House Impeachment Vote: Live Updates

Updated Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m. ET

The Senate begins its impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump Tuesday.

Last month, the House approved a single article of impeachment, charging him with "incitement of insurrection" over the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

"Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States," the article argues, citing his false claims of election fraud in the months leading up to the riot — which he repeated on Jan. 6 — and a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump urged him to "find" votes to overturn the results there.

The impeachment article says that during an address to supporters on the day of the violence, Trump "willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol, such as: 'if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a county anymore.' "

The House approved the article 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in favor of the resolution. The Jan. 13 vote made Trump the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. It will require two-thirds of senators, 67 votes, to convict Trump, a prospect considered unlikely.

Read the full article below (see it in its original form here) and watch the House clerk read the text during last month's debate.

Resolution impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Resolved, the Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE 1: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment" and that the President "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment, for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Further, section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits any person who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against" the United States from "hold[ing] and office ... under the United States.' In his conduct while President of the United States — and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, provide, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed — Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States, in that:

On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. In the months preceding the Joint Session, President Trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials. Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. There, he reiterated false claims that "we won this election, and we won it by a landslide." He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol, such as: "if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore." Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the Joint Session's solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive and seditious acts.

President Trump's conduct on January 6, 2021, followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Those prior efforts included a phone call on January 2, 2021, during which President Trump urged the secretary of state of Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, to "find" enough votes to overturn the Georgia Presidential election results and threatened Secretary Raffensperger if he failed to do so.

In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.

This post was originally published on Jan. 11, ahead of the House impeachment.

President Trump has become the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives delivered the historic rebuke to Trump on Wednesday afternoon — exactly one week after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in a rampage that led to five deaths, including that of a Capitol Police officer.

The article of impeachment charges Trump with "incitement of insurrection."

Some 13 months ago, all House Republicans voted against the president's first impeachment. On Wednesday, 10 GOP members joined with all Democrats to impeach Trump.

"My vote to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision. I am not choosing a side; I am choosing truth," one of those Republicans, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, said on the House floor before Wednesday's vote.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is defending his decision to object to the Electoral College results of two states during Congress' tallying of the votes last week, offering the opinions of his constituents as the cornerstone of his explanation.

"Many, many citizens in Missouri have deep concerns about election integrity," he wrote in an op-ed in the Southeast Missourian. "For months, I heard from these Missourians — writing, calling my office, stopping me to talk. They want Congress to take action to see that our elections at every level are free, fair, and secure. They have a right to be heard in Congress."

The op-ed follows a period of harsh pushback against the senator after his objection following the deadly riot at the Capitol by protesters loyal to President Trump. Some of his fellow Senate Republicans have criticized him, and his political mentor and a major financial backer have also spoken out against Hawley.

The senator, however, defended his action, writing: "As their representative, it is my duty to speak on their behalf. That is just what I did last week."

Public opinion doesn't dictate whether there should be additional investigations into election fraud, an allegation made — without basis — by Hawley, along with Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and others. It is an allegation that state election officials and Trump's Justice Department have forcefully refuted.

Hawley pointed to past objections lodged by Democrats during the Electoral College tallying process in Congress. In 2005, Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Sen. Barbara Boxer objected to Ohio's electors, believing there were irregularities in the state's election. In that case, the House and Senate each swiftly rejected the objections.

"They were within their rights to do so," Hawley wrote. "The Joint Session is the forum where concerns about an election can be raised, debated, and ultimately resolved with a vote."

The purpose of convening Congress on Jan. 6 was to formally tally the votes of the Electoral College, not relitigate election matters. Various concerns over state elections had already been raised — and rejected — in courts.

Hawley also wrote he condemns the violence perpetrated last week at the Capitol, saying it "undermines the democratic process by which we settle our disputes and threatens our democratic life."

Hawley has been rebuked, along with Cruz, by Democrats and Republicans alike for what they see as fanning the flames that led to the mob violence. He was photographed early on the afternoon of Jan. 6 raising his fist in seeming solidarity with the crowd that would go on to breach the Capitol.

"They were complicit in the big lie, this lie that Donald Trump won the election in a landslide, and it was all stolen," Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. "They compounded that with this notion that somehow this could all be reversed in the final moments of the congressional proceedings."

At least five senators have called on Hawley and Cruz to resign.

Criticism from his colleagues isn't the only blowback Hawley has received in recent days.

Simon & Schuster announced it would not publish his forthcoming book, citing his role in provoking the "disturbing [and] deadly insurrection" at the Capitol.

Hawley reacted by calling the decision an "assault on the First Amendment."

Additionally, former Republican Sen. John Danforth of Missouri has expressed regret at his recruitment of Hawley to run for the Senate in 2018, calling it the "biggest mistake I've ever made in my life."

As a sixth Republican came forward on the House floor to announce support for impeaching President Trump, the president issued a statement calling for calm amid FBI warnings of demonstrations leading up to Inauguration Day.

"I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind," Trump said in the statement issued by the White House press office.

"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."

A strong and clear condemnation of violence is something that Republican lawmakers have been urging the president to deliver since a mob of extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol last week as lawmakers worked to certify the Nov. 3 election results. Five people died as a result of the riot.

Trump has been criticized for encouraging his supporters to head to the Capitol, failing to take quick action to stop the riot and soft-pedaling his response to the Jan. 6 insurrection. He initially downplayed the events of the day, repeated his baseless claims that the election was stolen, and after the riot, said to supporters: "We love you. You're very special." He amended his response a day later, describing the breach as "a heinous attack."

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, a close ally of Trump's, read the president's statement during the impeachment debate.

White House officials declined to comment on whether Trump was watching the impeachment proceedings, and how or whether he is preparing for his defense. On Tuesday, Trump expressed no regret for his comments ahead of the riot and lashed out again at impeachment, calling it "divisive" and saying "it causes a lot of problems and a lot of danger."

Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel also released a statement related to the FBI warning about protests, saying, "Anyone who has malicious intent is not welcome in Washington, D.C., or in any other state capitol."

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy added his name to a shortlist of Republicans in Congress who unequivocally blamed President Trump for the insurrection at the Capitol last week.

But with seven days to go in the Trump presidency, he said he will not be voting for impeachment and said he might instead be in favor of a fact-finding commission and possibly censure, items with even less teeth than impeaching but not removing a president.

"The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters," said McCarthy, who, during the riot, publicly and privately urged Trump to call for calm.

While McCarthy criticized Trump's role in inflaming last week's violence, he joined the majority of his caucus and objected to the certification of the Electoral College results that Trump had called for and were the focal point of the rioters' anger.

McCarthy, who was once thought to be a potential Trump chief of staff, also swatted down false conspiracy theories that antifa and left-wing groups were actually responsible for the violence.

"Some say the riots were caused by antifa," McCarthy said. There's absolutely no evidence of that and conservatives should be the first to say so."

And yet it's something that has become pervasive on the not-so-far-right-wing and in parts of conservative media — despite the nation watching on television the thousands marching from a Trump rally outside the White House to the Capitol, flying Trump flags and inspired by Trump's loss and lie that the election was stolen from him.

That's also despite evidence showing some pro-Trump supporters plotted and planned the insurrection ahead of time online.

Here are McCarthy's comments in fuller context:

"Most Americans want neither inaction nor retribution," McCarthy said, despite surveys showing a majority of the country in favor of impeaching and removing Trump from office. Most Republicans do not, however.

"They want durable, bipartisan justice. That path is still available, but is not the path we are on today. That doesn't mean the president is free from fault. The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.

"These facts require immediate action from President Trump — accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest and ensure that President-Elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term. And the president's immediate action also deserves congressional action, which is why I think a fact-finding commission and a censure resolution would be prudent. Unfortunately, that is not where we are today."

For the second time in his presidency, the House is moving to impeach Donald Trump, who will become the first president in history to undergo such a rebuke.

Throughout Wednesday's debate, Democrats portrayed Trump as an ongoing threat to the country and democracy, while Republicans largely either defended the president or argued that the impeachment process would only cause further division.

Pelosi's opening remarks

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the debate for Democrats, quoting Abraham Lincoln: "Fellow citizens, he said, we cannot escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves."

Pelosi referred to last week's storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters that prompted Democrats to begin efforts to remove him from office, one week before President-elect Joe Biden's swearing-in.

"We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country. He must go," Pelosi said, calling Trump "a clear and present danger to the nation we all love."

Pelosi said Trump "must be impeached, and I believe the President must be convicted by the Senate, a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man, who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear, and that hold us together."

Jordan's opening remarks

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, one of Trump's staunchest backers, and whom Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom earlier this week, spoke first for Republicans. "We should be focused on bringing the nation together," Jordan said. "Instead, Democrats are going to impeach the president for a second time, one week — one week — before he leaves office."

Jordan said, "They want to cancel the president."

Apparently referring to Twitter and Facebook's decision not to allow Trump to post on their platforms for fear he will encourage further violence, Jordan asked, "Do you have a First Amendment when the cancel culture only allows one side to talk? When you can't even have a debate in this country, this great country, the greatest country ever?"

Jordan warned, "It needs to stop, because if it continues, it won't just be Republicans who get canceled, it won't just be the president of the United States — the cancel culture will come for us all."

Update at 5 p.m. ET: Special coverage of this event has ended. Follow more updates on NPR.org.

The House of Representatives passed an article of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

The resolution lists "incitement of insurrection," charging that Trump's comments to supporters on Jan. 6 led to a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that temporarily forced lawmakers into hiding and left at least five people dead.

The impeachment resolution reads: "President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."

Unlike Trump's first impeachment, Democrats now have support from some Republican members as well, including the No. 3 House Republican, Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

"There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," Cheney said in a statement released Tuesday evening. In total, 10 Republicans voted for impeachment.

The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol is "the darkest day" of his career in Congress, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in his opening statement Wednesday as the House prepared to take up a resolution to impeach President Trump.

But pursuing impeachment, Cole said, would only further divide the country. And he noted that the effort comes one week before Trump is set to leave office.

"I can think of no action the House can take that is more likely to further divide the American people than the action we are contemplating today," Cole said.

He spoke of the need to heal the country — an idea other Republicans also discussed in their short snippets of allotted time during the two-hour debate. And like others, Cole said the impeachment process is being rushed.

Cole, the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, spoke just after Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who chairs the committee. Both lawmakers gave their accounts of what happened during the insurrection on Jan. 6, along with the president's role in it — and what should happen next.

"We are coming off a horrific event that resulted in six deaths," Cole said.

Warning that the process could overshadow the incoming administration, he added, "We have an opportunity to move forward, but we cannot if the majority insists on bringing the country through the trauma of another impeachment."

Urging his colleagues to vote against impeaching Trump for the second time in 13 months, Cole said there are other remedies to last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"The president is expected to face litigation over his role in last Wednesday's events," Cole said. "There will be criminal proceedings against the perpetrators, and I hope all those who stormed the Capitol will be brought to justice. And some members have proposed an alternative procedure, censuring the president, which could garner significant bipartisan support in the House."

Here's how Cole described the events of last week, as Congress worked to certify the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The following is an excerpt from his speech:

"What started out as peaceful protests turned into a riot, as an untold number of individuals stormed the Capitol building. Six people died as a result of this mob, and it is only by the grace of God and the brave acts of the U.S. Capitol Police, the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police, the FBI, the ATF and other responding agencies that there was not more bloodshed. Violent acts such as these have no place in our republic.

"These shocking and sobering events rest high on our minds today, as well they should. Certainly, Jan. 6, 2021, will live in my memory as the darkest day during my time of service as a member of this House.

"After these grave events, we – as a nation, and as an institution – have an opportunity to come together. President Trump has conceded the 2020 election. Congress has certified the results of the election. And next Wednesday, President-elect Biden will be sworn in as the president of the United States. Congress and the nation can move forward, knowing that the political process was completed as designed and that the constitutional framework that has governed our republic since 1789 held firm.

"But instead of moving forward as a unifying force, the majority in the House is choosing to divide us further. With only a week to go in his term, the majority is asking us to consider a resolution impeaching President Trump. And they do so knowing full well that, even if the House passes this resolution, the Senate will not be able to begin considering these charges until after President Trump's term ends.

"Mr. Speaker, I can think of no action the House can take that is more likely to further divide the American people than the action we are contemplating today. Emotions are clearly running high, and political divisions have never been more apparent in my lifetime. We desperately need to seek a path toward healing for the American people.

"So it is unfortunate that a path to support healing is not the path the majority has chosen today. Instead, the House is moving forward erratically, with a truncated process that does not comport with modern practice and that will give members no time to contemplate this serious course of action.

"In every modern impeachment inquiry, an investigation and committee action has preceded bringing an impeachment resolution to the floor. In part, this is to ensure that members have full facts, the opportunity to engage expert witness and have the chance to be heard. It also provides due process to the president of the United States, and again, in every modern impeachment inquiry the president has been given an opportunity to be heard in some form or another. This is necessary in order to ensure that the American people have confidence in the procedures the House is following. And it is also necessary not because the president's inappropriate and reckless words are deserving of a defense, but because the presidency itself demands due process in impeachment proceedings.

"Unfortunately, the majority has chosen to race to the floor with a new article of impeachment, forgoing any investigation, any committee process or any chance for members to fully contemplate this course of action before proceeding. [George Washington University law] professor Jonathan Turley is correct when he called this a 'dangerous snap impeachment – an impeachment that effectively would go to a vote without the deliberation or inquiries of a traditional hearing.'

"Professor Turley also noted that 'the damage caused by the rioters this week was enormous, however it will pale in comparison to the damage from a new precedent of a snap impeachment...' If the majority is seeking consensus, this is hardly the way to create it. The majority is failing to provide the House with an opportunity to review all of the facts – which are still coming to light – to discuss all of the evidence, to listen to scholars, to examine the witnesses and to consider precedents. This is not the type of robust process we have followed for every modern impeachment, and the failure to do so does a great disservice to this institution and to this country.

"Mr. Speaker, I can think of nothing that will cause further division more than the path the majority is now taking. Rather than looking ahead to a new administration, the majority is again seeking to settle scores against the old one. Rather than seeking to heal America, they are seeking to divide us more deeply."

In an hourlong Instagram Live video Tuesday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., described her personal experience last week when a violent mob of pro-Trump extremists breached the Capitol and forced lawmakers into hiding.

"I had a pretty traumatizing event happen to me," she described. "And I do not know if I can even disclose the full details of that event, due to security concerns. But I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die."

She added: "Wednesday [Jan. 6] was an extremely traumatizing event, and it is not an exaggeration to say that many, many members of the House were nearly assassinated. It's just not an exaggeration to say that at all. We were very lucky that things happened within certain minutes that allowed members to escape the House floor unharmed. But many of us narrowly escaped death."

Ocasio-Cortez has made connecting directly with constituents through social media a part of her brand, taking them behind the scenes into what life as a congresswoman is like, hosting candid conversations and sharing videos such as her receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.

In her video on Tuesday, she said she felt unsafe in the secure room where she was held with other lawmakers while the Capitol was under lockdown.

"I myself did not even feel safe going to that extraction point, because there were QAnon and white supremacist sympathizers and frankly white supremacist members of Congress in that extraction point, who I know, and who I had felt would disclose my location and allow me to, who would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, etc."

She also pointed to several Republican members' refusal to wear masks while under lockdown, which she said endangered the lives of her colleagues.

At least three Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for the coronavirus in the days following the insurrection.

"We are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said Wednesday morning, discussing House Resolution 24, the measure that would impeach President Trump for the second time. He was speaking in the same chamber that was evacuated one week ago as a mob of pro-Trump extremists breached security and flooded into the halls of Congress.

McGovern, who chairs the House Rules Committee, led off debate that was to be evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats. McGovern and Republican Rep. Tom Cole, the ranking member on the Rules Committee, then spoke before parceling out time in 1- and 2-minute increments to their colleagues.

Recalling the events of last Wednesday, McGovern said Congress was disrupted as it was performing one of its core duties in service of American democracy: certifying the election.

"But at a rally just a mile and a half down Pennsylvania Avenue, Donald Trump and his allies were stoking the anger of a violent mob," McGovern said. "A member of this very body proclaimed on that stage, 'Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking a**.' "

McGovern then gave his account of Trump's speech and the events that follow, saying the president incited a coup:

"Trump told the crowd, 'We're going to have to fight much harder. You will never take back our country with weakness.'

"Even though, according to his own administration, this election was the most secure in our history, Donald Trump repeated his big lie: that this election was an egregious assault on democracy. Vice President Pence, he said, was going to have to come through for us. Trump then told this mob to walk down to the Capitol.

"The symbol was unmistakable. These thugs should stage a coup, so Donald Trump can hang on to power, the people's will be damned. This beacon of democracy became the site of a vicious attack.

"Rioters chanted, 'Hang Mike Pence,' as a noose and gallows were built a stone's throw from the Capitol steps. Capitol Police officers were beaten and sprayed with pepper spray. Attackers hunted down lawmakers to hold them hostage, or worse. Staff barricaded doors. People sent text messages to their families to tell them they love them. They thought they were saying goodbye, Mr. Speaker.

"This was not a protest. This was an insurrection. This was a well-organized attack on our country that was incited by Donald Trump. Domestic terrorists broke into the United States Capitol that day, and it's a miracle more people didn't die. As my colleagues and I were being evacuated to safety. I never, ever will forget what I saw when I looked into the eyes of those attackers right in the speaker's lobby there. I saw evil, Mr. Speaker.

"Our country came under attack, not from a foreign nation, but from within. These were not protesters, these were not patriots. These were traitors. These were domestic terrorists, Mr. Speaker. And they were acting under the orders of Donald Trump.

"Some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that we just move on from this horror. But to gloss over it would be an abdication of our duty. Others on the Republican side have talked about unity. But we can't have unity without truth and without accountability, and I'm not about to be lectured by people who just voted to overturn the results of a free and fair election."

Watch his full remarks:

As the House debated impeaching President Trump, security was heightened Wednesday all around the Capitol, with barricades set several blocks from the Capitol building and law enforcement and national guard officials checking badges for anyone to enter the perimeter even by foot.

Many vehicles were turned away in lines of snaking traffic around the Capitol complex. The Capitol itself is blanketed with extra layers of law enforcement personnel and extra checks for security. U.S. Capitol Police took extra steps screening bags and individuals entering the building, taking closer look at badges and asking more questions.

National Guard personnel were stationed in the Capitol Visitor Center for several hours overnight, with hundreds of them sleeping in the Congressional Visitors Center early in the morning.

A new magnetometer was added to the entrance for reporters into the House Gallery.

The steps are an unprecedented response to last week's riot at the Capitol by protesters loyal to Trump. The president's role in that riot is at the heart of the single article of impeachment against him: incitement of insurrection. Trump has said his words prior to the violence were "totally appropriate."

Trump, who was previously impeached in December 2019, would be the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

Updated at 5:50 p.m. ET

The House of Representatives has impeached President Trump for the second time in 13 months — making him the only president to have received the rebuke twice. Despite the historic nature of a twice-impeached, one-term president, it is extremely unlikely that Trump will be removed from office through impeachment, as the Senate will not reconvene until Jan. 19 — the day before President-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated.

During the last House vote, in December 2019, all Republicans opposed the move, arguing that the effort was politically driven. But on Wednesday, 10 GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in pointing the finger at the president for using rhetoric that helped spark the violent insurrection at the Capitol a week ago that left at least five dead.

In total, 222 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted to impeach the president.

The next step in the process is transmitting the article of impeachment to the Senate, then preparation for a Senate trial. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not consent to bringing the Senate back earlier than next Tuesday.

"I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration," McConnell said in a statement.

"I am grateful to the offices and institutions within the Capitol that are working around the clock, alongside federal and local law enforcement, to prepare for a safe and successful inauguration at the Capitol next Wednesday."

That tight timeline makes it nearly impossible for the Senate to convict and remove Trump from office before the president-elect is sworn in. Regardless, a Senate trial is expected.

The impeachment resolution on the House floor Wednesday, which passed 232-197, consisted of an article citing "incitement of insurrection."

The resolution states: "President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."

The House Judiciary Committee released a report Tuesday evening that lays out the events of the stunning siege at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and the argument that the president poses an "imminent threat" and that "his continued presence in office is a clear and present danger to the United States."

It concludes: "The facts establish that he is unfit to remain in office a single day longer, and warrant the immediate impeachment of President Trump."

Trump on Tuesday criticized the effort to impeach him for a second time, defending the speech he made to his supporters last week, in which he urged them to go to the Capitol, where Congress was certifying that Biden had won the presidential election. A violent mob then stormed the building, forcing Vice President Pence, lawmakers and staff to seek shelter.

The president, pressed by reporters traveling with him on a trip to Alamo, Texas, about what his role and responsibility were for the violence, insisted he was not to blame.

"They've analyzed my speech and my words and my final paragraph, my final sentence, and everybody to the T thought it was totally appropriate," Trump said. But his speech has been condemned widely, including by Republicans, for setting off the riot.

How It Happened And What's Next

The House debate and vote

The House convened at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday. After some housekeeping, followed by debate and a vote on the rules, members began two hours of debate on the resolution itself, divided equally between Republicans and Democrats.

A lawmaker from each party managed the debate, calling on members to speak and designating a set amount of time for each speech. (Read the opening statements from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan here.)

Republican split

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House GOP leader, announced Tuesday she would vote yes, with a scathing statement blaming Trump directly for the riot.

"There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," Cheney said.

A series of other Republican supporters of impeachment followed.

Last week, a majority of the House GOP caucus backed up the president and voted for objections to two states' electoral results — just hours after the attack. But as details emerged about how pro-Trump extremists arrested in recent days have cited the president as inspiring their actions, the number of Republicans willing to rebuke him grew. The number who ended up voting yes reached 10.

Vote amid pandemic and new security and rules

After last week's attack, the top security official in the House is now requiring all lawmakers and staff to be screened before they enter the House chamber. Magnetometers are set up at the main entrances, and some Republican members complained about them or walked around them onto the floor Tuesday evening, disregarding the new security measures.

Members were reminded that House guidelines require any members with licensed firearms to restrict them to their offices. New fines were instituted for those who decline to wear masks.

Votes, which typically last 15 minutes, are now extended because social distancing guidelines require lawmakers to vote in staggered groups to cut down on too many people congregating on the floor.

Senate trial timing

It's unclear how quickly Pelosi will transmit the impeachment resolution to the Senate. On Wednesday, McConnell confirmed that he would not consent to reconvening the Senate early for a trial — a possibility that incoming Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had been exploring. Without agreement between McConnell and Schumer, the expected impeachment trial will almost certainly begin after Trump leaves office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced a group of nine Democrats who will serve as impeachment managers during the Senate trial. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland will be lead manager; he worked as a constitutional law professor before running for Congress. The other eight have legal backgrounds: Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Eric Swalwell of California, Ted Lieu of California, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, as well as Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It's unclear who will lead the debate for the Republicans since the GOP leadership is split on impeachment. But strong Trump allies like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a QAnon follower, were among those defending the president's actions during Tuesday's debate on the resolution about invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump.

Biden allies have openly worried that starting out his term with an impeachment trial would hamper the new administration from getting its early priorities through Congress, like another coronavirus relief package. For his part, Biden said he is consulting with senators and the parliamentarian about setting up a schedule that would devote half of the day to the impeachment trial and half to confirming his Cabinet nominees and considering legislation.

Once the elections of the two Democrats who won the Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia are certified and the two are sworn in, Democrats will gain control of the Senate, as the chamber will be evenly split 50-50, with the incoming vice president, Kamala Harris, breaking the tie to give her party the majority. Leaders will have to draft an impeachment resolution to set the rules for how a trial would work.

NPR White House editor Roberta Rampton contributed to this story.

NPR political reporter Alana Wise contributed to this report.

The Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution Tuesday night calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to assume the powers of the presidency.

The resolution, introduced by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, argues that President Trump has demonstrated an "inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office," including defending democracy, in the wake of a insurrection by pro-Trump extremists who breached the U.S. Capitol.

Ahead of the vote, Pence dismissed the idea that he would invoke the amendment, which would involve him convening the Cabinet and garnering a majority of its support to become acting president. His response prompts the House to continue with efforts to impeach the president for a second time on Wednesday.

Just one Republican broke rank to join Democrats in supporting the resolution, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Updated at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday

In a significant move, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., chair of the House Republican Conference, said she will vote to impeach President Trump, making her the first member of House GOP leadership to announce publicly support of impeachment.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, Cheney described the violent mob that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, causing destruction and death.

"Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough," her statement reads. "The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing."

The No. 3 Republican in the House added: "None of this would have happened without the President. 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."

The House vote on impeachment is anticipated to take place on Wednesday, one week after pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to delay by several hours their constitutional duty of tallying the Electoral College votes from the Nov. 3 election. The article of impeachment says Trump incited the insurrection.

Trump on Tuesday called the move to impeach him "ridiculous" and said it's "causing tremendous danger to our country."

Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and who has often criticized Trump, will be joined in voting yes on impeachment by Republican colleagues Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, John Katko of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection," Kinzinger wrote in a statement. "So in assessing the articles of impeachment brought before the House, I must consider: if these actions – the Article II branch inciting a deadly insurrection against the Article I branch – are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?"

Katko also released a statement on Tuesday saying, "It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection."

"To allow the President of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy. For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action," he said.

Upton expressed his reluctance, saying in a statement he would have preferred censure to a longer impeachment process, "But it is time to say: Enough is enough."

Speaking on the floor Wednesday afternoon, Newhouse said, "With a heavy heart and clear resolve, I will vote yes on these articles of impeachment."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., commended Cheney's decision, telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday night: "Good for her to be honoring the oath of office. Would that more Republicans would be honoring their oaths of office now."

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., shared a harrowing account of her experience at the U.S. Capitol last week, as she fled a violent mob of pro-Trump extremists who breached the building.

"I was 1 of 12 trapped in the House gallery. I heard the shot being fired. I saw the smoke from the tear gas having been deployed," she recounted during a House rules committee meeting Tuesday.

"I was in the last group to be evacuated. We ran down the halls, stairs near a mob that was being held on the ground at gunpoint. I sheltered for four to five hours in a room that was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people."

She added: "While running for my life, I answered my phone to my son Christopher," she described, emotionally. "The call lasted 27 seconds. All I could say, 'Sweetheart, I'm OK. I'm running for my life,' and I hung up."

Torres urged her Republican colleagues to support a measure that will be voted on later on Tuesday that calls on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, declaring Trump incapable of executing his duties.

"There is no debate as to who misled those people, who sent them here to ravage our Capitol, who it was who undermined our American democracy. President Trump, that's who it was," Torres said. "He called for insurrection on social media, on a stage with television cameras capturing his every word. I'm saddened that my colleagues will dare to stand on that stage, and do the same."

Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan pushed back on the Democratic-led effort, which has some Republican support.

"Congress needs to stop this. This effort to remove the president from office just one week before he is set to leave, continued calls to impeach the president or remove him from office using the 25th amendment — I don't think are healthy for our nation," Jordan said in Tuesday's hearing.

The resolution before the House on the 25th Amendment, and the article of impeachment drafted against Trump, both cite his repeated false claims of widespread election fraud as part of the motivator for last week's insurrection.

Jordan, who has also raised questions about alleged irregularities, was repeatedly pressed in Tuesday's hearing to affirm that the election was not rigged against Trump.

Jordan repeatedly dodged the question and instead persisted with questioning some of the election processes in various states, "Of course I understand Joe Biden won, but are you saying there are no concerns in this election?"

Despite intense criticism of Trump's response to the insurrection, Trump has expressed no regret for his comments on Jan. 6 that many lawmakers blame for inciting his supporters to breach the Capitol while Congress was tallying the Electoral College votes from the Nov. 3 election.

Torres argued the resolution on the 25th Amendment is not a "political document" and said, "anyone who says otherwise is being irresponsible and is continuing to advance a hateful agenda of Donald Trump."

"Ask yourselves: Is gunfire in the speaker's lobby a new normal that you're willing to accept? Should ransacked offices be part of the job, going forward, a relic from our time in service that future members will have to deal with? And if it's not, ask yourselves, what are you willing to do about it? Do you have the courage to stand up for basic American principles?"

Torres pointed to impending protests in Washington, D.C., and state capitols across the country during the week of the presidential inauguration and said Pence taking the step of invoking the 25th amendment "cannot come soon enough."

"I urge Vice President Pence, to do the right thing, not for you, sir, not for me, not for anyone of us here in Congress. But for the future of America, we are counting on you to do the right thing and invoke the 25th Amendment."

Updated 11:35 p.m. ET

Vice President Pence says he will not invoke the 25th Amendment to declare President Trump incapable of executing his duties.

Pence's stance came in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., before the House approved a measure calling on the vice president to invoke the amendment.

The resolution cites Trump's attempts to intervene in the vote counting of the Nov. 3 election — including his call to Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — as well as his language to supporters at a rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 ahead of the siege at the Capitol building.

"While violent insurrectionists occupied parts of the Capitol, President Trump ignored or rejected repeated real-time entreaties from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to appeal to his followers to exit the Capitol," states the measure, submitted by Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin.

The House will vote on an article of impeachment on Wednesday. Some House Republicans have said they plan to support impeaching the president, including the No. 3 Republican in the House, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Read the full text of the 25th Amendment resolution below.

RESOLUTION calling on Vice President Michael R. Pence to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare President Donald J. Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting President.

Whereas on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the day fixed by the Constitution for the counting of electoral votes, Congress experienced a massive violent invasion of the United States Capitol and its complex by a dangerous insurrectionary mob which smashed windows and used violent physical force and weapons to overpower and outmaneuver the United States Capitol Police and facilitated the illegal entry into the Capitol of hundreds, if not thousands, of unauthorized persons (all of whom entered the Capitol complex without going through metal detectors and other security screening devices);

Whereas, the insurrectionary mob threatened the safety and lives of the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate, the first three individuals in the line of succession to the presidency, as the rioters were recorded chanting ''Hang Mike Pence'' and ''Where's Nancy'' when President Donald J. Trump tweeted to his supporters that ''Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country'' after the Capitol had been overrun and the Vice President was in hiding;

Whereas the insurrectionary mob attacked law enforcement officers, unleashed chaos and terror among Members and staffers and their families, occupied the Senate Chamber and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office along with other leadership offices, vandalized and pilfered government property, and succeeded in interfering with the counting of electoral votes in the joint session of Congress;

Whereas the insurrectionary mob's violent attacks on law enforcement and invasion of the Capitol complex caused the unprecedented disruption of the Electoral College count process for a 4-hour period in both the House and the Senate, a dangerous and destabilizing impairment of the peaceful transfer of power that these insurrectionary riots were explicitly designed to cause;

Whereas 5 Americans have died as a result of injuries or traumas suffered during this violent attack on Congress and the Capitol, including Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick and Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, and Benjamin Phillips, and more than 50 police officers were seriously injured, including 15 officers who had to be hospitalized, by violent assaults, and there could easily have been dozens or hundreds more wounded and killed, a sentiment captured by Senator Lindsey Graham, who observed that ''the mob could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all'';

Whereas these insurrectionary protests were widely advertised and broadly encouraged by President Donald J. Trump, who repeatedly urged his millions of followers on Twitter and other social media outlets to come to Washington on January 6 to ''Stop the Steal'' of the 2020 Presidential election and promised his activist followers that the protest on the Electoral College counting day would be ''wild'';

Whereas President-elect Joseph R. Biden won the 2020 Presidential election with more than 81 million votes and defeated President Trump 306–232 in the Electoral College, a margin pronounced to be a ''landslide'' by President Trump when he won by the same Electoral College numbers in 2016, but President Trump never accepted these election results as legitimate and waged a protracted campaign of propaganda and coercive pressure in the Federal and State courts, in the state legislatures, with Secretaries of State, and in Congress to nullify and overturn these results and replace them with fraudulent and fabricated numbers;

Whereas President Trump made at least 3 attempts to intervene in the lawful vote counting and certification process in Georgia and to coerce officials there into fraudulently declaring him the winner of the State's electoral votes, including calls to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and a State elections investigator, and an hour-long conversation with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger badgering him to ''find 11,780 votes'' and warning of a ''big risk'' to Raffensperger if he did not intervene favorably to guarantee the reelection of President Trump;

Whereas President Trump appeared with members of his staff and family at a celebratory kickoff rally to encourage and charge up the rioters and insurrectionists to ''march on the Capitol'' and ''fight'' on Wednesday, January 6, 2021;

Whereas while violent insurrectionists occupied parts of the Capitol, President Trump ignored or rejected repeated real-time entreaties from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to appeal to his followers to exit the Capitol, and also ignored a tweet from Alyssa Farah, his former communications director, saying: ''Condemn this now, @realDonaldTrump—you are the only one they will listen to. For our country!'';

Whereas photographs, cell phone videos, social media posts, and on-the-ground reporting show that numerous violent insurrectionists who invaded the Capitol were armed, were carrying police grade flex cuffs to detain and handcuff people, used mace, pepper spray, and bear spray against United States Capitol Police officers, erected a gallows on Capitol grounds to hang ''traitors,'' vehemently chanted ''Hang Mike Pence!'' while surrounding and roving the Capitol, emphasized that storming the Capitol was ''a revolution,'', brandished the Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol, and were found to be in possession of Napalm B, while still unidentified culprits planted multiple pipe bombs at buildings near the Capitol complex, another lethally dangerous criminal action that succeeded in diverting law enforcement from the Capitol; and

Whereas Donald Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, continuously, and spectacularly his absolute inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office, including most recently the duty to respect the legitimate results of the Presidential election, the duty to respect the peaceful transfer of democratic power under the Constitution, the duty to participate in legally defined transition activities, the duty to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States, including the counting of Electoral College votes by Congress, the duty to protect the people of the United States and their elected representatives against domestic insurrection, mob rule, and seditious violence, and generally the duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives calls upon Vice President Michael R. Pence—

(1) to immediately use his powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified Nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office; and

(2) to transmit to the President pro tempore of 10 the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives notice that he will be immediately assuming the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Updated at 11:29 p.m. ET

The House of Representatives approved a symbolic resolution urging Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment against President Trump, after the president's No. 2 has expressed that he would not exercise that option. The move comes nearly a week after violent pro-Trump extremists breached the U.S. Capitol.

The vote was mostly along party lines, 223-205, with just one Republican, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, joining Democrats to vote for the measure.

Pence made his intention clear in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday evening, as the House was taking up a resolution calling on Pence to invoke the amendment, convene the Cabinet, declare Trump unfit for office, and assume the powers and responsibilities of acting president.

"I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution," Pence writes. He says the amendment is "not a means of punishment or usurpation," and that invoking it would "set a terrible precedent."

He says the Trump administration is committed to ensuring an orderly transition in its final days and that "now is the time to heal."

Still, the resolution passed the Democratic-controlled House, as had been expected.

Trump "widely advertised and broadly encouraged" the protests that led to last week's violence, the resolution argues, and then ignored calls to condemn his supporters' actions swiftly. It also cites his repeated efforts to delegitimize the presidential election results with false claims of widespread voter fraud.

The motion's approval comes as Democrats in the House have also filed an impeachment resolution charging Trump with fomenting the insurrection.

With Pence's response to the 25th Amendment resolution, the House plans to move forward with impeachment proceedings. Trump is just the third U.S. president to have been impeached. He would be the only one to have been impeached twice.

Democrats, emboldened by bipartisan outrage over last week's siege of the Capitol, are resolved in their efforts to seek Trump's dismissal even before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.

Speaking Tuesday in Texas, Trump said that "the 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration."

Earlier Tuesday, Trump called the move to impeach him again "ridiculous."

"For [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Democratic leader] Chuck Schumer to continue on this path, I think it's causing tremendous danger to our country and it's causing tremendous anger," he told reporters.

Some Republican supporters of Trump were pressed Tuesday on their role in encouraging his baseless election fraud claims, and in pushing events that led to the violent insurrection at the Capitol.

"Those of us who spoke against the unconstitutional way several states conducted their election were following the process," Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said in response to criticism. "And we did nothing different than Democrats have done every time a Republican's been elected this century."

In a news conference Tuesday, Schumer said he's asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to call the Senate back into session immediately to begin a likely impeachment trial.

"We could come back ASAP and vote to convict Donald Trump and get him out of office now before any further damage is done," Schumer said.

Updated 5:45 p.m. ET

With nine days left before President Trump's term comes to an end, the House of Representatives is forging ahead with plans to try to remove the president from office over his role in his supporters' violent attack last week on the U.S. Capitol.

On Monday, House Democrats filed an impeachment resolution charging Trump with inciting an insurrection. A vote is expected this week, likely on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the House is also moving forward with a resolution calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the Constitution's 25th Amendment, relieving Trump of his duties until his term ends next week.

Timing on the Senate side on impeachment is more uncertain, but a senior Democratic aide told NPR that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is exploring options for getting the chamber to act sooner.

25th Amendment resolution

During a pro forma session Monday morning, House Democrats attempted to pass the 25th Amendment measure by unanimous consent. But unanimous consent only works if there is no objection, and as expected, a Republican did object: Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia.

On Tuesday, the House is expected to debate the measure and hold a full floor vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she's asked Pence to respond within 24 hours. Pence has made no indication that he's planning to invoke that authority.

Then Democrats would proceed with the impeachment process, which would come more than a year after they impeached Trump for his role in the Ukraine affair.

The article of impeachment

House Democrats' article of impeachment cites both Trump's incitement of his supporters on Wednesday and his call to Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump encouraged the official to "find" enough votes to overturn the election in the state.

"President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government," the Democrats' impeachment resolution states. "He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government." As of Sunday evening, more than 200 House members had signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution.

On Sunday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., suggested it could be months before the impeachment measure, should it pass, is sent to the Senate — a move that would enable the upper chamber to begin acting on President-elect Joe Biden's early legislative agenda and confirm his Cabinet nominees before undertaking a trial.

On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the No. 2 Democrat in the House, told reporters on Capitol Hill that he would like to send the impeachment measure to the Senate as soon as possible, although ultimately that decision rests with Pelosi.

Given the timeline and required action from the Senate, removing Trump from office before Jan. 20 is unlikely — if not impossible. However, Schumer is looking into using emergency authority that would let him and Republican leader Mitch McConnell call the Senate back early for a trial, a senior Democratic aide said.

If the Senate vote doesn't happen before Trump would leave office anyway, Trump could still be at risk of being barred from future office.

White House spokesman Judd Deere has called the impeachment effort "politically motivated" and said it would "only serve to further divide our great country."

Biden responds

Biden was asked about impeachment on Monday and said his first priority is to pass another stimulus bill. He shared he had spoken earlier Monday with senators, who discussed the possibility of splitting days between an impeachment trial and confirming Biden's nominees and passing more economic relief.

Asked if Trump engaged in sedition, Biden replied: "I've been clear that President Trump should not be in office. Period."

On Friday, Biden had said the decision whether to pursue impeachment was Congress' to make.

Trump's actions prompted immediate calls for his removal from both political opponents and some Republicans once considered allies. But even those who criticize Trump are not in agreement over whether impeachment is the best approach.

GOP Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota told NPR's Rachel Martin that while he believes Trump "deserves a greater than average share of the blame" for the rioting at the Capitol, he also puts the blame on the political rhetoric in the country that he says has built up over a long time.

"[We should ask] in this moment, what is the right thing to do for the country? And it may well be that impeachment could create far more division, and that a different accountability mechanism would be more appropriate."