Multiple groups of House Democrats, at the same time, were circulating impeachment articles charging Trump with inciting the riot and seeking to bar him from seeking office again.
Representative Jerry Nadler of New York said he supported bringing impeachment articles straight to the House floor for a vote given the limited time.
For Democratic leaders, there’s little risk in pressuring Trump’s cabinet and Pence, but impeachment would put the spotlight on Trump instead of on preparing for Biden’s incoming administration.
Nevertheless, many Democrats were pushing to do so anyway.
A former senior House aide who keeps in close contact with representatives and staff said that resolve to remove Trump grew over the hours lawmakers were kept behind locked doors to protect them from the intruders.
The former aide said impeachment could move forward regardless of whether Senate Republicans were on board. Pelosi and Schumer also may be trying to prod some GOP lawmakers who are sympathetic to the idea of getting Trump’s cabinet to remove him.
While Pelosi could call the House back to impeach Trump with a simple majority vote on the House floor, the Senate would be compelled to hold a trial presided over by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Given that there are still millions of Trump supporters still on his side, the potential for massive political fallout for Republican senators who cross him might limit how quickly the chamber would act or how many of its members would vote to convict.
Representative Susie Lee, a Nevada Democrat, said Trump “deserves to be removed from office, whether by invoking the 25th Amendment, impeachment, or resignation.”
But she said in a statement that without broad, bipartisan support, the likelihood of forcing him out of office before Biden’s inauguration “is extremely low.”
“Especially after the political theater that consumed the Electoral College certification process in Congress,” Lee said, “we owe it to our constituents to be honest.”
—With assistance from Laura Litvan, Daniel Flatley, Erik Wasson and Mike Dorning.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.