U.S. Rep. David Cicilline ’83 of Rhode Island has co-authored an article of impeachment against President Trump in light of the pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.
The article of impeachment, which was co-authored by Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, is set to be introduced in the House of Representatives Monday, according to major news outlets.
As of press time, 180 members of the House were co-sponsors of the article.
The article calls for the outgoing president, who has 10 days left in his term until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, to be impeached for “willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States.”
The resolution is the culmination of calls for Trump’s removal from office. Pressure to remove the president has grown in the days following the violence at the Capitol Wednesday, when hundreds of the president’s supporters stormed the building. The insurrection followed a nearby rally at which Trump urged his supporters to contest the legitimate results of the election and the ceremonial counting of Electoral College votes. Four civilians and one Capitol police officer died as a result of the riots.
After Wednesday’s events, Cicilline also co-signed a letter addressed to Vice President Mike Pence from the House Judiciary Committee, urging him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have signaled their preference for using the 25th Amendment over impeachment to remove Trump from office, but Pence is reportedly against the motion.
In the event that Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment, Pelosi has indicated that the House is prepared to go forward with impeachment.
If the House passes a resolution to impeach, Trump would become the first president in American history to be impeached twice. Furthermore, it would prompt a trial in the Senate that could extend into the Biden administration, as the Senate is in recess until the day before the inauguration. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is needed to convict Trump.
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