Lapidary and in capitals, the headlines of the American press summarize the new historic day that American politics experienced, Wednesday, January 13: “Trump indicted again”; “Trump indicted twice”. By 232 votes to 197, the House of Representatives voted a new impeachment procedure against the American president for “Incitement to insurgency” after the assault on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6.
A divided Republican Party
While ten elected Republicans have, this time, rallied the Democrats, an unprecedented bipartisan movement, the Washington post underlines the tensions that this vote creates within the Republican Party.
The front page of Thursday’s Washington Post: “Trump impeached again” https://t.co/8MQCVmwdsN https://t.co/6XywJ3JK3M
Liz Cheney, one of the most important figures in the GOP, who voted for impeachment, and Jim Jordan, a strong supporter of the president, ” emerge as pro and anti-Trump faction leaders “.
The party is divided like never before, also reports the Wall Street Journal : “Senate and House leaders, party officials and longtime donors have different views on how to punish the president. “
Nevertheless, underlines the New York Times, “The loyalty that so many elected Republicans have shown to a president who lost his re-election and caused so much damage to their own party is astonishing”.
Donald Trump on Wednesday became the first American president to be impeached twice, as 10 members of his party joi… https://t.co/4tbV1CN22A
The newspapers are also wondering about the consequences of this procedure. The Constitution provides that the president indicted is tried by the Senate. An unlikely move before the end of Mr. Trump’s term in a week.
Sign of tensions among Republicans, most senators took refuge in silence, avoiding giving their position on the guilt of the president, underlines Politico. Seventeen Republican votes would be needed for a conviction.
IMPEACHED AGAIN. 📰 Tomorrow’s historic Trump impeachment @politico front page. Featuring bylines from… https://t.co/Gq6HUazDjB
In this case, there would no longer be any question of impeachment, Mr. Trump’s term having already ended. But, explains Vox, the stake of a trial before the Senate remains important, because the sanction could take the form of a ban from exercising future functions, while the outgoing president has let the idea of a new candidacy hang in 2024 .
Now that Trump has been impeached (again) by the House, it is up to the Senate to convict and remove him – and pote… https://t.co/SMrOYenZvV
Finally, others evoke the danger that a Senate trial could disrupt the first weeks of the Biden administration, which the latter would prefer to devote to the implementation of his program. Donald Trump’s trial would constitute ” a start of the presidency marked by polarization Even as Mr. Biden promised to reunite a divided country, emphasizes Vox.
