House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Sunday that the House’s vote on impeaching President Trump would likely happen this week but Democrats may wait to send it to the Senate until after President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s first 100 days in office.
Mr. Clyburn said an impeachment vote in the House would come on “probably Tuesday and maybe Wednesday” in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday.’
The South Carolina Democrat told CNN that Democrats may wait to send the impeachment articles to the Senate, saying he has concerns that an impeachment trial would obstruct Mr. Biden’s agenda.
“We will take the vote that we should take in the House and [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] will make the determination as to when is the best time to get that vote and get the managers appointed and move that legislation over to the Senate,” Mr. Clyburn told CNN. “It just so happens that, if it did go over there for 100 days, it could — let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running and maybe we will send the articles some time after that.”
Mr. Clyburn’s statement that Congress could wait to hold an impeachment trial of Mr. Trump until after Mr. Biden takes office foreshadows Democrats’ appetite for using the impeachment tool to bar Mr. Trump from holding future office as opposed to only removing him from office.
Impeachment in the House and a conviction in the Senate does not necessarily prevent Mr. Trump from pursuing a second term as president.
A two-thirds Senate vote — 67 votes if 100 senators are present — to convict a president impeached by the House and remove him from office.
The Senate would need to take another vote to bar Mr. Trump from holding future office after the president is convicted — which has never happened. A simple majority is required to impose the additional punishment.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, told ABC on Sunday that Democrats’ “main priority” is removing Mr. Trump but that they also are looking to prohibit him from holding future office.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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