Following the Riot at the Capitol, President Trump is Impeached

Donald Trump Becomes the First President of the United States to be Impeached Twice

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@rapplerdotcom, via Twitter

The deadly storming of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, led to Donald Trump’s second impeachment.

Isaac Miller, Radio Manager

Bridgewater, Va. – President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Jan. 13, on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” following the deadly riot at the Capitol building last week.

The final vote tally was 232-197 in favor of impeachment, with every Democrat and ten Republicans supporting the resolution. 

This result was the most bipartisan presidential impeachment vote in American history. The second being the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998, which was supported by five members of the president’s party in the House. 

It is also the first time in the country’s history that a president has been impeached twice, following President Trump’s first impeachment and subsequent acquittal by the Senate in early 2020.

The impeachment stemmed from a speech President Trump delivered to supporters just before Congress began certifying the electoral votes for President-Elect Joe Biden. 

The President encouraged his supporters to “walk down to the Capitol” and continued to say “you will never take back our country with weakness.”

Just hours after President Trump left the stage, a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building, forcing legislators into hiding within the building. 

The riot led to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol Police officer who was beaten to death by members of the mob. More than 70 people have been charged for their involvement in the attack.

House members spent the afternoon Wednesday debating whether to impeach the president prior to their vote. 

Democrats uniformly expressed support for the measure, with Representative Adam Schiff of California saying “[America] endures because at every juncture, every pivotal moment, when evil threatens to overtake good, patriotic Americans step forward to say, enough. This is one of those moments.”

While ten Republicans ultimately voted in favor of impeachment, the vast majority of their caucus was opposed to the measure. 

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio said “It’s always been about getting the president, no matter what. It’s an obsession, an obsession that has now broadened. It’s not just about impeachment anymore, it’s about canceling, as I’ve said. Canceling the president and anyone that disagrees with them.”

The next step in the impeachment proceedings will be a trial in the Senate. While this process can begin immediately following the action of the House, current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said that the trial will not begin until after Joe Biden is inaugurated. 

“I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden administration,” said McConnell.