With 11 days left until president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office, the Democratic party is reportedly rushing to levy another round of impeachment articles against Donald Trump.
The calls for his removal from office come after violent protests in Washington saw the Capitol building breached and left five people dead.
Do the democrats have enough time to impeach Trump a second time? Could he be removed from office?
Here’s a look at what’s going on.
Is there enough time?
In a joint statement on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they had placed a call to Vice President Mike Pence to urge him to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Trump from office for “his incitement of insurrection and the danger he still possesses.”
“The President’s dangerous and seditious acts necessitate his immediate removal from office,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are considering lightning-quick action. A draft of their Articles of Impeachment accuses Trump of abuse of power, saying he “wilfully made statements that encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — imminent lawless action at the Capitol,” a person familiar with the details who was granted anonymity to discuss them told the Associated Press.
The articles are expected to be introduced on Monday, with a House vote as soon as Wednesday.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, who spearheaded the impeachment hearings in 2019, said the House should “act to begin impeachment proceedings,” saying it is the “only instrument wholly within our power to remove a president who has so manifestly and repeatedly violated the Constitution.”
“The exigency of the circumstances warrants a departure from the ordinary and lengthy process in the House; a resolution of impeachment focused on the attack should be brought to the House floor on a privileged basis, and upon passage, taken up by the Senate with equal expedition so that the President can be tried, and through conviction, the country can be protected from further harm,” the statement said.
The Democrats maintained a majority in the House during the general election, meaning if articles are introduced, they are expected to pass in Congress’ lower chamber with ease.
However, as the articles likely won’t be introduced until mid-week, Matthew Lebo, chair of political science at Western University said “there’s really no way that Donald Trump would be removed by the Senate before Inauguration Day.”
Biden and Harris are scheduled to be sworn into office on Jan. 20.
“It is possible that the House could pass articles of impeachment, maybe as early as Wednesday or Thursday, but then the Senate probably wouldn’t pick those up and start proceedings until the 19th or the 20th,” Lebo said.
According to a Reuters report, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell sent a memo to GOP senators outlining a possible timeline for an impeachment trial in Congress’ upper chamber.
He noted the Senate will hold its next work session on Jan. 19 and needs the consent of all 100 senators to convene sooner — meaning a trial would not begin until Trump was out of office, a source familiar with the document told the outlet.
Other consequences
Congress could also deny Trump the benefits given to ex-presidents including his pension, secret service protection or other perks given to those who served as commander-in-chief, Lebo said.
He said these are all things that could be completed after Jan. 20, and that once Trump is out of office “the floodgates will start.”
Trump could be 1st U.S. president to be impeached twice
If the Democrats are successful in their attempt, Trump would be the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.
In December 2019, Trump became only the third U.S. president to be impeached, joining Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
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