The U.S. House Of Representatives Impeaches President Donald Trump Again

The House of Representatives voted 232-197 today to impeach President Donald Trump with incitement of an insurrection stemming from his speech last week to a crowd of supporters who turned into a violent mob that breached the Capitol building sending lawmakers and their staff into hiding for hours while police sought to contain the insurgents. The Senate will hold Trump’s trial after January 20 when President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated.

“Every moment that Donald Trump is in office, our nation, and our freedom are in danger.” Rep. Jim McGovern, the Democrat who heads the House and Rules Committee said in his opening remarks on the House floor.

Democrats moved quickly to hold the impeachment proceeding while the majority of House Republicans decried the decision by arguing there was too little time remaining in Trump’s presidency and the action would further inflame tensions.

“We desperately need to seek a path forward … unfortunately a path to seek healing is not the path the House is seeking today,” stated Republican Rep. Tom Cole.

For several hours, Representatives on both sides of the aisle lined up to voice their position, offering impassioned arguments for and against impeachment. 

Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, said, “The need to remove this President could not be more urgent. Donald Trump must be held accountable. He must be impeached.”

This is the second time the House has impeached Trump. Unlike the first impeachment in December 2019, which was decided largely along party lines, this time there were 10 Republicans who broke with the status quo and voted to impeach Trump.

Republican Liz Cheney said, “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.” Cheney is the third-highest ranking House Republican. Her stance drew criticism from some GOP colleagues already launching an effort to remove her from her leadership role in the House.

Most of the House Republicans defended Trump’s First Amendment right to free speech while others called for a bi-partisan committee to investigate the insurrection, appearing to marginalize the words critics considered a call to action when Trump told his supporters, “We’re going to have to fight much harder. You will never take back our country with weakness.”

Rep. Jason Smith. R-Missouri, stated, “It is vital we get the facts to what went wrong last week.”

But Texas Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee called Trump “an insurrectionist.” She was joined by fellow Texan Rep. Joaquin Castro who described the 45th president as, “the most dangerous man to ever occupy the Oval Office.”

New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries vowed, “Violence will not win. Insurrection will not win. Sedition will not win. Terror will not win. Lawlessness will not win.”

With only a week remaining in his presidency, the nation’s Democratic leadership looked to send a message to Trump’s emboldened followers still alleging the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and to the international community stunned by the chaos in America’s democracy which is often cited as a compelling example of government by the people.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on her colleagues to remember their oath to defend the Constitution “against enemies foreign and domestic.”

She continued, “He must go, he is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.”

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders had hoped Vice-President Mike Pence and other Cabinet members would use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump but Pence, who was also forced to seek safety during last week’s violent rioters, declined.

Trump is the only president in American history to face a second impeachment proceeding. On December 18, 2019, the House impeached him on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, stemming from a telephone call to Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump appeared to solicit Zelensky to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election by investigating a political opponent, Joe Biden. The Senate acquitted Trump on both counts.