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Darren Samuelsohn

8 Jan, 10 tweets, 3 min read

@KaylaEpstein

How Congress could vote to bar Trump from ever holding federal office again and kill any chances of a 2024 run businessinsider.com/senate-congres… by @KaylaEpstein & @davelevinthal ($) @businessinsider

Congress is once again threatening to impeach Donald Trump — this time over accusations he incited a mob to break into the Capitol — and the process could lead to the Senate barring him from ever again serving as president.

It's a long shot, given the dwindling number of days left in the Trump presidency & the rapidly-unfolding politics of the situation. But the Constitution allows the Senate to ban an official that lawmakers have convicted in an impeachment trial from holding federal office again.

Trump has openly talked about making a 2024 run, and with millions of voters still in his thrall — and some committed enough to riot — there is the slim but realistic chance he could attempt to regain the presidency in four years.

If the Senate voted to stop him from ever holding office again, it would get rid of the GOP's biggest headache and open up the 2024 field for other ambitious politicians.

But there's an outstanding constitutional question of whether Congress can impeach a former official, and impeachment and removal proceedings generally drag out for months. Congress also has just days before Trump is out of office.

"It is a very time-consuming process," said former Senate historian Don Ritchie, who noted that such a fast turnaround would be unprecedented & doubted the constitution allowed impeachment of an ex-president. "The likelihood of the Senate organizing a trial in 2 weeks is slim."

Following a conviction, the Senate could hold a 2nd vote to block an impeached official from holding another office, and that only requires a simple majority of the Senate to pass.

It has never been used on a president, but it has been invoked three times in US history against federal judges, including most recently in 2010 against the now-former US District Court Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.

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More from @dsamuelsohn

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

8 Jan

@Politicsinsider

NEW: The Trump administration failed to follow a well-known playbook for coordinating police and law enforcement responses ahead of the deadly pro-Trump riots at the US Capitol this week, national security experts told @Politicsinsider - by @rbravender ($) ow.ly/Up4f50D3NRH

It's a framework government officials regularly use for big events that pose major threats to national security, like a State of the Union address, the Olympics, or the Super Bowl.

Those events are officially known as National Special Security Events, and they usually happen a few times per year for significant occasions. Getting an NSSE designation means top law enforcement officials get in a room together to address threats and respond in real time.

Read 9 tweets

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

7 Jan

@Politicsinsider

NEW: VP Pence doesn't support removing President Trump from office via the 25th Amendment despite the growing bipartisan chorus for a last-minute change at the very top of the American government, Pence advisors told @Politicsinsider by @tomlobianco ($) ow.ly/iySs50D2RLg

"Not happening," said a Republican close to Pence when asked about growing calls for him to replace Trump.

Pence and his team are trying to avoid a 25th amendment/impeachment showdown. They're worried that it could spiral the country even further into chaos and partisan divide while potentially putting into jeopardy Pence's own White House ambitions.

Read 8 tweets

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

7 Jan

@Politicsinsider

NEW: A day unlike any other in DC began w/ Congress gathering in a joint session in what in other times would've been an uneventful ceremony symbolizing the peaceful transfer of power - certifying states' presidential electoral votes. @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/FMih50D1XyC

It soon devolved into one of the most chaotic in modern US history — nothing less than an insurrection by supporters of President Donald Trump. An angry mob was growing violent outside the Capitol and pushing its way inside.

The typically humdrum counting of the Electoral College votes presided over by the VP quickly turned into a bloody mess; security officials interrupted the goings-on at the Senate floor & rushed Pence out to safety, followed by lawmakers, reporters, and congressional staffers.

Read 9 tweets

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

7 Jan

@tomlobianco

"It's like the PLO in the '70s," said Mark Corallo, a former spokesman for Trump's personal legal team, likening the Trump protestors to the Palestine Liberation Organization. "This is sickening." by @tomlobianco & me ($) in @Politicsinsider ow.ly/96EG50D1W96

The closing image of Trump's presidency became one of police barring doors against an angry mob, w/ guns drawn. The "American carnage" Trump promised he would end 4 years ago when he was inaugurated at the Capitol had now broken into the very same building — at his instigation.

Behind the scenes, WH aides prodded Trump to call on his supporters to end the violent protests. Ultimately, they needed about 2 hours before Trump released a brief message that appeared to be taped from just outside the White House asking his supporters to "go home."

Read 13 tweets

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

6 Jan

@Politicsinsider

NEW: President Trump & his team are hoping Pence will launch a last-ditch maneuver to suspend counting the electoral votes that will formalize Biden's victory, 2 Republicans close to the White House told @Politicsinsider - by @tomlobianco ($) ow.ly/itcp50D1yGR

Backing up, here's Tom's lead for those who haven't gone behind the paywall: "Vice President Mike Pence has long reveled in the pomp and circumstance of elected office, the celebratory speeches and official declarations that most journalists roll their eyes at."

But now the pomp & circumstance of standing by Trump's side for more than 4 years has put the VP in the worst jeopardy of his career. Pence today will take on the role of Senate president & read off the Electoral College vote counts & eventually declare Biden the president.

Read 11 tweets

Darren Samuelsohn

@dsamuelsohn

6 Jan

@rbravender

NEW: Dems' projected Senate wins are big news for Biden. Instead of haggling w/ McConnell on everything from stimulus bills to Cabinet noms, Biden will have Schumer helping to usher through his policy goals. @rbravender & @leonardkl with the breakdown ($) ow.ly/skXH50D1yfG

Whoever holds the Senate majority dictates which bills & nominations get votes on the floor. The party in charge also controls committees, where the leaders decide what hearings to hold, which issues to investigate, and which admin officials to haul to the Hill for questioning.

Democrats leapt into action on Wednesday plotting their next moves, and progressives are already pushing Biden to plow ahead with ambitious nominations and policies now that control of the Senate has been decided.

Read 4 tweets

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