“It’s urgent – it’s an emergency of the greatest magnitude,” the California Democrat told reporters on Thursday. “My phone exploded with ‘impeach, impeach, impeach’. ”
Top Democrats say there have been no serious discussions about accusing Trump for the second time in his presidency, something that has never been done before.
But President-elect Joe Biden has no appetite for bringing an indictment against Trump, people familiar with the matter said Thursday night as he prefers to take office in less than two weeks. “Accusations will not help unite this country,” said a person close to Biden, who added that “it should be decided by Congress.” Sources told CNN earlier Thursday that the president-elect did not intend to consider the 25th Amendment talks.
If Pence and the cabinet do not call for the 25th amendment, Democrats have discussed a process that would allow them to bypass the committee’s proceedings and move directly accused articles to the floor within two days.
Discussions are expected to intensify Friday, when House Democrats hold their first full-caucus call since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, while a growing number of members ask for an indictment.
This call, scheduled for the noon ET, will be an important moment in terms of what will take place over the next two weeks. While House Democrat supported a second accusation after House Democrat, the caucus has not met since the dramatic events took place. The call will be the first opportunity for lawmakers to speak with leadership on the accusation issue, the 25th Amendment issue and significant concerns about the safety of the Capitol.
Given the tight timeline, it is indeed not possible to institute a formal indictment as in 2019, a difficult undertaking that lasted several months.
But one option the Democrats are exploring: to present articles of indictment through a privileged resolution. This will allow the chamber to proceed with a vote within two days to accuse Trump, skip hearings, approve an organizational resolution, an inquiry and move straight to a vote.
Top Democrats in both chambers seem to accept this approach.
“We do not need a long debate,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Wednesday.
The first step is to draft the resolution, something that several Democratic members are now spreading.
The one with the most traction is drafted by representatives David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Ted Lieu of California – three members of the House Judiciary Committee. Others also suggested options, including Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar.
But serious discussions about how to proceed have yet to take shape.
“There have never been any discussions I have participated in regarding the planning to prosecute,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and part of his party’s leadership said. Jeffries reiterated to CNN that the preferred route is for the Trump administration to call for the 25th amendment.
“The sooner the better,” Jeffries said as he forced Trump out of office. “It is a weighty constitutional matter to go the way of indictment, ultimately a form of trial, conviction or removal.”
Any member can present a privileged decision, but it must be when the House is in session. It can not be a short pro forma session if no legislative matters are done. At the moment, the house will only be back Jan. 19, but Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat leader of the majority of the house did not rule out taking the house back into session next week.
Once the resolution is presented, it will automatically be put to the vote within 48 hours. With majority support, the House will accuse Trump and send it to the Senate for a hearing on whether he wants to remove him from office.
But with so little time in Trump’s presidency, Senate leader Mitch McConnell could essentially leave the clock and avoid an Senate accusation in Trump’s remaining days in office, according to Hill’s sources. .
McConnell declined to comment on the opinion of the Republican of Kentucky on the appeal of the 25th Amendment.
Accusation was not the preferred route for the day, nor was it a possible option for democratic leaders. But the momentum of members who come after it creates momentum for something that leaders did not intend to pursue.
Given the tight timeline and fleeting dynamics, nothing is a sure thing at the moment, and there is a feeling that the fabric needs to settle down a bit before an actual way of action is offered.
It is possible that Congress could take steps to ensure that if Trump is indicted, the Senate could make it so that he would never be re-elected to office. But that still requires the support of two-thirds of the Senate to make it happen.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Jeff Zeleny contributed to this story.