Congress Impeaches Trump- Again

By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52081539

Congress voted to impeach Trump for a second time today with a final vote of 232 to 197. Trump was charged with only one article: Incitement of insurrection.

The next step in the impeachment process is that the Senate conducts a trial, however, things become confusing as the Senate had no plans to convene before Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t agree to bring the senate back early.

The impeachment will most likely continue into the early days of Biden’s term as president, while Democrats control the senate.

Ten Republicans voted in favor of the article, including Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, Rep. John Katko of New York, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina and Rep. David Valadao of California.

The house is expected to impeach President Trump on Wednesday afternoon for a second time following the deadly riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Trump is being charged with “incitement of insurrection” for actions ultimately resulting in the fatal siege, which left five dead, including a Capitol police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher.

Some Republican representatives have also change their positions, with five house Republicans coming out an saying that they will be voting to impeach the president. The list includes Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), Liz Cheney (WY), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.), Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (Wash.).

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not decided whether or not he will vote to impeach. CNN reported that  McConnell sent a note to his Republican colleagues Wednesday afternoon on impeachment, writing that “while the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”

In the days following the storming of the capitol, dozens of insurrectionists involved have been arrested and charged, and at least 170 cases have been opened, according to Michael Sherwin, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Rioters were charged with charges like violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds in order to quickly make the arrest, but those people could be indicted on more significant charges, including sedition and conspiracy, according to Sherwin.