The House will meet on Wednesday to debate and vote on whether to accuse President Trump of “inciting violence against the United States government”, promoting an effort to challenge him a second time in less than 13 months.
The decision to move forward with the vote came after Vice President Mike Pence refused on Tuesday, in a letter sent to spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, to oust the president from his powers using the 25th Amendment.
The impeachment article that Democrats introduced on Monday aims to hold Trump accountable for his role in igniting a crowd of his supporters who invaded the Capitol last week, killing a Capitol Police officer, breaking into lawmakers’ offices and stealing federal property. More tangibly, he also invokes the 14th Amendment, potentially forbidding Mr. Trump from taking office in the future if he is convicted by the Senate.
Chamber members will meet at 9 am to start the debate on the resolution of the impeachment.
Here’s how to follow the debate and what to watch for:
Where to Watch
The impeachment process can be streamed online across multiple platforms, including the Chamber Secretary’s website, C-SPAN and YouTube. The New York Times will also provide a video of the audience with live analysis of reporters starting at 9 am.
Those who watch on television find the process broadcast in its entirety on several networks, including CNN and PBS.
What to watch
Democrats seem to have more than enough support to vote for Trump’s impeachment. But the dizzying pace at which they ran to move the vote forward has left some Republican lawmakers prevaricating and proposing alternative solutions, as a bipartisan measure to censor the president.
Several House Republicans, including deputies John Katko of New York and Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the party’s third-placed member of the House, said they would join Democrats in supporting impeachment. Several others who have not publicly discussed their positions are expected to do the same on Wednesday.
Still, the vast majority of Republicans are expected to vote against Trump’s impeachment. Major Republicans, such as California’s deputy Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, have come to publicly criticize the next vote.
But unlike the last impeachment, in which the Republicans joined in their opposition, the debate on Wednesday may reveal latent divisions in the party, as lawmakers on both sides spoke in particular about the president’s conduct before and after the riot at the Capitol. The debate should reveal how Republicans are willing to publicly state these views.
What’s next?
If the House votes for Trump’s impeachment as expected, attention will shift to the Senate, which could begin a trial as early as next week.
Although President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. gave in to the lawmakers who oversee the process, he expressed concern that the political drama surrounding impeachment could divert attention away from his political agenda in the early days of his presidency.
It is not yet clear when the Senate can propose a trial, but there is some agreement among jurists that the impeachment could be concluded even after Trump leaves office.
Biden raised the possibility of “forking” future Senate proceedings, allowing some time to be spent at the trial and setting aside part of the day for senators to focus on confirming his office and other nominees.
Although the latest impeachment effort against Trump died in the Senate, when Republicans overwhelmingly voted to absolve him, this time it could be different.
Some Republican senators denounced Trump’s actions and asked him to resign. And Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who has strongly supported the president in the past, has considered joining Democrats to prevent Trump from taking public office again.