It was odd history for President Donald Trump as the US House of Representatives impeached him the second time Wednesday.
The House has reached enough votes to make Donald Trump the first US president to be impeached twice. Lawmakers have accused Trump of “incitement of insurrection” following the Capitol storming.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach US President Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection.”
Lawmakers supporting impeachment say Trump was responsible for inciting a mob of supporters that stormed the Capitol Building last week.
Trump is the first president in US history to be impeached twice.
Democrats rushed forward to launch the impeachment vote with only seven days left in Trump’s term after Vice President Mike Pence rejected calls to remove Trump under the 25th amendment.
The article of impeachment will now head to the US Senate, still controlled by the Republican Party, which is set to conduct a trial on the charges. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump on the charge.
The Senate will not meet again until January 19 — one day before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, which all but ensures an impeachment trial will take place only after Trump leaves office.
Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled out holding an emergency session, which had been called for by Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
What do the Democrats say?
Ahead of the vote, Democrats made arguments in the House chamber for impeaching President Trump.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said “we know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion. He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation.”
Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said that people died because of Trump’s “big lies.”
“We are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the president of the United States. This was a well-organized attack on our country that was incited by Donald Trump,” he said, adding that Trump “instigated an attempted coup.”
“If this is not an impeachable offense, I don’t know what the hell is,” said McGovern.
SOURCE:dw.com