Disgraced outgoing President Donald Trump made history on Wednesday by becoming the first president to be impeached twice as the House of Representatives officially passed an article of impeachment just a week after the failed insurrection at the Capitol.
Trump instigated the violence that took place at the Capitol last week when his supporters stormed the building and ransacked offices, resulting in several people being killed, including two police officers.
The attempted coup has been widely condemned and a majority of Americans support impeachment. House Democrats drew up the resolution just days after the terrorist attack, which was part of a scheme to overturn the election results.
“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” the resolution said. “He will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.”
Needing little time to debate, the House quickly voted on the resolution, passing it by a vote of 232-197 with ten Republicans joining all of the Democrats in support while all the no votes were Republicans, making it clear that most Republicans still refuse to abandon Trump and are just fine with him inciting violence and the overthrow of the government in favor of dictatorship.
Among the Republicans voting for impeachment were Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).
The resolution will now be delivered to the Senate, where it’s possible the resolution has 67 votes to pass. One of those votes could be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who signaled his support on Tuesday night.
Trump is now the only president in history to be impeached twice, and in a single term no less. He faces being the first to be convicted, but McConnell refuses to call the Senate back into session until January 19th, meaning the trial would have to be conducted after President-Elect Joe Biden takes office.
It’s certainly a profile in cowardice considering McConnell had no problem confirming a Supreme Court nominee in under ten days prior to Election Day in November but won’t tackle impeachment when he knows damn well the Senate can move fast if called back into session this week.
If the Senate convicts Trump, he could also be barred from running for office ever again and could lose his Secret Service protection and travel stipend, which would save taxpayers money since Americans should not have to send one more cent to a traitor.
Most importantly, even though Trump cannot pardon himself, this impeachment means he can be prosecuted for inciting insurrection against the United States and a pardon cannot save him because cases of impeachment cannot be pardoned.
The Republicans who opposed this action today should be ashamed of themselves and should be shunned by the American people for all time. They voted to protect a traitor. They defended his scheme to stay in power. They gave him a pass on instigating an insurrection. And they revealed themselves as hypocrites because if a Democratic president had done what Trump did, they would have screamed for impeachment.
Healing and unity won’t happen until accountability and justice are achieved. This impeachment is a good start.
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