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The US House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for provoking a riot at the US Capitol. The recent move marked his place in history as the only US President to be impeached twice. The cross-party condemnation was approved with an extraordinary speed. It will now head to the US Senate, where the president to face a new trial. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hasn’t made a final decision on how he will vote. He said the Senate couldn’t finish a trial before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on 20^th January 2021. Point to be noted that the US Senate is set to continue the process a day before that. McConnell said, “The Senate process will now begin at our first regular meeting following receipt of the article from the House”.

McConnell added, “In light of this reality, I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration”. The Senate could conceivably still choose to convict Donald Trump and stop him from holding any federal office in the future if the Senate trial stretches into Biden’s term. However, experts differ on the constitutionality of holding a trial once the accused has left office. It is noteworthy that a vote to convict would require a two-thirds majority of the Senate. Biden issued a statement and said, ”I hope the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation”.

Biden added, “I have often said that there is nothing we can’t do if we do it together. And it has never been more critical for us to stand together as a nation than right now”. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said she believes the House responded appropriately with its historic and cross-party vote to impeach Donald Trump. She said, “On the day of the riots, President Trump’s words incited violence, which led to the injury and deaths of Americans including a Capitol Police officer, the desecration of the Capitol, and briefly interfered with the government’s ability to ensure a peaceful transfer of power. Such unlawful actions cannot go without consequence and the House has responded swiftly, and I believe, appropriately with impeachment”. Murkowski said she stands by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision not to start an impeachment hearing before Biden’s inauguration.