At this point yesterday morning, about 100 members of Congress were calling for Donald Trump’s ouster, either through impeachment, the 25th Amendment, or the Republican’s resignation. As of this morning, that number has doubled.
The questions are now focused on the how and the when. NBC News reported:
House Democratic leaders are eyeing a vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as early as the middle of next week, Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark said Friday. “We know that we have limited time, but that every day that Donald Trump is president of the United States, is a day of grave danger. So we can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the floor for a House vote quickly,” Clark, D-Mass., said on CNN’s “New Day.”
How “quickly”? The Massachusetts congresswoman added this morning that the House Judiciary Committee could bring the articles to the floor “as early as mid-next week.”
Of course, one can only imagine how much damage Trump could do between now and then.
The NBC News report added that Democratic leaders met last night “to discuss how to remove the president from office, according to a member of Congress who was in the room.” Among the possibilities was a plan for the House to return to session on Monday.
The timeline would presumably be shaped in part by Vice President Mike Pence, members of Trump’s cabinet, and their collective interest in removing Trump from power through the 25th Amendment. According to multiple reports, however, they’re unlikely to seriously pursue such a step, increasing the pressure on Congress to take action. It’s likely the Democratic-led House could pass articles of impeachment, sending the matter to the Senate, though at that point, officials would start running out of calendar. A New York Times report added, “Under one school of thought being discussed among top House and Senate Democrats, the House could impeach Mr. Trump in the waning days of his term and the Senate could hold a trial immediately after President-elect Biden is sworn in and his party takes working control of the chamber.” As for whether there could be any Republican support, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) told CBS News this morning, “The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move, because as I’ve told you I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office. What he did was wicked.” If GOP leaders are disgusted with the very idea of impeaching Trump again, they’ve been awfully quiet about expressing those concerns.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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