If you’re wondering how the GOP continues to survive despite the drama surrounding President Trump, the answer is pretty simple: Democrats.
WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif) said the House will move to impeach President Trump as soon as this week if Vice President Mike Pence and the president’s cabinet don’t act to strip him of his powers over the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Mrs. Pelosi, in a letter to House colleagues, said Democrats on Monday will first introduce a resolution calling for the vice president to use the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove Mr. Trump from office. The resolution would come to a vote by Tuesday. If it is approved and Mr. Pence doesn’t act to remove Mr. Trump from office within 24 hours, the House will proceed to impeachment, Mrs. Pelosi said.
I have already said the 25th Amendment is not appropriate. Moreover, a Congressional resolution demanding the Vice President and the cabinet invoke it seems highly inappropriate. Congress has a mechanism for removing the president – it’s called impeachment. Maybe they can get around to that.
“We will act with urgency, because this president represents an imminent threat,” Mrs. Pelosi said.
He’s such an imminent threat they’re going to waste another 24 hours on a pointless resolution. Meanwhile, the third highest ranking member of the Democratic House caucus is hinting they might not even bother sending articles of impeachment to the Senate until Biden’s first 100 days are up.
House Democrats are currently circulating one article of impeachment against the president for “incitement to insurrection,” and could vote on the article before Trump leaves office. However, Clyburn indicated that the House may wait to send the article to the Senate for a trial and vote.
“We’ll take the vote that we should take in the House, and [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.)] will make the determination as to when is the best time to get that vote and get the managers appointed and move that legislation over to the Senate,” Clyburn told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union.
Clyburn added, “It just so happens that if it didn’t go over there for 100 days, it could — let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running, and maybe we’ll send the articles sometime after that.”
I hope I am never in a life threatening situation surrounded by Congressional Democrats. By the time they got around to deciding to administer aid I would be six feet underground.
The Democrats could have voted on articles of impeachment last week, and I don’t think too many people would have batted an eye. As it is, by the time they do vote it will have been at least a week since the invasion of the Capitol, and Trump will have only a few days left in office. Even if the Senate were inclined to move right away on the articles of impeachment, there is no way a vote for conviction and removal will take place much more than two days before the end of his term.
No, impeachment doesn’t have to take place while President Trump is in office, and I said as much last week. But Congressional Democrats’ actions belie their assertions of urgency.
Only the modern Democratic party could screw up something this much when public opinion is more on their side than it is likely to be again.
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