The United States House of Representatives has prepared a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The document charges the president with inciting insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building last week.
A pro-Trump mob attacked and occupied the building as lawmakers were completing the presidential election process January 6.
The Trump presidency is to end on January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in to his four-year term. However, many lawmakers are warning that Trump could cause damage during his remaining days in office.
Congress was meeting to officially confirm Biden as the winner of the 2020 election when the mob attacked. Moments earlier, Trump had urged the crowd to march to the Capitol. He called for a hard fight, adding “you’ll never take back our country with weakness.”
The violence that followed forced lawmakers to flee for safety. It resulted in five deaths, including a police officer who was beaten protecting the Capitol.
Lawmakers returned and completed the election business after the building was secured. Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah spoke about the violence.
“What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Monday told Democratic House members to return to Washington on Tuesday. He said the house would then consider a separate resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to use a Constitutional rule to remove Trump from office. That resolution is expected to pass, but Pence is unlikely to honor it.
Hoyer says the House will then consider the impeachment resolution on Wednesday.
Trump had been impeached by the House in late 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. But the Republican-majority Senate cleared him of all charges.
What has changed this time?
It is unclear how the impeachment process will proceed this time. Many Republicans condemned Trump’s action but only a few have called for him to step down.
On Friday, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska blamed Trump for the riots. She told the Anchorage Daily News, “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”
Pat Toomey, a Republican Senator of Pennsylvania, did not think that Congress could impeach Trump before Biden is inaugurated. But he said, “I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again.”
The Senate will not return until Jan. 19. But Democrats will be in the majority with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote after her swearing-in on Jan. 20.
Additionally, an ABC News/Ipsos public opinion study released on Sunday found that a majority of Americans questioned, 56 percent, say that Trump should be removed from office “before his term ends.”
President-elect Joe Biden has condemned Trump in connection with the Capitol attack. He has also repeatedly said that it is up to Congress to decide what to do.
Trump abandoned and silenced
Several members of the Trump administration including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao resigned after the Capitol attack, accusing the president of responsibility for the riot.
On Friday, Twitter announced it had permanently banned Trump from posting on the social media website. The company said it was concerned that the president would use it for “further incitement of violence.”
On Sunday, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America, or PGA, said its 2022 PGA Championship will not be played at the Trump-owned golf center in Bedminster, New Jersey. The championship is one of the four major professional golf competitions in the world.
Around the nation, newspapers are calling for lawmakers to resign if they supported Trump’s call to cancel election results. And businesses are now saying they will end financial support for those lawmakers.
Citigroup, one of the largest banks in America told employees, “We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law."
I'm Caty Weaver.
Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in This Story
insurrection - n. a usually violent attempt to take control of a government
inaugurate - v. to introduce a newly- elected official into office with an official ceremony
