Pelosi Orders Flags at Half-Staff at Capitol: Congress Update

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Lawmakers mourned the death of a Capitol Police officer who died of injuries sustained during Wednesday’s chaos. Republican Senator Ben Sasse said he would “definitely consider” any impeachment articles for President Donald Trump. The House will move to impeach Trump if Cabinet members fail to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will speak with her Democratic caucus members Friday about the way forward on trying to remove Trump before Joe Biden takes over as president Jan. 20. Few Republicans have yet endorsed the effort.

Lawmakers Mourn Slain Capitol Police Officer (9:52 a.m.)

Pelosi ordered flags at the Capitol to fly at half-staff after the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was fatally injured during Wednesday’s violence.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement mourning Sicknick’s passing, “Congress will provide the full resources needed to bring every perpetrator of Wednesday’s attack to justice.”

GOP Senator Says Would ‘Definitely Consider’ Impeachment Articles (9:31 a.m.)

Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said he would “definitely consider” potential Articles of Impeachment brought by the House against Trump.

“I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office,” Sasse said on CBS Friday. “He swore an oath to the American people to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. He acted against that. What he did was wicked.”

House Official Says Bid to Impeach Trump Likely (8:09 a.m.)

Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the chamber will move forward with impeaching Trump if his vice president and cabinet do not deem him unable to carry out his duties and remove him from office under the25th Amendment.

“If the reports are correct and Mike Pence is not going to uphold his oath of office and remove the president and help protect our democracy,” Clark told CNN Friday, “then we will move forward with impeachment to do just that.”

She and Representative Jim Clyburn, a senior House Democrat, said the process could start within a week.

Pelosi and House Democrats will hold a noon conference call Friday to talk about their options for expelling Trump from office. Many caucus members seem bent on impeaching him if the 25th Amendment is not triggered, but few days are left before Trump leaves office, leaving little time for any impeachment hearings and a Senate impeachment trial. –Elizabeth Wasserman

Capitol Police Officer Dies (12:10 a.m.)

A U.S. Capitol Police officer has died of injuries he sustained when Trump supporters broke into the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.

The officer, Brian Sicknick, who joined the force in 2008, was hurt “while physically engaging with protesters,” according to a department statement. “He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”

The department added in the statement that the death would be investigated by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department. Sicknick was the fifth person who died in connection to the storming of the Capitol. Earlier in the day, the chief of the Capitol Police, Steven Sund, resigned. His last day will be on Jan. 16, according to a department official. — Billy House

— With assistance by Elizabeth Wasserman

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