Even with less than two weeks left in President Donald Trump’s term, Rep. Katherine Clark says House Democrats are prepared to impeach the Republican president — again — after he egged supporters into storming the Capitol Building this week, resulting in the delay of the certification of Electoral College results and the deaths of now five people.
In response to reports that Vice President Mike Pence is opposed to taking the unprecedented step of exercising the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the riot Wednesday, the Massachusetts congresswoman and assistant House speaker told CNN in an interview Friday that Democrats will “proceed with every tool” they have to do so — as soon as next week.
“We know that we have limited time, but that every day that Donald Trump is president of the United States is a day of grave danger,” Clark said. “So we can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the floor for a House vote quickly.”
While both chambers of Congress are currently out of session, Clark noted that Rep. Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary chairman, has voiced support for “immediate impeachment.” Pressed on the timeline, Clark told CNN that it would be “as early as mid-next week.”
“Let’s be clear what’s at stake here, we have a president who incited a seditious mob to storm the Capitol,” she said. “We now have five deaths from that, and the harm to our democracy is really unfathomable.”
Clark’s comments comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed impeachment options with her leadership team Thursday night, according to the Associated Press. Following the news of Capitol Police officer Brain Sicknick’s death, Pelosi said the tragedy “reminds us of our obligation to those we serve: to protect our country from all threats foreign and domestic.”
Asked whether it matters if the still-Republican-controlled Senate would have the time or political will to hold the necessary post-impeachment trial to actually remove Trump from office, Clark said that she “can’t answer for the GOP.”
“They are going to have to answer to how they took that oath of office just on Sunday, and turned around and voted for this president after the actions that occurred on the Capitol,” Clark said, referring to the eight senators and 139 representatives who voted in support of objections to the election results citing baseless claims of widespread illegal voting.
Clark declined to say whether those Republicans would be formally reprimanded or censured, reiterating that Democrats were focused on addressing the pandemic and its economic fallout. The Melrose congresswoman was also asked about the constitutional question of whether Trump should be impeached and tried by the Senate after he leaves office. However, she said that “we cannot hide behind procedural rules” and that “this is the time for action.”
“We can act very quickly when we want to,” Clark said.
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Original story here.