Fate Of Twice-Impeached Trump Rests In Senate's Hands

Megan VerHelst
Updated ·7 min read
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WASHINGTON, DC — Just hours after the U.S. House of Representatives passed an extraordinary resolution impeaching Donald Trump a second time, the future of the 45th president of the United States now rests firmly in the hands of the Senate, his legacy as the only U.S. president to be impeached twice already sealed.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has ruled out a quick impeachment trial on a single charge of incitement of insurrection, but the historic proceeding could still start as early as Inauguration Day next week when Democrats take control of the Senate, according to a timeline of the procedure obtained by The Associated Press.

The start date depends on when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sends the impeachment charge to the Senate. Some Democrats have suggested holding back to allow President-elect Joe Biden time to be inaugurated and to start working on his priorities, The AP reported.

Regardless, the trial is sure to be the quickest in American history.

The previous three impeachments of presidents — those of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump — took months before a final vote, including investigations in the House and hearings.

This time, what the president was accused of doing was clearer and the danger to the country was more immediate, according to those who pushed the historic proceeding. It took the House only a week to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection when he encouraged his supporters to "fight like hell."

McConnell, who has spent the last four years defending and protecting Trump, now seems open to convicting Trump — which he opposed last year when the president was impeached on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress that came out of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

“I have not made a final decision on how I will vote," McConnell wrote in a letter to his Republican colleagues, "and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”

By deferring to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer — who will become the Senate majority leader when Democrats gain control of the chamber Jan. 19 — to manage the trial, McConnell avoids an outright confrontation with Trump as GOP leaders sort out the depths of Trumpism in their party and gauge the risks convicting him.

Trump was impeached by the most bipartisan vote on impeachment in U.S. history. The overwhelming majority of House Republicans voted against impeaching him, but the 10 members of the GOP who defected represent a crack in Trump's wall of support within the party.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, led the Republicans voting to impeach, saying Tuesday that Trump's actions led to "death and destruction in the most sacred space in our republic."

Also voting with the Democrats were Republican Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, David Valadao of California and Tom Rice of South Carolina.

To convict the president, 17 Senate Republicans would have to break from their party and vote in favor of conviction.

Meanwhile, as the remaining days of Trump's presidency fade away, the president himself continues to grow more isolated. As Trump watches his second impeachment unfold, staffers and first lady Melania Trump are packing up the White House to move out.

A routine procedure has turned into a clandestine operation, sources told CNN, as White House staff tiptoe around the president's ire while attempting to pack up the family's belongings. According to the CNN report, Melania Trump is about halfway done shipping belongings either to Mar-a-Lago in Florida or to storage.

While others quietly vacate the White House, Trump could do little more than watch as the House of Representatives voted to impeach him.

The suspension of his Twitter account deprived Trump of his most reliable means to communicate with supporters and keep Republicans from abandoning him, prompting more speculation that the president's hold on the Republican Party is waning.

It took hours for Trump to finally weigh in. And while he did not acknowledge his second impeachment in a video statement released early Wednesday evening, he did call on his supporters to remain peaceful amid concerns of additional violence ahead of Biden's inauguration.

“I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week," said Trump. He added that “no true supporter” of his “could ever endorse political violence.”

Trump also said that he had directed federal agencies "to use all necessary resources to maintain order in Washington, D.C." over the next week. However, he took no responsibility for the siege on the Capitol that resulted in five deaths — including the beating death of a Capitol Police officer, multiple arrests, and a sprawling FBI investigation.

And more violence could be on the horizon.

An internal FBI bulletin sent Sunday warned that nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration.

In a report issued Saturday, the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism activity, confirmed that the Capitol attack has only fueled the fire driving Trump-supporting extremists.

Intelligence shows as many as 10,000 Trump supporters have active plans to form a perimeter around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court as Biden takes the oath. The reported plot, which surfaced on an encrypted communications app Telegram, also includes an assassination plot, according to intelligence reports.

In preparation for possible unrest, fences have been erected around the U.S. Capitol and other parts of Washington, D.C. National Guard troops are stationed on street corners, part of a sweeping citywide lockdown aimed at curbing any violence in the coming days.

At least 20,000 armed National Guard members will be deployed to Washington, D.C., to protect the Capitol building complex before and on Inauguration Day, The New York Times reported. Police forces outside the city are also pitching in, including Prince George's County police in Maryland and Virginia State Police.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also has urged locals to stay home and travelers to avoid the city on Inauguration Day and the days leading up to it.

Heading into the weekend, D.C.'s top law enforcement officer remains concerned about the threat of violence.

"There's a major security threat, and we are working to mitigate those threats," Chief Robert Contee of the Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday. "We are intently focused on the job at hand."

Social media giants and other companies are taking unprecedented caution, darkening accounts and forgoing business as usual to limit opportunity for those intent on repeating the events of Jan. 6.

On Wednesday, Airbnb canceled reservations in the D.C. metropolitan area during inauguration week, and activists are calling on area hotels to do the same. Hours before, YouTube joined fellow social media giants Twitter and Facebook by shutting the president out of his account due to concerns his posts will incite violence.

Airlines are also taking steps to ensure heightened safety in the nation's capital. On Thursday, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Air all announced a ban on firearms in checked baggage on flights en route to D.C.

American Airlines told CNN on Wednesday it would suspend alcoholic beverage service on flights to and from D.C.-area airports between Jan. 16 and Jan. 21.

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This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch