Republicans to break rank to vote for Trump’s impeachment
A number of Republicans have said that they will break with their party and vote to impeach President Trump for his role in last week’s riots on the Capitol Hill.
With eight days to go until the end of Trump’s term in office, lawmakers will today vote on a historic bid to throw the President out of office.
Liz Cheney, the third most prominent Republican in the House of Representatives, confirmed yesterday she would vote in favour of impeachment.
Cheney, the daughter of George Bush’s vice president Dick Cheney, said: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Three other Republicans, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton, also said that they would vote for impeachment.
The Democrats have told lawmakers that they have the 217 votes necessary to pass the vote, which would make Trump the first President to be impeached twice.
If the vote passes, there will be a trial in the Senate to determine whether to remove Trump from office.
However, with so little time left until the end of Trump’s presidency, there are concerns whether there is enough time to complete the process.
The New York Times reported that the Senate’s majority leader, Mitch McConnell, was pleased by the impeachment push, because it would make it easier to remove Trump from the Republican party.
The President, who has been reviled for the part he played in stirring up the mob that invaded Congress last week, made his first public appearance since the riots yesterday.
Speaking to reporters, he said: “What I said was totally appropriate.”