The House of Representatives is bracing for a second impeachment of President Trump, in the wake of violent insurrection at the Capitol carried out by the president’s supporters. House Democrats’ singular article of impeachment, that will be voted on by the chamber on Wednesday, cites “incitement of insurrection” by the president.
Many House Republicans warn of the potential for more division if the president is impeached for the second time, with so little time left in his term. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) opposes the impeachment measure, but House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) told colleagues to vote their conscience.
Via @mkraju: Rep. Liz Cheney, the number three Republican in the House, told members on a conference call last night tomorrow’s impeachment vote is “a vote of conscience.” Cheney hasn’t said how she plans to vote, but Republicans have yet to whip a vote, as they did in 2019.
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) January 12, 2021
Conscience votes — typically vernacular reserved for leaders when they’re not going to be pressuring their rank and file to vote one way or another. Cheney has not publicly announced how she will vote.
— Anna Palmer (@apalmerdc) January 12, 2021
Punchbowl News: House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney told Republicans she sees impeachment as "a vote of conscience — typically vernacular reserved for leaders when they're not going to be pressuring their rank and file to vote one way or another."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 12, 2021
House Democrats are overwhelmingly united behind a second impeachment, and Senate Democrats are pushing for a speedy trial in the upper chamber.