With eight days left in the office before the formal inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden, the House will vote on Wednesday on an article of impeachment accusing Donald Trump of inciting insurrection in a speech to his followers last week before a mob of them stormed the Capitol, leaving five dead.
At least five Republicans also joined the impeachment call, including a member of the House leadership, said they would vote for his second impeachment – a prospect no president before Trump has faced.
Representative Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, said: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack” on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement, adding: “I will vote to impeach the president.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Pence rejected the move to invoke the 25th amendment to remove President Donald Trump as president, saying he will not “yield to pressure”.
In a letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pence said, “I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution.
“Last week, I did not yield to pressure to exert power beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our Nation.”
Despite the letter, the Democrats passed a resolution formally calling on Pence to invoke the constitutional authority of the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. The final vote was 223-205 in favor.
