On Wednesday, January 13, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach the incumbent President Donald Trump. Trump's impeachment marks the first time in American history that a President has been impeached twice.
The debate and the voting process was broadcast online by CNN.
The House voted 232 to 197 to impeach Trump exactly one week after rioters forced lawmakers to flee from the very chamber in which they certified the election. Ten Republicans, including the House's No. 3 Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, joined all Democrats to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection".
Trump now faces trial in the upper chamber, the Senate, but not before he leaves office next Wednesday. The decision must be supported by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. However, the indictment may be a stretch, as nearly half of the Senate is controlled by Republicans. While impeachment won't force Trump from office -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said Trump won't face his trial until after President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in next week -- the vote was a visceral response from lawmakers in both parties furious at Trump after a deadly pro-Trump mob overran Capitol Police, ransacked the US Capitol and put the lives of Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers in danger. Moreover, the Senate simply will not have time to consider the impeachment before the inauguration of newly elected President Joe Biden.
After the House vote, Trump released a video statement calling for calm as the threat of new riots — which the President said he'd been briefed on by the Secret Service — casts a pall over Washington. Trump did not mention the historic impeachment that had occurred a few hours earlier.
Meanwhile, President-Elect Joe Biden has also addressed Congress. "It was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience... This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy," Biden said. "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."
Even though the impeachment became more of a symbolic step, this could play against Trump in the future, as he may not be allowed to run for other offices.