House of Representatives poised to impeach Trump for ‘incitement of insurrection’
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Lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote for impeachment around 3:00 pm marking the formal opening of proceedings against Trump.
The House of Representatives is on track to impeach President Trump for the second time in 13 months — which would make him as the only president to receive the rebuke twice.
The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives opened debate on second impeachment of President Donald Trump over his supporters' attack of the Capitol that left five dead.
The impeachment resolution on the House floor includes one article, citing "incitement of insurrection," is being debated on the House floor.
Lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote for impeachment around 3:00 pm marking the formal opening of proceedings against Trump.
The extraordinary procedure against the US President came days after the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, an unprecedented attack on American democracy that stunned many world leaders and US allies.
Trump still remains defiant, refusing to accept responsibility for his campaign to undermine Americans' belief in the election system and his final, fiery speech on the Mall.
But his once seemingly unbreakable grip on Republicans is eroding as leaders run out of patience -- and look to a post-Trump rebuilding of their party.
Vice President Mike Pence threw Trump a lifeline on Tuesday, saying he would not invoke the 25th Amendment that allows him and the Cabinet to strip a sitting president of his powers.
Also read | Trump is a 'criminal' and 'political pyromaniac who should be sent to criminal court': Luxembourg's Foreign Minister
But impeachment on the single charge of "incitement of insurrection" is all but assured to pass. A vote has been scheduled for around 3:00 pm (2000 GMT).
Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in the business world, is struggling to impose his message -- let alone any kind of resistance.
On a quick trip to Texas on Tuesday he visited the US-Mexico border wall, which he regards as one of his biggest achievements. But the brief, low-energy speech he made there did nothing to recapture his rapidly sliding momentum.
His insistence that his infamous speech to the crowd had been "totally appropriate" and that he bore no blame infuriated allies and opponents alike.
(With inputs from agencies)