Congressional Democrats today begin their drive to force President Donald Trump from office, kicking off a week of legislative action that could end with a vote that would make him the only president in US history to be impeached twice.
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol last week, scattering politicians who were certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory, in a harrowing assault on the centre of American democracy that left five dead.
The violence came after President Trump urged supporters to march on the Capitol at a rally where he repeated false claims that his resounding election defeat was illegitimate.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, many of her fellow Democrats and a handful of Republicans say Mr Trump should not be trusted to serve out his term, which ends on 20 January.
“In protecting our Constitution and our democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” Ms Pelosi wrote to fellow House Democrats.
Dozens of people who attacked police officers, stole computers and smashed windows at the Capitol have been arrested for their role in the violence, and officials have opened 25 domestic terrorism investigations.
Mr Trump acknowledged that a new administration would take office on 20 January in a video statement after the attack but has not appeared in public.
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Twitter and Facebook have suspended his accounts, citing the risk of him inciting violence.
When the House convenes at 4pm Irish time today, lawmakers will bring up a resolution asking Mike Pence to invoke the never-used 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which allows the Vice President and the Cabinet to remove a president deemed unfit to do the job.
A recorded vote is expected tomorrow.
Mr Pence was in the Capitol along with his family when Donald Trump’s supporters attacked, and he and the US president are currently not on speaking terms.
But Republicans have shown little interest in invoking the 25th Amendment. Mr Pence’s office did not respond to questions about the issue. A source said last week he was opposed to the idea.
If Mike Pence does not act, Ms Pelosi said the House could vote to impeach Mr Trump on a single charge of insurrection. That vote could come by the end of the week.
Aides to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who voted against recognising Biden’s victory, did not respond to a request for comment.
House Democrats impeached Donald Trump in December 2019 for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, but the Republican-controlled Senate voted not to convict him.
Even if the House impeaches Trump for a second time, the Senate would not take up the charges until 19 January the earliest, Donald Trump’s last full day in office.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer will become majority leader after Mr Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are inaugurated and the two new Democratic senators from Georgia are seated.
He said yesterday that the threat from violent extremist groups remained high.
PGA Championship pulled from Trump golf course
The PGA of America pulled the 2022 PGA Championship from the Trump National at Bedminster course in New Jersey yesterday, days after supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol.
“The PGA of America Board of Directors voted tonight to exercise the right to terminate the agreement to play the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster,” PGA of America President Jim Richerson said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand and would put at risk the PGA’s ability to deliver our many programmes and sustain the longevity of our mission,” Mr Richerson added in a video posted on the organisation’s website.
The announcement on the fate of one of the four major championships in golf follows increased calls in the golf world for leaders of the sport to distance themselves from Donald Trump.