House Democrats will stage a vote to impeach US President Donald Trump for his role in inciting violence at the Capitol on Wednesday, announced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday.
According to The Hill, Pelosi said that the preferred response to the attack on the US Capitol is for Vice President Mike Pence to remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. In a letter to fellow Democrats, the Speaker vowed to bring a vote on impeachment in the absence of action by Pence, setting the stage for a historic first – the impeachment of a president for the second time in his tenure.
“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both… As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action,” said Pelosi in her letter.
Chaotic and violent scenes erupted at the Capitol on Wednesday as supporters of Trump stormed the building to protest the Electoral College vote, forcing a lockdown and confrontations with the police.
Wednesday’s violence came hours after Trump encouraged his supporters to fight against the election results as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory in the November vote.
Shortly after the incident, House Democrats were reportedly planning to introduce several articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump for his role in encouraging the violence.
The Hill reported that Democrats and some Republicans had previously voiced support of Vice President Mike Pence and other Cabinet members invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump out of fear he could incite more violence in the remaining days of his presidency.
Pelosi previously threatened impeachment if Pence did not invoke the 25th amendment, a move that the vice president reportedly opposes, according to sources in talks with the White House.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have warned Democrats against pursuing impeachment, calling for a focus on a smooth transition of power.