On January 13, President Trump was impeached by the House in a 232-197 vote. 10 republican congresspeople broke ranks and voted to impeach. Although the swift vote in the house created optimism for the prospect of Trump’s removal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made it clear that he will not rush a trial. It is likely that the Senate will continue with trial proceedings even after Trump has left office. The Senate reconvenes on January 19, the day before Biden’s inauguration.
During house debate, the contrast between the two parties could not have been clearer.“If we impeached every politician who gave a fiery speech to a crowd of partisans, this Capitol would be deserted.” claimed Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA). “The 117th Congress must understand we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives. The first step in that process is to root out white supremacy, starting with impeaching the white supremacist in chief,” said newly elected Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) in her remarks. The debate on the house floor was intensely partisan, as Democratic lawmakers cited present danger, sedition and white supremacy in their argument to impeach while Republicans noted “cancel culture”, Antifa and the left-wing media in their arguments not to. Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio claimed that Democrats are trying to “cancel the president and anyone who disagrees with them,” through the second impeachment. “Cancel culture will come for us all,” warned Rep. Jordan.
Despite Jordan’s claims of a petulant, vengeant Democratic party out to get the President, Democrats emphasized protecting democracy as the primary motivation for impeachment. “With just seven days left in the President’s term, this vote is not about timing. It is about principle. It concerns the clear and present danger facing our country, not only in these final days of the Trump Administration but in the weeks, months and years that will follow. It is about the necessity to demonstrate to this generation and to future generations the duty we share to protect our democracy every single day,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on the floor yesterday.
Arguably the most notable element of the vote was the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the President. “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” said Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). Rep. Cheney was the highest-ranking House member to vote in favor of the resolution. “The one man who could have restored order, prevented the deaths of five Americans, including a Capitol Police officer, and avoided the desecration of our Capitol shrank from leadership when our country needed it most,” said Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who has been in office only 11 days.
Even after Trump has left office, the Senate will likely still continue with impeachment proceedings. A two-thirds vote in the Senate could potentially prevent President Trump from ever holding public office again, a prospect that many Democrats feel is necessary to protect the integrity of American democracy and many Republicans feel is crucial to the survival of their party. Many Democrats hope for the Senate to reconvene before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. “There was legislation passed in 2004 that allows the Senate minority and majority leader to jointly reconvene the Senate in times of emergency. This is a time of emergency,” said Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in regards to Majority Leader McConnell’s claims that the Senate can only reconvene with unanimous consent.