Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Republicans Block Measure Calling for Quick Removal of Trump
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
January 11, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — A House resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke constitutional authority to remove President Donald Trump from office was blocked Monday by Republicans.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

As the House prepares for impeachment, President Donald Trump faces a single charge — “incitement of insurrection” — over the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a draft of the articles obtained by The Associated Press.

Lawmakers are set to introduce the legislation Monday, with voting mid-week. Pelosi’s leadership team also will seek a quick vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment.

The four-page impeachment bill draws from Trump’s own false statements about his election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden; his pressure on state officials in Georgia to “find” him more votes; and his White House rally ahead of the Capitol siege, in which he encouraged thousands of supporters to “fight like hell” before they stormed the building on Wednesday.

A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalizing Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.

“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” the legislation said.

The bill from Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Jerrold Nadler of New York, said Trump threatened “the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power” and “betrayed” trust.

“He will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office,” they wrote.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Ca., said Monday on CBS, “We need to move forward with alacrity.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will proceed with legislation to impeach Trump as she pushes the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority to force him out, warning that Trump is a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.

A Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, joined Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over the weekend in calling for Trump to “resign and go away as soon as possible.”

Lawmakers warned of the damage the president could still do before Joe Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. Trump, holed up at the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob rioted in the Capitol in support of his false claims of election fraud. Judges across the country, including some nominated by Trump, repeatedly dismissed cases and Attorney General William Barr, a Trump ally, said there was no sign of any widespread fraud.

Pence Has Given No Indication He Would Act on the 25th Amendment

“We will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat,” Pelosi said in a letter late Sunday to colleagues emphasizing the need for quick action.

“The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

During an interview on “60 Minutes” aired Sunday, Pelosi invoked the Watergate era when Republicans in the Senate told President Richard Nixon, “It’s over.”

“That’s what has to happen now,” she said.

Pence has given no indication he would act on the 25th Amendment. If he does not, the House would move toward impeachment.

Toomey said he doubted impeachment could be done before Biden is inaugurated, even though a growing number of lawmakers say that step is necessary to ensure Trump can never hold elected office again.

“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”

Murkowski, long exasperated with the president, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “needs to get out.” A third, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., did not go that far, but on Sunday he warned Trump to be “very careful” in his final days in office.

On impeachment, House Democrats would likely delay for 100 days sending articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial, to allow Biden to focus on other priorities.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that instead of coming together, Democrats want to “talk about ridiculous things like ‘Let’s impeach a president’” with just days left in office.

Still, some Republicans might be supportive.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him.

The Democratic effort to stamp Trump’s presidential record — for the second time — with the indelible mark of impeachment advanced rapidly after the riot.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said Sunday that his group had 200-plus co-sponsors.

Potentially complicating Pelosi’s decision about impeachment was what it meant for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he had long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress did “is for them to decide.”

DON'T MISS

Stock Markets Around the World Tumble as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Approaches

DON'T MISS

Yum Brands CEO Announces Plans to Retire in 2026

DON'T MISS

Earthquake Compounds Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar as Death Toll Passes 1,700

DON'T MISS

Merced Police Chief: Local Sexual Assault Exams ‘Worth’ Higher Cost

DON'T MISS

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes to Headline Chukchansi’s Summer Series with ‘Family Reunion Tour’

DON'T MISS

Sue or Hold Back? The University of California Does Both as It Faces Trump’s Wrath

DON'T MISS

Central Unified Takes Additional Steps To Protect Undocumented Students

DON'T MISS

Americans Trade Michelin Stars for Mac and Cheese

DON'T MISS

Dueling Protests Clash at Fresno Tesla Dealership

DON'T MISS

Hamas Says It Accepts New Gaza Ceasefire Proposal but Israel Makes Counter-Offer

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Democrats’ Popularity Plummets, yet Midterm Prospects Remain Strong

UP NEXT

USDA Explores Why US Egg Shortage Contrasts with Canada’s Abundant Supply

UP NEXT

Cuts Leave Social Security System in Disarray With Millions Affected

UP NEXT

Hyundai to Build $5.8B Steel Mill in Louisiana, Creating 5,400 Jobs

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Backs Biden’s Ghost Gun Regulation Requiring Serial Numbers, Background Checks

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

UP NEXT

Former Utah Rep. Mia Love Dies. She Was 1st Black Republican Woman Elected to US House

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Rehiring of Fired Federal Workers

Merced Police Chief: Local Sexual Assault Exams ‘Worth’ Higher Cost

22 hours ago

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes to Headline Chukchansi’s Summer Series with ‘Family Reunion Tour’

22 hours ago

Sue or Hold Back? The University of California Does Both as It Faces Trump’s Wrath

23 hours ago

Central Unified Takes Additional Steps To Protect Undocumented Students

23 hours ago

Americans Trade Michelin Stars for Mac and Cheese

1 day ago

Dueling Protests Clash at Fresno Tesla Dealership

2 days ago

Hamas Says It Accepts New Gaza Ceasefire Proposal but Israel Makes Counter-Offer

2 days ago

Andrew Tate’s Ex-Girlfriend Accuses Him of Sexual Assault and Battery in New Lawsuit

2 days ago

Protesters Rebelling Against Elon Musk’s Purge of US Government Swarm Tesla Showrooms

2 days ago

Plastics Are Seeping Into Farm Fields, Food and Eventually Human Bodies

2 days ago

Stock Markets Around the World Tumble as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Approaches

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” is fast approaching, and stock markets around the world are tumbling Monday in advance ...

1 minute ago

1 minute ago

Stock Markets Around the World Tumble as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Approaches

A sign hangs at a Taco Bell on May 23, 2014, in Mount Lebanon, Pa. (AP File)
5 minutes ago

Yum Brands CEO Announces Plans to Retire in 2026

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, members of a China search and rescue team transfer a pregnant survivor from a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Monday, March 31, 2025. (Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)
8 minutes ago

Earthquake Compounds Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar as Death Toll Passes 1,700

22 hours ago

Merced Police Chief: Local Sexual Assault Exams ‘Worth’ Higher Cost

22 hours ago

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes to Headline Chukchansi’s Summer Series with ‘Family Reunion Tour’

23 hours ago

Sue or Hold Back? The University of California Does Both as It Faces Trump’s Wrath

23 hours ago

Central Unified Takes Additional Steps To Protect Undocumented Students

1 day ago

Americans Trade Michelin Stars for Mac and Cheese

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend