Lack of time and the Senate complicate a possible impeachment to Trump

Supporters of impeaching Trump this Thursday in Brooklyn (New York) .KENA BETANCUR / AFP

Faced with Vice President Mike Pence's refusal to invoke the 25th Amendment to incapacitate President Donald Trump for inciting Wednesday's insurrection on Capitol Hill, House Democrats are preparing to initiate an urgent impeachment process, given that the Republican only has 12 days left in the White House until Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.

A team of three congressmen finalizes new charges against the Republican that could be presented this Monday, according to Reuters, among them the incitement to violence against the US Government and its delay in demobilizing its supporters who stormed the Capitol.

The initiative could be finalized in the middle of next week, according to Democratic sources, which cuts its chances despite having the support of some Republicans in principle.

But a process that must follow a series of steps (a mandatory investigation by the judicial committee; the vote of the House of Representatives, and then that of the Senate), seems to lack material time to complete.

It is the responsibility of the House of Representatives to initiate the case, and with the current Democratic majority this would not pose any obstacle since only a simple majority is required.

The Senate would then hold a trial in which a two-thirds majority is required to convict him.

But the Senate is in Republican hands - which would require the condemnation vote of 17 Republican senators to reach two-thirds - and also in recess until January 19.

Collaborators of Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the upper house, have not commented on the possibility that he could meet before then if the House takes the cause.

The two Democratic senators elected this week in Georgia, who will give a hasty control of the upper house to their party, will not be sworn in until the state certifies the results of the polls, at the end of the month.

The chapter of the Constitution relating to

does not abound in technical details, so the process seems moldable, according to political need or, in this case, urgency.

Democrats debate this Friday the last steps to take, while the president-elect has left the final decision in the hands of Congress.

If they agree to initiate the process, Trump will be the first president in US history to be put on trial twice, after the House launched another in December 2019 for pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate the business of the son of Joe Biden.

He was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

If the second trial against Trump takes place in a year, and the Republican is finally convicted, he could not attend the 2024 elections, but only if Congress explicitly disqualifies him.

His disqualification through the 25th Amendment would not imply a ban on holding public office.

If the time factor is solved, the process should still overcome the political resistance of the Republicans, although some prominent members of the party have been open to consider the possibility of condemning Trump.

Republican Senator Ben Sasse joined the critics on Friday in calling for the eviction of the magnate from power.

“The less I do in the next 12 days, the better.

Trump has lied to Americans and lies have consequences, "he told NPR public radio.

Even

, owned by Rupert Murdoch, a former Trump ally, has urged the president to resign: "It will be much better for everyone, including himself, if he leaves safely."

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