For the second time in his presidency, Donald Trump has been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives — this time, for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by an angry mob of his supporters.
It is the first time in American history that any president has been impeached twice during their term.
The article of impeachment — supported by all Democrats and a handful of Republicans on Wednesday, Jan. 13 — alleges that Trump had spurred the insurrection upon the Capitol a week ago, in which thousands of his supporters breached the heart of American democracy, smashing windows, vandalizing property and getting into physical clashes with Capitol Police officers. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result.
Eleven of New York City’s 12 members of Congress voted to impeach the president again; the lone holdout was Nicole Malliotakis of Brooklyn/Staten Island, the only Republican in the city’s delegation.
All of Queens’ congressional delegation voted in favor of impeachment.
“President Trump instigated this and must be held accountable,” Congressman Tom Suozzi said in a statement following the vote. “The president’s duty is to protect our republic and its people. Yet, he built a mob, filled it with lies, and encouraged it to ‘fight to stop the steal.'”
“Mr. President, you have not put America first and now you must be removed,” he added.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, who was holed up in her office during the raid, echoed her colleague’s sentiments.
“As I said last week, President Trump is a danger to our nation,” Meng said. “The president must be held accountable for fueling a seditious assault on the U.S. Capitol, and failing to take steps to stop the violence. He is a vital threat to our country and our Constitution. For the good and safety of our nation, and to defend our democracy, it is imperative that President Trump is removed from office at once and barred from holding public office in the future. The Senate must now act expeditiously.”
The approved article now goes to the Senate for a trial. It’s unclear whether that will happen before Trump leaves office at noon on Jan. 20.
Two-thirds of the vote of the assembled Senate are required to convict an official on an article of impeachment. A guilty verdict on this impeachment article would result in Trump being disqualified from holding public office in the future.
This story originally appeared on amny.com and was last updated at 4:57 p.m., on Jan. 13, 2021.
