A Timeline of the 2021 Donald Trump Impeachment Proceedings

Democrats in the House of Representatives formally introduced an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump early Monday morning, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for abetting a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday. This move, which will make Trump the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, follows Republicans rejecting a resolution that called on Vice President Mike Pence to strip Trump of his presidential powers by invoking the 25th Amendment.

Read on for a timeline of the impeachment proceedings and follow this story for updates.

January 11, 2021: The House introduces a resolution to impeach Trump just nine days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The four-page resolution cites the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” in the United States from holding public office, against Trump. The document indicates that the president has “repeatedly issued false statements” about a fraudulent election and “willfully made statements that … encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—lawless action at the Capitol,” as well as notes “his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 Presidential election” such as calling Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” votes that would give him victory.

The House will vote on the resolution later this week, per CNN.

The article of impeachment follows House Republicans’ rejection of a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to activate the 25th Amendment and thereby strip Trump of his presidential powers.

“The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement today. “We are further calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours after passage. As our next step, we will move forward with bringing impeachment legislation to the Floor. The President’s threat to America is urgent, and so too will be our action.”

The New York Times reported that more than 210 House Democrats have signed on to the charge and that several Republicans are also considering voting for impeachment, though Republican Party leaders are opposed.

As of Saturday, CNN reported that Pence had not yet ruled out invoking the 25th Amendment, which enables the vice president and other public authorities to strip a president of their powers in the case of inability or incapacitation to serve. A source told the outlet that Pence, who has not spoken to the president since Wednesday’s insurrection, is considering the option in case Trump “becomes more unstable.”

Though Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, impeaching and convicting Trump now will prohibit him from ever running for office again. Trump would also lose a $219,000 pension and subsidies that would maintain an office and staff.

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