Trump impeached for the second time
A view of the ridgeline from Hartland Hill Road in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
President Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice on Wednesday, as the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to approve the historic action in the wake of last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Ten Republicans joined the entire Democratic majority in voting to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection."
However, a Senate trial is likely to wait after Jan. 19, as current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly declined to reconvene the Senate for an emergency session to take up the matter. Senate control shifts to the Democrats later this month. As of Wednesday afternoon, McConnell was undecided on whether he would vote to convict Trump, saying he wanted to consider all the legal arguments first, according to National Public Radio.
The swift move to impeach came after the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election win. The incident resulted in five deaths.
The House article of impeachment states, in part, that "members of the crowd, incited by President Trump, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol and engaged in other violent, destructive, and seditious acts, including the killing of a law enforcement officer." Trump spoke to the crowd near the White House hours before the invasion, telling them to “fight like hell” and encouraging them to go to the Capitol.
At Wednesday's proceedings in the House, Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, of Vermont, said the impeachment effort was about holding the president accountable for his role in one of the darkest days in U.S. history.
"The mob was assembled by Donald Trump, incited by Donald Trump, and in service of Donald Trump's effort to overturn, through violence, what he lost at the voting booth," Welch said.
The president on Tuesday denied any responsibility for the Capitol breach, saying the impeachment was part of a continued "witch hunt" by Democrats. A number of Trump's fellow Republicans held that line in the House on Wednesday, such as U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio.
"It's always been about getting the president, no matter what," Jordan said.
Listening to Wednesday's remarks from the House floor, the deep gulf between the two sides in the chamber was stark, and perhaps even more so after last week's events. It may seem impossible to go on from this point, but even facing so many headwinds and so much fear, the work of democracy must continue.
Even though that continuation looks very different for different people, the goal of cultivation is the most important. We have to cultivate democracy, and that takes all of us. Some days, that might mean just having the system function; other days, lawmakers may attempt grand accomplishments. But whatever the work at hand might be, it's always worth it to strive together to uphold democracy. That's especially true when challenges loom, and hatred and fear seem at their strongest. We know that, as a people, we've triumphed over those forces before, and we're strong enough to do it again.
— Gareth Henderson
