IMPEACH WEEK

Impeachment looms as fury grows over new details of Capitol attack

By OLIVIA BEAVERS

Democrats are weighing how to fast-track their plans to impeach President Donald Trump this week as new details, images and video further fuel the rage over the deadly domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and those who enabled it.

Don’t underestimate just how shaken members of Congress have been by last week’s attack. Lawmakers had to flee the House and Senate chambers just minutes before the mob broke in, and now they’re learning more about just how close we came to a much greater tragedy. They’re furious, and they want answers and accountability. And it’s not just Democrats who feel this way. Read on for more.

IMPEACH WEEK: It is not a matter of if House Democrats will try to remove Trump from office, but a matter of *how and when.*

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear in a Sunday night Dear Colleague letter: “As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

She also offered the following timeline:

-Monday: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will request Unanimous Consent to bring up the resolution from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), which calls on Vice President Mike Pence to initiate the 25th Amendment process to start removing Trump from office -- one Pence is already said to oppose.

-Tuesday: If there is no UC, then Raskin’s resolution will be “brought up on the Floor.”

-Then (precise day is unclear): If Pence doesn’t act -- and they are calling on him to respond within 24 hours -- then Democrats say they will proceed with bringing impeachment to the House floor.

As my colleagues put it: “Pelosi issued Vice President Mike Pence an ultimatum on Sunday night — invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump in the coming days or Democrats will proceed this week with impeaching the president for an unprecedented second time.”

One plan of action they’re considering is the House impeaching Trump midweek, but then Pelosi would sit on the impeachment Article rather than sending it to the Senate right away so as to not immediately trigger a Senate trial. (The Senate, by the way, is in recess until Jan. 19 so...)

The reason behind this: This possible strategy is guided by the fear that an early Senate trial would derail the upper chamber from confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominations and early agenda, with House Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close ally of Biden, saying Democrats should give Biden “the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running.”

Democrats are looking beyond just trying to impeach Trump; if he is convicted in the Senate by a two-thirds majority (a big lift in a split Senate), then they have the option to vote on barring Trump from running for office ever again even after he leaves office. Democrats intend to iron out the details in a 2 p.m. caucus call this afternoon, as they deliberate their next steps.

As it stands, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) has 211 co-signers (plus several non-voting members) with more and more Democrats saying they will vote in favor of the bill, a source told your Huddle host. That means Democrats are nearing that threshold where they have enough votes to impeach Trump -- and that’s without any GOP support. 

GOP TEMPERATURE CHECK: Your Huddle host and Melanie spent our Sunday surveying a large swath of the GOP conference to see where they're leaning on the impeachment question. And here is what we can say: a handful of Republicans appear to be seriously weighing it, but are waiting to see what Dems actually do. We’d be surprised if there wasn’t at least *one* GOP lawmaker who signs on.

Some of the members who we’re keeping an eye on: Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), John Katko (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Liz Cheney (Wyo.), and Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.). And across the Capitol, we’re looking at Sens. Pat Toomey (Pa.), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Mitt Romney (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine).

But it’s worth noting: Among the Republicans who objected to the election challenges and are now on the fence about impeachment or have decided against it, no one seems to be saying Trump doesn’t deserve to be impeached. But they are concerned about further dividing the country and putting more people's lives — including their own — at risk.

Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) and a series of other House Republicans who opposed their GOP colleagues’ anti-certification challenge wrote a letter Saturday to Biden, telling him impeaching Trump *again* with just a few days before he is out of office is “as unnecessary as it is inflammatory.” 

Censure, however, would have gained far more support in the GOP. Sources tell us that some Republicans had actually been pushing for this route and trying to get Joe Biden on board. They’re also warning impeachment could destroy his reputation with Republicans. But censure is a non-starter with Dems, who see it as a slap on the wrist that would have essentially given the GOP an easy way out.

WE SHOULD have a better feel for things later today, when the House GOP conference holds its first meeting (via conference call) since the deadly riots. Expect that to be one very emotional and raw conversation. It will also be interesting to see how House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy navigates things, knowing his conference is fiercely divided and angry right now, including at him (more on that in a bit).