WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Donald Trump is now the first president to be impeached twice.
Nexstar Washington correspondent Basil John reports on where lawmakers stand on the issue.
“This beacon of democracy became the site of a vicious attack,” Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said.
McGovern and other lawmakers pushed for the impeachment of Trump.
“This was not a protest, this was an insurrection. This was a well-organized attack on our country that was incited by Donald Trump,” McGovern said.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) say the president’s false claims of election fraud put the country at risk.
“The president used untruthful claims to end the completion of a constitutional process of collecting the electoral votes making Joe Biden president of the United States,” DeLauro said.
“Donald Trump challenged this principle in two ways: deceit and violence,” Welch said.
Some Republicans say the rush toward impeachment could cause more problems for the country.
“A move which will no doubt further divide an already fractured nation,” Congressman Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) said.
Congressman Fred Keller (R-Pa.) say the country needs to focus on healing.
“The best way to achieve that is for us to just let the president serve the rest of the term and see the peaceful transfer of power in a week,” Keller said.
With the Senate adjourned until Jan. 19, an impeachment trial isn’t expected to happen until after Trump leaves office.