On January 13, the House voted to impeach former President Donald Trump on the grounds of inciting an insurrection. The impeachment passed with a vote of 232 to 197, with every Democrat and shockingly 10 Republicans voting in favor of impeachment.
In a partisan nation, it is not surprising that Democrats would come up with another way to try and impeach Trump even after he has left office. With several Republican House members joining the vote to impeach Trump, many on the right are looking at 2022 to possibly challenge those 10 Republicans in the primaries. Democrats argue that Trump's actions were subversive, and these Republicans were justified in their votes, while constituents in those districts may not agree.
The group of Republicans in favor of impeachment includes Liz Cheney (WY), a prominent leader in the House GOP Caucus. She claimed that Donald Trump "…summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack… The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution." Cheney’s comments and actions did not go unnoticed; some of her fellow Republicans responded by considering a resolution that would remove her from her position.
As one might expect, most Republican House members did not want Trump to be impeached, viewing it as part of the Democrat's anti-Trump campaign. Representative Jim Jordan (OH), part of this majority, said, "It's an obsession…It's not just about impeachment anymore, it's about canceling, as I've said. Canceling the President and anyone that disagrees with them." His argument marries nicely with Republican pushback against the Trump Accountability Project, which leftist politicians created last year to eradicate conservative voices. Whether the Democrats just want Trump out of the office or perceive him as a genuine threat to public safety should be deeply considered.
Amidst the impeachment, Trump issued a statement calling for "NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind…That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers. Thank You." Many liberals saw this quote as an obvious ploy to cast himself in a better light, but Republicans believe it was him genuinely making his pure intentions known.
On Friday, January 22, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi agreed to deliver the articles of impeachment in three days. Holding their promise, the articles were delivered, and on Monday, January 25, Schumer and Mitch McConnell announced that the impeachment trial would begin on or near February 9.
We are currently in the pre-trial briefing phase of the impeachment. This period will extend up until the day before the hearing. During this time, we can expect to see a plea or series of pleas. So far, we have seen Trump’s defense be a bit unstable largely due to his original legal team of five quitting. Trump hired two new lawyers shortly before his deadline to formally respond to the accusations.
While this isn't necessarily encouraging news from the outside, Trump still has reason to feel safe. The impeachment vote in the Senate still would require every democrat and at least 17 Republican votes to go through. That is 7 more republican votes were originally cast to impeach him in the House of Representatives. How the rest of the trial plays out remains to be seen but will surely be worth the follow.