Top House Democrats Make Major Impeachment Announcement
With time winding down on the Trump administration, House Democrats indicate they want to spend that time impeaching President Donald Trump again.
President-elect Joe Biden will assume the presidency on Jan. 20. Trump said Thursday that he is committed to a smooth transition of power.
House Democrats, however, are looking to bounce the president out of the White House prior to Inauguration Day, claiming the violent Capitol incursion that took place Wednesday means Trump should be removed from office.
With current news reports indicating that Vice President Mike Pence will slough off calls from Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of a president who cannot fulfill the duties of the job, Democrats are rallying around impeachment as their last option to get rid of Trump.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said that if Pence did not act, impeachment was the next likely course of action.
Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, doubled down on that sentiment Friday morning, saying in an interview that the House will move “very quickly” to remove Trump from office.
“Every day that Donald Trump is president of the United States is a day of grave danger,” Clark told CNN.
“Donald Trump needs to be removed from office, and we are going to proceed with every tool that we have to make sure that that happens to protect our democracy,” she said.
“If the reports are correct, and Mike Pence is not going to uphold his oath of office and remove the president and help protect our democracy, then we will move forward with impeachment to do just that.”
“Donald Trump needs to be removed from office. And we are going to proceed with every tool that we have to make sure that that happens to protect our democracy,” Rep. Katherine Clark says as House Democrats eye quick impeachment vote if Pence won’t remove Trump from office pic.twitter.com/d1TxmTXLAt
— New Day (@NewDay) January 8, 2021
She claimed the president “incited a seditious mob to storm the Capitol. We now have five deaths from that, and the harm to our democracy is really unfathomable.”
“We have a president who has turned on us. He is a traitor. He has incited violence and perpetuated a lie that he won this election,” Clark said.
Although Trump only has 12 days in office from Friday, Clark said Democrats “can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the floor for a House vote quickly. We have already had Jerry Nadler … say that he will use those tools to bring the articles as fast as possible.”
Nadler, a New York Democrat, chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
Clark said a full House floor vote would take place as “early as mid-next week.”
She claimed the president “incited a seditious mob to storm the Capitol. We now have five deaths from that, and the harm to our democracy is really unfathomable.”
“We have a president who has turned on us. He is a traitor. He has incited violence and perpetuated a lie that he won this election,” Clark said.
House Democrats “can act very quickly when we want to,” she said, adding that lawmakers “cannot hide behind procedural rules. This is the time for action. This is a crisis of our Constitution and of our democracy.”
Clark shared similar sentiments on Twitter.
Donald Trump is a traitor to our country and our Constitution. He must be removed from office and prevented from further endangering our country and our people. 2/2
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 6, 2021
To clarify, @HouseDemocrats are actively working to determine the timeline and the quickest path to hold Trump accountable. We face obstruction and attempts to delay us by the GOP defenders, but we‘re resolute. We will act to protect the American people. https://t.co/RHGwKOnpFD
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 8, 2021
I say it again: Donald Trump is a danger to our country and must be removed from office. 25th Amendment. Impeachment. Gone.
Removal depends on Republican action. Stand with us now or you stand against our democracy.
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 7, 2021
Democrats currently have a thin majority in the House. If the House were to pass articles of impeachment against Trump, as it did in 2019, those charges would go to the Senate for a trial, as took place last year.
Sixty-seven votes are required for articles of impeachment to be approved in the Senate.
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