House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler unveils plan to fast track Donald Trump’s impeachment
Earlier today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi threatened to impeach Donald Trump if Mike Pence doesn’t swiftly remove him via the 25th Amendment. As of this evening Pence still isn’t budging, and House Democrats are reportedly meeting midday tomorrow to make an impeachment decision.
One of the difficulties with impeachment is that it’s a complex multi-step process that would normally take much longer than the thirteen days that Donald Trump has left in office. For instance, the process is supposed to start in the House Judiciary Committee. But now House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler has announced a plan to skip directly to holding a full House vote on articles of impeachment.
This would mean that impeachment could start immediately, with some quick hearings to present the evidence, followed by a vote on whether to impeach. Nadler is loyal to Pelosi, so we doubt he would make such a bold pronouncement without Pelosi’s approval. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but it sounds like Trump is indeed getting impeached again.
From there, Mitch McConnell would have to decide whether to bring back the Senate from recess to hold an impeachment trial, which would be followed by a vote on whether to convict and remove Trump. With time running out, it’s not clear if any of that would or could even happen before Trump’s term expires. But if the House does spend Trump’s final days impeaching him, it’ll at least keep him on defense, and keep pressure on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
