People wearing protective masks hold an American flag at the Barclays Center during the ‘Get it out! Defend Democracy, ”a day after supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, USA. January 7, 2021.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The House could move next week to impeach President Donald Trump as Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet not remove the president sooner, a top Democrat said Friday.
Massachusetts Deputy Katherine Clark, the fourth House Democrat, told CNN that the room could be performing “as early as the middle of next week.” She said the House could take steps to bring articles of impeachment measures to the floor without committee hearings and votes.
The House is preparing to impeach Trump for an unprecedented second time after a pro-Trump gang stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, delaying the formal count of President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. At least five people, including a Capitol policeman, died as a result of the attack on the legislature.
Trump spoke to his supporters before marching to the Capitol and spitting 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 government” would take power.
Biden will take office on January 20. Democrats have called for Trump’s removal, warning that he could further downgrade democratic institutions or endanger more lives during his last term in office.
But it’s unclear whether they will have enough time to remove the president before Inauguration Day – or whether Republicans will join them in the process.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., on Thursday called for Pence and Trump’s cabinet to remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. They said he could not remain in office after provoking a “revolt”. More than 190 other lawmakers, only one of them a Republican, have also called for Trump’s removal since the attack.
Pelosi and Schumer said invoking the 25th Amendment, which requires Pence’s support and a cabinet majority, would be the fastest way to remove Trump. However, Pence reportedly does not support the move. While officials including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the prospect of removing Trump, they decided against taking the move for now.
The day after hundreds of rioters stormed the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said again that Vice President Mike Pence would have to appeal to the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office or she will initiate impeachment proceedings against the president during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 7, 2021.
Melina Mara | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Pelosi and Schumer threatened to continue with impeachment on Thursday if Pence and the cabinet do nothing. Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, DN.Y., called for the president’s removal on Thursday. He said he could take steps to speed up the process.
“We have a limited time to take action,” Nadler said in a statement. “The nation cannot afford a lengthy, lengthy trial, and I am in favor of bringing impeachment articles directly to the House.”
Democrats will hold a caucus call on Friday where they are expected to discuss plans to remove the president.
The Democratic-occupied House would have enough support to overthrow Trump, likely by a handful of Republican votes. The chamber did this once in December 2019.
But the GOP-controlled Senate, which the president acquitted last year, may not follow suit. Only one Republican – Mitt Romney of Utah – voted to remove Trump after his initial impeachment trial.
Until Democratic Sens.-elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia are sworn in to seal a Democratic majority, Republicans will have a 51-48 lead in the Senate. Two-thirds of the vote to remove Trump would require 66 votes, with 18 Republicans on board.
At least one Republican who voted against removing Trump would now consider it more seriously.
“If the House, they get together and have a trial, I would definitely consider what articles they could move because as I’ve told you, I think the president has ignored his oath of office … What he did was bad, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Told CBS on Friday.
Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., argued in a tweet on Friday that impeaching Trump would now “do more harm than good.” He said the attempt to fire a president who contributed to the siege of the Capitol “would not only have failed in the Senate but set a dangerous precedent for the future of the presidency.”
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.