Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu 'The chatter is off the charts' 
Sometime on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives will vote to hand Donald Trump the dubious historical distinction of first US President to be impeached twice. The charge that he committed a constitutional transgression of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is simple and damning, and will pass one week after he incited a violent insurrection at the Capitol. “Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law,” the Article of Impeachment reads. “Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.” Trump still has a hold on the Republican Party’s fervent grassroots supporters, so conventional wisdom suggests he need not worry about being convicted in a Senate trial, which requires a two-thirds majority. But the political winds may be shifting. In a stunning move, Mitch McConnell — the hardline Senate majority leader who enabled Trump’s wrecking ball presidency — has made it known that he is glad Trump will be impeached. Some Republican senators might see that as a signal to vote freely to convict, though viral footage of frenzied MAGA supporters haranguing GOP lawmakers at airports reflects the risk of such a decision. There is a palpable sense of history unfolding behind the high iron fences now ringing the Capitol in eloquent witness to a democracy under siege. But as the last week's unprecedented events show, no one knows how America’s internal battle will end |
