insurrection failed and Biden’s presidency was confirmed by the joint session of Congress.

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The impeachment article, which has 213 co-sponsors of the Casa, comes along with a vote on Tuesday night asking Vice President Mike Pence to remove Trump, invoking the 25th Amendment. Cicilline said that if Pence fails to act, the next step is to bring impeachment legislation to the floor. The Chamber intends to consider the impeachment article when it meets again on Wednesday at 9 am ET.

“I think it is important for people across the country and around the world to see Congress respond quickly to this attack on our democracy,” said Cicilline.

Hours after the deadly riot on January 6, Trump tweeted, “Go home with love and in peace. Remember this day forever!” Twitter blocked the tweet on Friday and permanently banned Trump’s Twitter account. In the tweet, Trump made false claims about the presidential election and suggested that those who invaded the Capitol were “patriots”.

“The President continues to represent a clear and present danger for the people and for our Republic,” tweeted Maryland representative Jamie Raskin, who is co-author of the article, along with his fellow Reps. Cicilline and Ted Lieu. “He urged an insurrectional crowd to join a ‘savage’ interruption of the peaceful transfer of power on Capitol Hill. Violence and death followed. He must be removed from office immediately.”

Several Republican lawmakers are also calling for the removal of Trump, including Sens. Pat Toomey and Lisa Murkowski, and the Republican representative. Adam Kitzinger. Toomey said that Trump “committed untouchable offenses”.

Trump would have considered using his presidential power to attempt to forgive yourself, but he is not expected to resign.

We will explain what could happen to Trump if he were accused of impeachment, what the schedule would be like now and where the situation is. This story has been updated with new information.

Trump’s impeachment, 25th Amendment: What is happening now?

Two things are happening in unison: House Democrats are formally calling on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, while also planning to vote on Trump’s impeachment if the vice president does not respond within 24 hours of receiving the official request.

If the House voted in favor of the impeachment article, it would send the indictment to the Senate to trigger Trump’s trial, making him the first president to be charged twice.

If Trump does not resign – which currently does not seem likely, despite an apparent failure on the State Department website Monday that suggested his term ends the same night – the impeachment process is expected to start sooner Inauguration of Biden on January 20. But it is likely that the process will not be completed until Biden becomes president, as the Senate will not return to the session until January 19, the day before the end of Trump’s presidency. The Senate may return earlier, but only if all the senators unanimously agree. If anyone objects, the Senate would not meet sooner.

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Impeachment and the 25th Amendment: How do they differ?

Congress, including republican representatives, have also been pressing Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office. Unlike impeachment, which is voted on by Congress, the 25th Amendment would require Pence and a majority of cabinet secretaries to invoke power. Alternatively, it can also be invoked by the vice president and another body designated by Congress.

To activate power, Pence and most of the acting cabinet secretaries must decide that the incumbent president is unfit for the position. Several cabinet members resigned after the attack on the Capitol.

What will happen if Trump is accused of impeachment and then convicted?

If the House votes for impeachment this week, it is essentially indicting the president. The case then proceeds to the Senate for a trial that is overseen by the president of the Supreme Court.

Normally, the conviction of an incumbent president in such a trial would result in the president’s immediate dismissal. With only a few days left in office, Trump would likely end his term (more on that below), but the Senate can also vote to remove the right to run for a second presidential term or “any position of honor, trust or profit under the United States “in accordance with the Constitution (Article 1, Section 3).

A president impeached in the Senate may also be disqualified from benefits given to ex-presidents under the Postal Law, including pension, annual travel allowance and security details.

Is it too late to accuse Trump before Biden becomes president?

Yes and no. The impeachment started on Monday when House Democrats introduced the impeachment article, which if passed would trigger a process defined by the constitution. However, the rarity of impeachment in US history (only two other presidents were impeached, and one resigned before impeachment), the extraordinary circumstances of the article against Trump and the moment so close to Biden’s inauguration raise some questions about what could happen next, including a possible impeachment process in the Senate that could define the early days of Biden’s presidency.

The House may also decide to postpone sending the indictment to the Senate until the Biden government advances Senate approval for those nominated for Biden’s cabinet and vaccine distribution: Biden has pledged to get 100 million Vaccine for covid-19 shots in the arms of people in their first 100 days in office.

“We will do the vote that we must carry out in the Chamber, and [Pelosi] will make the determination as [to] when is the best time to transfer the articles to the Senate, “said Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina.” If it happens that he hasn’t been there for 100 days, we’ll give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda up and running, and maybe we’ll send the articles some time later. ”

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell sent a memo to Senate Republicans on Friday outlining how a second Trump Senate trial would take place, marking January 19 as the first date on which Trump’s impeachment could be discussed, the day when the next session of the upper chamber begins.

Biden said it was up to Congress to decide whether Trump should be impeached.

Trump’s White House criticized the change towards impeachment, saying in a statement on Friday that this should be “a time for healing and unity.” The White House said: “A politically motivated impeachment against a president with 12 days left in his term will only serve to further divide our great country.”

What needs to happen for impeachment of an incumbent president

A president, along with other officers, can be charged with “treason, bribery or other serious crimes and misdemeanors”, according to Section 2 of Article 2 of the United States Constitution. For impeachment, a total of 216 votes from the House of Representatives is required – a simple majority plus one. A trial is then heard in the Senate, chaired by the president of the United States Supreme Court. Two-thirds of the 100 senators are expected to vote to condemn.

Impeaching a president is usually a lengthy process that involves months of investigations and investigations, but House Democrats intend to speed up proceedings and bring the articles of impeachment to a plenary vote.

Here is the short version of the general procedure:

• The House of Representatives votes on charging impeachment charges against Trump.
• If the impeachment article is approved by the House, it will present it to the Senate, which must hold a trial.
• The Chamber sues and the Senate acts as a jury. The president of the Supreme Court is the president.
• Trump has the opportunity to present a defense.

Here are some unknowns:

• Would the Senate agree to meet before January 19 for an impeachment trial? (Unlikely, since this can be rejected by the objection of a single senator; the vote must be unanimous.)
• Will the impeachment process, if started before the inauguration, continue after Trump is no longer president?
• Could Trump try to forgive himself for all crimes before his inauguration?

Hasn’t Trump already been accused of impeachment during his presidential term?

Yes. Trump was impeached in December 2019 by the House. However, the Republican majority The Senate acquitted him in early 2020, with the process marked by a record number of tweets of Trump disparaging the impeachment effort.

His previous impeachment involved articles accusing Trump of abusing power and obstructing Congress. At that time, the problem was Trump’s negotiations with Ukraine, including a call in July 2019 in which he appeared to be using U.S. military aid as a bargaining chip to pressure Ukraine to investigate alleged ties between its political opponent Biden, Biden’s son Hunter and a Ukrainian gas company. The articles also accused Trump of interfering in a House investigation into the Ukraine issue.

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Jessica Dolcourt and Rae Hodge of CNET contributed to this report.