Pelosi Says House Will Move Forward With Impeachment, Urges Pence to Oust Trump Using 25th Amendment

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House is prepared to move forward with legislation as early as this week to impeach President Donald Trump following the deadly assault on the US Capitol.

Pelosi announced the move in a letter to her colleagues late Sunday, saying they must act quickly because the president presents an “imminent threat” to American democracy and the Constitution.

Pelosi said the House will first move by introducing a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to oust Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. She explained that the resolution will push Pence "to convene and mobilize the Cabinet to activate the 25th Amendment to declare the President incapable of executing the duties of his office."

The House is expected to convene for a full vote on the legislation on Tuesday.

If it is approved, Pence and the Cabinet will have 24 hours to act before the House moves forward with impeachment. It is unlikely that Pence will invoke the 25th Amendment, which would remove Trump and make Pence the president before Biden takes office on Jan. 20. 

House Democrats were expected to introduce articles for impeachment on Monday, accusing Trump of inciting insurrection at the Capitol. However, they may delay sending them to the Senate by 100 days to give the Biden administration time to focus on other priorities.

The move towards impeachment comes as Trump faces criticism from all sides and growing calls for his resignation.  Several members of his administration have resigned following the riot.

Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, joined Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in calling for Trump to resign as soon as possible.

“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”

Toomey said that while he doubted the impeachment would happen before Biden is inaugurated, it would ensure that Trump could never hold office again.

Murkowski told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “needs to get out.”

While many Republicans have decried Trump’s actions and statements over the deadly Capitol riot, some argue impeachment will divide the country even more.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida charged Democrats with ignoring calls for unity and instead, talking "about ridiculous things like ‘Let’s impeach a president’" with just days left in office.

Democrats will need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to secure an impeachment conviction, which means they will need significant Republican support. While the effort is unlikely to rally majority Republican support, some GOP lawmakers have said they will consider impeachment.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said he would review any articles that the House sent over. Meanwhile, frequent Trump critic Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him.

If Democrats succeed, Trump will be the first president in American history to be impeached twice.