The U.S. House will begin a debate on impeaching Trump for his role in the Capitol attack

At least five Republicans have said they would join Democrats in voting for an impeachment article – a formal allegation – of inciting a revolution just seven days before the expected resign and President Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.

If the House approves it, Trump would become the first double-incumbent president.

A majority vote in the impeachment House would spur a lawsuit in the Republican-controlled Senate, though it was unclear whether such a lawsuit would be held in time for Trump’s ouster.

As lawyers debated the case, National Guard soldiers and police were stationed around the Capitol to provide security.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat No. 2, Democrats said they intended to send the impeachment charge, once approved, to the Senate “as soon as possible, ”And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced nine impeachment managers who would present the House’s case during a Senate lawsuit.

The astonishing pace with which Democrats have shifted Trump’s ongoing threat to national security is in line, according to leading Democrats.

It will also increase pressure on Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell to consider holding a lawsuit immediately.

McConnell has said no lawsuit could begin until the chamber returns from recess on Jan. 19. But Chuck Schumer, the leader of Democratic Minority Languages, said he will become the leader of the majority after two Democratic generals from Georgia sit down and Vice President Kamala Harris is later introduced. on the month, telling reporters that the Senate could be recalled to handle the case if McConnell agrees.

Washington is vigilant after the riots and with a week to go in Trump’s term. Thousands of National Guard soldiers were on hand and some uniformed, armed members of the service were seen sleeping inside the Capitol building on Wednesday before the session.

The House gathered just after 9am (1400 GMT) in the same room where lawyers hid under chairs last Wednesday as protesters clashed with police in the halls of the Capitol.

“We are debating this historic step at a real crime scene,” said Democratic Representative Jim McGovern as the session opened. “This was an organized attack on our country that was instigated by Donald Trump.”

Democrats moved on on an impeachment vote after Vice President Mike Pence rejected a bid to attack the 25th U.S. Constitutional Amendment to oust Trump.

As the House prepared for the impeachment vote, there were signs that Trump’s hold on the Republican Party was beginning to wane.

At least five House Republicans, including Liz Cheney, a member of his party’s management team, said they would vote for his second impeachment – no presidency expected before Trump addresses him.

“The President of the United States has never been a greater betrayal and an oath of allegiance to the Constitution,” Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, said in a statement.

Trump called the Capitol “this mob, gathered the mob, and lit the flame of this attack,” she said.

Republicans Jaime Herrera Beutler, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton also said they supported a high-profile move.

Breaking from the usual approach, Republican leaders in the House have stopped forcing their members to vote against Trump’s impeachment, saying it was a matter of individual conscience.

The New York Times reported that McConnell was said to be happy about the impeachment push, another sign that the Trump party is looking to move forward after the attack on Congress.

In his first public appearance since last Wednesday’s riot, Trump did not show contrition Tuesday for his speech shortly before the siege in which he called on his supporters to complain about Biden’s influence by being marching on the Capitol.

“What I said was entirely appropriate,” Trump told reporters.

At a meeting to set the rules for the impeachment vote Wednesday, Democratic Representative David Cicilline, who helped craft the impeachment measure, said it had the support of 217 lawmakers – enough to impeach Trump .

A House Republican who opposed an impeachment campaign argued that Democrats were going too far, as Trump was about to resign.

“This is scary where this is going, because this is about more than attacking the president of the United States. This is about ousting the president and putting off all the people you disagree with, “said Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, one of Trump ‘s staunchest defenders when the president was inaugurated in 2019 after the Ukrainian government encouragement to dig up political filth on Biden.

A two-thirds majority of the Senate is needed to condemn Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans in the 100-member chamber would have to vote for his conviction.

Democrats could also use an impeachment test to push a vote by preventing Trump from running for office again.

Only a simple majority in the Senate is needed to disqualify Trump from office in the future, but there is disagreement among legal experts as to whether impeachment is necessary before a disqualification vote.

A different part of the Constitution, the 14th Amendment, also provides a way to disqualify Trump from office in the future with a simple majority of both chambers.