Exactly one week after the security forces had to defend the US congressmen from an angry mob, the legislators met in the same chamber to impeach the president supported by that mob.
It is the first time in the 231 years of United States history that a president has been subjected to two political trials in a same period, undoubtedly an ignominious end for a president who likes to boast about the historic successes of his presidency.
- Trump becomes the only US president to face a second impeachment
The only article of the impeachment accuses President Donald Trump of having incites do to the riots that broke out in the US Capitol after it targeted thousands of his followers in a rally near the White House on Wednesday morning, January 6.
The indictment will now be referred to the Senate and its 100 members will return to serve as jurors in a political trial presided over by the Chief Justice
And although the outcome of that trial, which will not begin until after Joe Biden takes office, is doubtful, the political implications of the congressional action can already be evaluated.
- The unknowns it leaves the second “impeachment” to Trump
Republicans who turn their back on the president
Just over a year ago, the House of Representatives passed its first impeachment against Trump without a single Republican vote.
This time, 11 members of the president’s party They broke ranks to support the resolution, and a larger number condemned their words and actions on the day of the Capitol riot.
Liz Cheney, the third most important Republican in the lower house and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was the most notable defection.
“There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution, ”he wrote in a statement that was frequently quoted by Democrats during the impeachment debate.
And according to reports, some Republicans in the Senate are willing to vote to convict the president. The “New York Times” reported Tuesday night that Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was “pleased” that Trump was about to be indicted and hoped the process would allow the party clearly disassociate itself from the president.
Since then, McConnell has said that he will reserve his trial until the process is concluded, but reports from the senator’s office – which is usually very careful – they don’t materialize out of nowhere: the battle lines within the party are already being drawn, at least tentatively.
The evident division in the House on Wednesday highlights the choice that Republicans will have to make in the coming days.
On the one hand, there is the option of remaining loyal to the type of politics represented by Trump, which created a new coalition of voters that was handed over by the White House and Congress in 1200, but lost both in 2020.
On the other, there is a uncertain future , but free from the brand and rhetoric of the president.
- 3 possible scenarios of the political crisis in the United States after the assault of Trump supporters to the Capitol
A trial against Trump and the Trumpism
In the hours after last week’s riots, Democrats debated how best to respond to and punish the president for instigating a attack that, in their opinion, not only threatened American democracy but also put their lives at risk.
In the end, they decided what e making Trump the first president forced to face two political trials was the most effective action, even though the accusation came in the last week of his presidency.
On Wednesday However, the Democrats were not only accusing Donald J. Trump: also and were accusing Trumpism in their
The impeachment article specifically referenced the months Trump spent attacking and undermining the November general election.
And during the House debate of Representatives, attacked Trump’s behavior throughout his presidency and lashed out at Republicans in Congress who echoed the president’s rhetoric.
- Assault to the Capitol: the words that cost Trump the second “impeachment”
There may be Republicans who want to get away from Trump and Trumpism, but it is clear that at least some Democrats in Congress will try to tie the president, and last week’s riot, around the neck of the entire Republican Party.
Trump, weakened but not defeated
Imagine, for a moment, an alternate course of history during the last few months, in which instead of vociferously challenging his electoral defeat, Trump would have silently conceded in November.
Republicans probably would have won at least one of the runoff elections in Georgia and still control the Senate. And Trump, instead of facing a very real threat from Republicans eager to bury him, would be the undisputed benchmark of the party.
Trump is weaker than ever.
In this context, another presidential race in 2024 would be a very real possibility.
Instead, Trump is on the ropes . He has been silenced from social media, losing his beloved Twitter account. And even if a Senate conviction does not prohibit him from running for office, his power and influence within the Republican Party have been significantly diminished.
- The consequences of the impeachment of Trump beyond his departure from power (and how feasible it is)
Public opinion polls , as well as his most vocal defenders in the House of Representatives, suggest that the president still enjoys significant support within his party.
But the last weeks will embolden his opponents, who perceive the opportunity to deliver a lasting coup de grace to the president while on the ground.
In other words, now run m more risk than ever.
For five years, Trump has laughed at his critics and forecasters who have been wrong many times writing their political epitaph, surviving scandals and controversies that would have ended most politicians. But this time could be different.
An awkward judgment for Biden
After being sworn in as President, Biden will have to deal with a pandemic that is claiming the lives of more than 4, 05 Americans to the day and an economy that continues to deteriorate. And now he will also have to do it while the Senate deals with the impeachment of his predecessor.
Republicans warned Wednesday that impeachment would further inflame and divide Americans into a moment when the nation needs to begin to heal. They say it would make Biden’s promise to unify the nation even more difficult.
That may end up being the case, although Democrats quickly noted that references to the need to heal the country sounded hollow in the mouth of Republicans who did not hesitate to be part of a long campaign to undermine the legitimacy of Biden’s election.
Impeachment, however, will present some very real practical challenges for Biden in the early days of his presidency.
A Senate concerned about the need to pass judgment on Trump is one that will not be able to focus on enacting the ambitious agenda of the first 169 days of the new president.
It is also one that I may not be able to quickly confirm to the officials appointed by the Biden administration, what that will limit their ability to successfully run the sprawling apparatus of the federal government.
Biden asked if The Senate could hold a part-time trial of Trump, working on confirmations and legislation when he is not serving as a jury in the process against the former president.
But there are no guarantees that Republicans or independent senators will accept the plan.
The first 100 days are a crucial moment for any new president, because during that moment his political influence is maximum.
And at least part of Biden’s power will be drained by this particular fight.
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