House Democrats will reportedly introduce a new set of impeachment articles against President Donald Trump on Monday, accusing the outgoing Republican president of inciting insurrection in Wednesday’s Capitol Hill riots.
U.S. Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland are co-sponsors of the articles.
Cicilline said earlier this week he was circulating the articles for support among House members.
President-elect Joe Biden said Friday afternoon it’s up to Congress whether to pursue a second impeachment of Trump, but he expected lawmakers to be ready to move on his agenda as soon as he is inaugurated.
The White House released a statement about the new impeachment proceedings:
Biden’s comments to reporters came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a Friday letter to lawmakers that House Democrats would move to impeach Trump again if he did not resign immediately. Pelosi and other lawmakers have pressured Trump to step down after Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that lawmakers in both parties said was incited by Trump.
Asked what he’d tell lawmakers about Pelosi’s push for impeachment, Biden responded, “I’d tell them that’s a decision for the Congress to make. I’m focused on my job.”
Biden added that he would speak with Pelosi and Democratic leadership later Friday.
Also Friday, Pelosi spoke with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about preventing the president from initiating military actions or a nuclear strike.
Pelosi said she spoke with Gen. Mark Milley “to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike,” adding “this unhinged President could not be more dangerous.”
News of Pelosi’s conversation came after Trump said he would not attend Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
According to media reports, a spokesman for Milley confirmed the general’s conversation with Pelosi.
A growing number of House Democrats have called for Trump’s second impeachment. According to reports Friday, a vote to impeach the president could come as early as next week after the deadly riots that erupted Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.
Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark said Friday that if Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the Cabinet do not agree to remove Trump from office, via the 25th Amendment, the House will move forward with impeachment proceedings as “early as mid-next week,” CNN reported.
“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,” Clark told the news agency. “We can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the floor for a House vote quickly. We have already had Chairman Jerry Nadler, chair of the Judiciary Committee, say that he will use those tools to bring the articles as fast as possible.”
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed earlier this week that the move to impeach Trump would be considered even with less than two weeks left in his presidency.
The efforts to oust the president come two days after he encouraged supporters to descend upon the Capitol to protest the Electoral College vote. Appearing to follow his directions, hundreds stormed the building, ransacked offices and attacked police. Five people died, including a Capitol officer and a woman shot by police, and several were injured as a result of the rioting.
Pelosi has been clear in her perspective on the president’s role in the violence, declaring she would impeach Trump due to “seditious acts.”
“This is urgent — this is an emergency of the highest magnitude,” the California Democrat told reporters Thursday. “My phone has been exploding with ‘impeach, impeach, impeach.’”
Trump denounced the “heinous” acts of violence Thursday night, but many aides and Cabinet members, including former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, have opted to step down as a result of his link to the riots.
