After the Capitol Hill riots on Jan. 6, further steps to hold current President Donald Trump responsible for them and other ways he provoked rioters. One week after the protestors, the House voted to impeach current President Donald Trump for a second time, an event never seen in history before.  

As soon as the riots had halted and the Capitol was deemed clear, lawmakers immediately began organizing a with the intent of barring Trump from running for federal office in future elections. On a caucus call Monday, Jan. 11, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says that Democrats plan to vote the following Wednesday on the 13th whether to impeach President Trump. Impeachment is being urged by many Democrats and Republicans, if Trump is impeached, it would be making him the first president in American history to be impeached two times. 

CNN states, “The House will vote Tuesday evening on a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power, and then plan to vote Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET on the impeachment resolution, Hoyer said. Democrats formally introduced their impeachment resolution Monday, charging Trump with ‘incitement of insurrection…’”  

The single impeachment article was introduced on Monday when the House discussed Trump’s repeated false allegations of the 2020 election being “rigged” and his speech that many House members believed was addressed in order to provoke the violence that took place in attempts to overturn the counting of the electoral votes.  

The resolution states, “In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.” 

Introduced by Democrats Jamie Raskin of Maryland, David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Ted Lieu of California, the resolution also cited the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, emphasizing that it “prohibits any person who has ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against’ the United States from holding office.” 

However, House Republicans are urging Democrats not to go forward with the impeachment. The impeachment could also interfere with Biden’s agenda. On Monday, top Democrats like Hoyer said they want to go forward with impeachment, whereas other Democrats suggested waiting until after Biden’s first 100 days in office. It is likely that the trial will not be held until after the beginning of the Biden administration due to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stating he will not bring the Senate back from recess prior to Jan. 19. 

Biden, on Monday, Jan. 11, spoke at a press conference stating that there is a possibility that the impeachment trial may make it harder for him and his Cabinet to pass another stimulus bill aiding those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  

Chuck Schumer, Senator Minority Leader, will take over control of the chamber when, on Jan. 20, Biden in sworn into office. Schumer is currently considering utilizing emergency authority in attempt for the Senate to reconvene prior to Trump’s departure from office. Schumer told Buffalo News that he does not plan for the Senate trial to hinder Biden’s agenda, no matter the difficulty faced.  

“We’re going to have to do several things at once, but we got to move the agenda as well,” Schumer said. “Yes, we’ve got to do both.” 

Both the Senate and Biden have been planning and strategizing for a trial, starting at most days after the Capitol riots, and Democrats pushed forward with an impeachment vote. Cicilline states on Monday that they are ready to go forward with impeaching Donald Trump. Cicilline also predicts that a few of the Republicans would even vote for it, contrary to 2019 vote to impeach Trump.  

Cicilline also states, “I expect that we’ll have Republican support. I think it’s urgent that the President be removed immediately.” 

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, the House moved forward with their hearing and voted to impeach Donald Trump on the basis of Incitement for Insurrection. In the vote, ten Republicans joined Democrats, including the House’s No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, resulting in a vote 232 to 197.  

Time states in a Q&A with Pelosi, speaker of the House, “’Apart from declaring war, this is the most important thing that the Congress can do,’ she finally says. ‘I’m most proud of the Affordable Care Act. But this is the most serious initiative that I’ve been involved in in my career.’” 

After the House vote, Trump released a video containing his statement given in remarks to violence incited at the Capitol on Jan. 6. In the video clip, Trump did not mention the historic vote that had occurred shortly before, rather, he was attempting to bring tranquility to his supporters and those who had rioted at Capitol Hill. 

Trump states, “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there is something so compelling and so overwhelming and bipartisan — bipartisan? It was 197 to nothing. Then one failed presidential candidate, and I call that half a vote because he actually voted for us on the other one. But we had one failed presidential candidate. That’s the only half a vote we lost. So we had almost 53 to nothing. We had 197 to nothing.” 

After the release of Trump’s video in response to his impeachment hearing, president-elect Joe Biden addressed Congress. In his statement, he pointed out that “it was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience,” before addressing the coronavirus issue. 

Biden further states, “This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy. I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.” 

What happens now? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not intend on bringing back the Senate prior to Biden’s inauguration. This means that Trump will likely not leave office before Biden is sworn in due to the impeachment charge not requiring Trump’s removal. 

CNN Politics states, “The majority leader said in a statement following the vote that a trial could not be completed ahead of Biden’s inauguration even if it started beforehand, and he wanted Congress and the executive branch to spend the next week focused on ‘facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power.’”