The House is making history by voting to impeach a U.S. president for the second time.
On Wednesday, lawmakers voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” just one week after a mob of violent Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
In a stunning break from Trump, 10 Republicans voted to impeach him.
.@SpeakerPelosi announces the House Impeachment Vote.
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 13, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/0bDUMcCPoD pic.twitter.com/SwngWQtsFw
Lawmakers moved with an unusual sense of urgency after the violence in the Capitol. On Monday, House Democrats unveiled their impeachment resolution, which read, “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government.”
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States,” it added.
The article of impeachment now goes to the Senate, where lawmakers will hold a trial to decide whether to convict and remove Trump from office — which would require 67 senators.
According to The New York Times, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is “pleased” with the Democrats’ push to impeach Trump.
Axios also reported there is a “better than 50-50 chance” that the Kentucky senator would vote to impeach Trump.
However, he later told his colleagues that he has “not made a final decision on how I will vote” and will “listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
The timing of when the Senate trial will begin is unclear, but McConnell said he would not convene the chamber until January 19.
In 2019, no House Republicans voted in favor of either article of impeachment against Trump. And Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the sole member of his party to vote to convict Trump on either article of impeachment after the Senate trial.