What about impeachment? There is no question that Congress can impeach Trump for his role in encouraging today’s assault on Congress. What are the arguments for and against? For impeachment: There is a real possibility that Trump will do something dangerous in the final days of his presidency. If he is impeached and convicted, he could be barred from running for President again. Presumably impeaching him would have some precedential / deterrent value going forward. Against impeachment: A politically divisive impeachment would divert attention from Trump’s now oh-so-evident wrongdoing and breath new life into the grievance narrative that motivates him and his base. It could bolster his political support. It could also fail.
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Eric Kramer considers the following as important: history, law, politics
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What about impeachment? There is no question that Congress can impeach Trump for his role in encouraging today’s assault on Congress. What are the arguments for and against?
For impeachment:
There is a real possibility that Trump will do something dangerous in the final days of his presidency.
If he is impeached and convicted, he could be barred from running for President again.
Presumably impeaching him would have some precedential / deterrent value going forward.
Against impeachment:
A politically divisive impeachment would divert attention from Trump’s now oh-so-evident wrongdoing and breath new life into the grievance narrative that motivates him and his base. It could bolster his political support. It could also fail.
So what to do? Removal under the 25th amendment would avoid charges of partisanship (since it would be done by Pence and Trump’s cabinet). It would hasten Trump’s fall from power within the GOP. If removal under the 25th amendment is not in the cards, I think Democrats should only impeach if Republican Senators commit to removing him from office and if McConnell agrees to bring the matter to a timely vote. Arguably, Democrats should insist that some reasonable number of Republicans (say, 50%) agree in advance to removal, to kill the partisan grievance narrative and keep the focus on Trump’s wrongdoing. If Democrats challenge Republicans to commit to remove Trump from office and they refuse then the failure to impeach and remove would make them complicit in yesterday’s thuggish attack on democracy. But proceeding with a doomed, democratic impeachment without Senate removal would have no precedential or deterrence value and it would be a political gift to Trump and his base.