Members of the US House of Representatives are moving quickly in the effort to remove President Donald Trump from office.
The Democratic-controlled chamber pressed ahead Monday with introducing one article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with "incitement to insurrection" after Wednesday's deadly attack on the Capitol which left five people dead, including a police officer.
The move came after House Republicans blocked a measure to call on Vice-President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office, according to the New York Times.
A full House vote on the impeachment article could come on Wednesday, as reported by CNN. If it passes, Trump will be the first US President to be impeached twice.
A Senate trial before he leaves office on January 20 is a longshot, but Democratic leaders in Congress have said that a trial could continue after Trump leaves the White House.
Trump encouraged a crowd to march on the Capitol as Congress met in joint session to formally certify Joe Biden's election win. The crowd eventually broke through barricades and got into the venerable building, smashing windows, roaming halls, ransacking offices, and even entering the Senate Chamber. One woman was shot and killed by police in the violence, one Capitol Police officer died from injuries suffered in the melee, and three more protestors died of medical emergencies.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CBS' 60 Minutes Sunday night that she authorized the debate over impeachment because she felt Trump remaining in office may present a danger to national security.
"I have sought information from those who are in position to know that there are protections against this dangerous president initiating any military hostilities or something worse than that," said Pelosi.
