Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 41 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Rules Committee met and reported a closed rule, House Resolution 41, providing for consideration of H. Res. 24, impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

The rule provides 2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary. The rule also provides that upon adoption of H. Res. 24, H. Res. 40 is hereby adopted.

Finally, the rule extends recess instructions, suspension authority, and same-day authority through February 11, 2021.

Mr. Speaker, we are debating this historic measure at an actual crime scene, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for the President of the United States.

On Wednesday, January 6, Congress gathered here to fulfill our constitutional duty, tallying the electoral college victory of President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris after a free and fair election.

This is largely a ceremonial role for the Congress, one that sends the message to the world that democracy in the United States persists. But at a rally just a mile and a half down Pennsylvania Avenue, Donald Trump and his allies were stoking the anger of a violent mob.

A Member of this very body proclaimed on that stage: ``Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.''

Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, called for a ``trial by combat.''

Then Donald Trump told the crowd: ``We are going to have to fight much harder . . . you will never take back our country with weakness.''

Even though, according to his own administration that this election was the most secure in our history, Donald Trump repeated his big lie that this election was an egregious assault on democracy.

He said Vice President Pence ``was going to have to come through for us.''

Trump then told this mob to ``walk down to the Capitol.''

The signal was unmistakable: These thugs should stage a coup so Donald Trump can hang on to power. The people's will be damned.

This beacon of democracy became the site of a vicious attack. Rioters chanted, ``Hang Mike Pence,'' as noose and gallows were built a stone's throw from the Capitol steps. Capitol police officers were beaten and sprayed with pepper spray. Attackers hunted down lawmakers to hold them hostage or worse. Staff barricaded doors. People sent text messages to their families to tell them they loved them. They thought they were saying good-bye, Mr. Speaker.

This was not a protest. This was an insurrection. This was a well- organized attack on our country that was incited by Donald Trump.

Domestic terrorists broke into the United States Capitol that day and it is a miracle more people didn't die. As my colleagues and I were being evacuated to safety, I never ever will forget what I saw when I looked into the eyes of those attackers right in the Speaker's lobby there. I saw evil, Mr. Speaker. Our country came under attack not from a foreign nation, but from within.

These were not protesters. These were not patriots. These were traitors. These were domestic terrorists, Mr. Speaker, and they were acting under the orders of Donald Trump.

Some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that we just move on from this horror. But to gloss over it would be an abdication of our duty. Others on the Republican side have talked about unity. But we can't have unity without truth and without accountability. And I am not about to be lectured by people who just voted to overturn the results of a free and fair election.

America was attacked and we must respond, even when the cause of this violence resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Each of us took an oath last week. It wasn't to a party and it wasn't to a person. We vowed to defend the Constitution. The actions of Donald Trump have called each of us to fulfill that oath today. I pray that we rise to this responsibility because every moment Donald Trump is in the White House, our Nation and our freedom is in danger. He must be held to account for the attack on our Capitol that he organized and he incited.

I solemnly urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying article. The damage this building sustained can be repaired, Mr. Speaker; but if we don't hold Donald Trump accountable, the damage done to our Nation could be irreversible.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the powerful statement by Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who is the chair of the House Republican Conference, titled ``I will vote to impeach the President.''

Cheney: I Will Vote To Impeach the President

January 12, 2021.

Washington--Wyoming Congresswoman and House Republican

Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) released the following

statement ahead of votes in the House this week:

``On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United

States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and

stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This

insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most

sacred space in our Republic.

``Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but

what we know now is enough. The President of the United

States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the

flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing.

None of this would have happened without the President. The

President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to

stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater

betrayal by a President of the United States of his office

and his oath to the Constitution.

``I will vote to impeach the President.''

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear about just one thing: If we vote to impeach the President today and we send it over to the Senate, there is nothing to prevent the Senate from taking it up immediately if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decides that he wants to proceed, number one.

Number two, we all want to talk about unity. I can't think of anything

that would unify this country more than if there was a big bipartisan vote in favor of impeachment. Every second that this President remains in office is a danger to this country and to the world. We have no idea what he is capable of doing, whether he will pardon these terrorists or whether he will go to war.

So I urge all my colleagues on both sides to support this rule and the impeachment resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind all of my colleagues that what happened on Wednesday would not have happened if it weren't for the occupant in the White House. If we want to put the people first, we all ought to vote to impeach him and remove him from office as soon as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Brownley).

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Mr. Speaker, some of us objected 4 years ago as a protest vote to raise concerns about what all of our intelligence agencies had stated clearly, which was that Russia had interfered in our election.

What the gentleman fails to acknowledge is that we all acknowledged that Donald Trump was the President the day after the election. Hillary Clinton conceded the day after the election.

And none of us push conspiracy theories like some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have been doing, and this President, that somehow the President won in a landslide. Give me a break.

Yesterday, in the Rules Committee, I asked the gentleman from Ohio if he would just say five simple words. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that he was talking about healing. The five simple words that one could say that would help heal this Nation are that: ``The election was not stolen.'' That is it, five simple words. He refused. He said he never said the election was stolen. Well, the evidence shows otherwise. Let me reference this Dana Milbank piece titled ``Five pesky little words keep stumping Jim Jordan.''

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this. This Capitol was stormed. People died because of the big lies that were being told by this President and by too many people on the other side of the aisle.

Enough. People should be outraged as to what happened. It was unforgivable, unconscionable. Coming up on this floor and talking about whataboutism and trying to make these false equivalencies, give me a break.

The President of the United States instigated an attempted coup in this country. People died. Everybody should be outraged, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. If this is not an impeachable offense, I don't know what the hell is.

This President is not fit to remain in office.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. Speaker, when my friends talk about the President being committed to a peaceful transition, I just point to what happened on Wednesday when his words launched a violent attack against this Capitol where five people lost their lives and many more were injured. So give me a break.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a New York Times article published January 9 titled `` `Our President Wants Us Here': The Mob That Stormed the Capitol.'' It is another example of why our country cannot risk even one more day of Donald Trump.

[From the New York Times, Jan. 9, 2021]

Our President Wants Us Here: The Mob That Stormed the Capitol

(By Dan Barry, Mike McIntire and Matthew Rosenberg)

It was the table setter for what would come, with nearly

2,000 people gathering in Washington on Tuesday evening for a

``Rally to Save America.'' Speaker after angry speaker stoked

stolen-election conspiracy theories and name-checked sworn

enemies: Democrats and weak Republicans, Communists and

Satanists.

Still, the crowd seemed a bit giddy at the prospect of

helping President Trump reverse the result of the election--

though at times the language evoked a call to arms. ``It is

time for war,'' one speaker declared.

As the audience thinned, groups of young men emerged in

Kevlar vests and helmets, a number of them holding clubs and

knives. Some were aligned with the neofascist Proud Boys;

others with the Three Percenters, a far-right militia group.

``We're not backing down anymore,'' said a man with fresh

stitches on his head. ``This is our country.''

That night reflected a disconcerting mix of free speech and

certain menace; of everyday Americans supporting their

president and extremists prepared to commit violence for him.

All had assembled in answer to Mr. Trump's repeated appeals

to attend a march to the Capitol the next day that he

promised would be ``wild.''

It was. By Wednesday afternoon, a narrow group of Trump

supporters--some exuberant, some hellbent--had been storm-

tossed together into infamy. A mob overran the nation's

Capitol, as lawmakers hid in fear. Wholesale vandalism. Tear

gas. Gunfire. A woman dead; an officer dead; many injured.

Chants of ``U.S.A.! U.S.A.!''

But the insurrection failed.

It had been the culmination of a sustained assault by the

president and his enablers on fact-based reality, one that

began long before the November election but took on a fevered

urgency as the certainty of Mr. Trump's defeat solidified.

For years, he had demonized political opponents and the media

and egged on thuggish behavior at his rallies.

Since losing to Joseph R. Biden Jr., he had mounted a

campaign of lies that the presidency was being stolen from

him, and that marching on the Capitol was the last chance to

stop it. To many Americans, it looked like one more feel-good

rally to salve Mr. Trump's wounded ego, but some of his

supporters heard something altogether different--a battle

cry.

Now, dozens of them have been arrested--including an armed

Alabama man who had Molotov cocktails in his car and a West

Virginia lawmaker charged with illegally entering the

Capitol--and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking

for help in identifying those who ``actively instigated

violence.'' Many participants in the march are frantically

working to erase digital evidence of their presence for fear

of losing a job or being harassed online.

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has been broadly condemned and cut

off from his social media megaphones, as a new administration

prepares to take power.

Kevin Haag, 67, a retired landscaper from North Carolina

who ascended the Capitol steps as the crowd surged forward,

said he did not go inside and disapproved of those who did.

Even so, he said he would never forget the sense of

empowerment as he looked down over thousands of protesters.

It felt so good, he said, to show people: ``We are here. See

us! Notice us! Pay attention!''

Now, back home after several days of reflection, Mr. Haag,

an evangelical Christian, wonders whether he went too far.

``Should I get down on my knees and ask for forgiveness?'' he

said in an interview. ``I am asking myself that question.''

But the experience seemed to have only hardened the resolve

of others. Couy Griffin, 47, a Republican county commissioner

from New Mexico, spoke of organizing another Capitol rally

soon--one that could result in ``blood running out of that

building''--in a video he later posted to the Facebook page

of his group, Cowboys for Trump.

Couy Griffin, a Republican county commissioner from New

Mexico and organizer of the group Cowboys for Trump, said a

future Capitol rally could have ``blood running out of that

building.'' ``You want to say that that was a mob? You want

to say that was a violence? No, sir, no, ma'am, no. We could

have a Second Amendment rally on those same steps that we had

that rally yesterday. You know, and if we do, then it's going

to be a sad day, because there's going to be blood running

out of that building. But at the end of the day, you mark my

word, we will plant our flag on the desk of Nancy Pelosi and

Chuck Schumer and Donald J. Trump, if it boils down to it.''

Couy Griffin, a Republican county commissioner from New

Mexico and organizer of the group Cowboys for Trump, said a

future Capitol rally could have ``blood running out of that

building.'' CreditCredit . . . Cowboys for Trump via YouTube.

``At the end of the day, you mark my word, we will plant our

flag on the desk of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,'' he

said. He paused before adding, ``And Donald J. Trump if it

boils down to it.''

Plans take shape online: `Pack a crowbar'. The advance

publicity for the ``March for America'' had been robust.

Beyond the repeated promotions in tweets by the president and

his allies, the upcoming event was cheered on social media,

including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

But woven through many of the messages to stand up for Mr.

Trump--and, if possible, block the congressional

certification of the election he claimed he had won--was

language that flirted with aggression, even violence.

For example, the term ``Storm the Capitol'' was mentioned

100,000 times in the 30 days preceding Jan. 6, according to

Zignal Labs, a media insights company. Many of these mentions

appeared in viral tweet threads that discussed the possible

storming of the Capitol and included details on how to enter

the building.

To followers of QAnon, the convoluted collection of

conspiracy theories that falsely claims the country is

dominated by deep-state bureaucrats and Democrats who worship

Satan, the word ``storm'' had particular resonance. Adherents

have often referred to a coming storm, after which Mr. Trump

would preside over a new government order.

In online discussions, some QAnon followers and militia

groups explored which weapons and tools to bring. ``Pack a

crowbar,'' read one message posted on Gab, a social media

refuge for the far right. In another discussion, someone

asked, ``Does anyone know if the windows on the second floor

are reinforced?''

Still, the many waves of communication did not appear to

result in a broadly organized plan to take action. It is also

unclear if any big money or coordinated fund-raising was

behind the mobilization, though some Trump supporters appear

to have found funds through opaque online networks to help

pay for transportation to the rally.

``Patriots, if you need financial help getting to DC to

support President Trump on January 6th, please go to my

website,'' a QAnon adherent who identified himself as Thad

Williams, of Tampa, Fla., posted on Twitter three days before

the event. He said he had raised more than $27,000. (After

the Capitol assault, the money transfer companies PayPal and

Stripe shut down his accounts. Mr. Williams did not return a

phone message, but the website for his organization, Joy In

Liberty, said it had given out $30,000 to fund transportation

for ``deserving patriots.'')

Other rally goers set up fund-raising accounts through the

online service GoFundMe; Buzzfeed News cited at least a

dozen, and GoFundMe has since closed them.

One of the most conspicuous figures in the Capitol

assault--a bare-chested man with a painted face, flag-draped

spear and fur hat with horns--was linked to the online fund-

raising. A familiar presence at pro-Trump rallies in Phoenix,

Jacob Anthony Chansley, a 33-year-old voiceover actor, is

known as the Q Shaman. He started a GoFundMe account in

December to help pay for transportation to another Trump

demonstration in Washington, but the effort reportedly netted

him just $10. Mr. Chansley retweeted Mr. Williams's funding

offer on Jan. 3, but it is unclear whether he benefited from

it.

On Tuesday, the eve of the march, a couple thousand people

gathered at Freedom Plaza in Washington for ``The Rally to

Save America'' event, permitted as ``The Rally to Revival.''

The disparate interests of those attending were reflected by

the speakers: well-known evangelists, alt-right celebrities

(Alex Jones of Infowars) and Trump loyalists, including his

former national security

adviser Michael Flynn and the self-described Republican dirty

trickster Roger Stone, both of whom he had pardoned.

The speakers repeatedly encouraged the attendees to see

themselves as foot soldiers fighting to save the country.

Americans, Mr. Flynn said, were ready to ``bleed'' for

freedom.

``The members of the House of Representatives, the members

of the United States Senate, those of you who are feeling

weak tonight, those of you that don't have the moral fiber in

your body, get some tonight,'' he said. ``Because tomorrow,

we the people are going to be here and we want you to know we

will not stand for a lie.''

Inside the Capitol descends into chaos. It was President

Trump's turn. At about noon on Wednesday, he emerged from a

viewing party in a tent, strode onto a stage set up in a park

just south of the White House and, for more than an hour,

delivered a stream of inflammatory words.

He exhorted the crowd of more than 8,000 to march to the

Capitol to pressure lawmakers: ``Because you'll never take

back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and

you have to be strong.''

Even before he had finished speaking, people started moving

east toward the Capitol. The crowd included supporters who

had come by caravan from across the country, Trump flags

rippling in the wind, as well as people so moved by the

president's appeal for support that they had jumped into

their cars and driven for hours.

They traveled from various corners of resentment in 21st-

century America. Whether motivated by a sense of economic

disenfranchisement or distrust of government, by bigotry, or

conspiracy or a belief that Mr. Trump is God's way of

preparing for the Rapture, they shared a fealty to the

president.

Now the moment had come, a moment that twinned the

thrilling with the ominous.

``I'm happy, sad, afraid, excited,'' said Scott

Cyganiewicz, 56, a floor installer from Gardner, Mass., as he

watched the throngs of Trump loyalists streaming through the

streets. ``It's an emotional roller coaster.''

American flags and Trump paraphernalia mingled in the

crowd. Credit . . . Pete Marovich for The New York Times. Mr.

Cyganiewicz said he was on his way out of town. He did not

want to be around if violence broke out. Only a portion of

the broader crowd continued onto the Capitol grounds.

Soon word spread that Vice President Mike Pence--who would

oversee the pro forma count by Congress of the electoral

votes for certification--had announced he would not be

complicit in the president's efforts to overturn the

election.

``You can imagine the emotion that ran through people when

we get that word,'' said Mr. Griffin, the county commissioner

from New Mexico, in a video he posted on social media. ``And

then we get down to the Capitol and they have all the

inauguration set up for Joe Biden.''

He added, ``What do you think was going to happen?''

Many in the crowd spoke portentously of violence--or even

of another Civil War. A man named Jeff, who said he was an

off-duty police officer from York County, Pa., said he didn't

know what would happen after he and his wife Amy reached the

Capitol. But he felt ready to participate if something were

to erupt.

``There's a lot of people here willing to take orders,'' he

said. ``If the orders are given, the people will rise up.''

By the time the bulk of the crowd reached the building, its

leading edge had metastasized into an angry mob. A man barked

into a megaphone: ``Keep moving forward! Fight for Trump,

fight for Trump!''

``Military Tribunals! Hang them!'' shouted someone wearing

a cowboy hat.

Arrest Congress!'' screamed a woman in a flag scarf.

People surged past a few Capitol Police officers to bang on

the windows and doors. Many eyewitness accounts and videos

have since emerged that convey the pandemonium as hundreds of

people overwhelmed the inadequate law-enforcement presence.

In several instances of role reversal, for example, rioters

are seen firing what appeared to be pepper spray at police

officers trying to prevent mobs from getting closer to the

Capitol Building.

After a few minutes, the crowd broke through and began

streaming into an empty office. Glass shards crunched under

people's feet, as the scene descended into chaos.

Some stood in awe, while others took action. As one group

prepared to break through an entryway, a Trump supporter

raised a wine bottle and shouted, ``Whose way?'' To which the

crowd responded, ``Our way!''

Confusion reigned. ``Hey what's the Senate side?'' said a

tall man in camouflage and sunglasses.

``Where's the Senate? Can somebody Google it?''

All the while, members of The Oath Keepers, a self-

proclaimed citizens' militia, seemed to be standing guard--or

the transgressors. They wore olive-drab shirts, helmets and

patches on their upper-left sleeves that said, ``Guardians of

the Republic'' and ``Not on Our Watch.''

American flags flapped beside ``Trump 2020'' flags, and

people wearing ``Make America Great Again'' regalia moved

beside people wearing anti-Semitic slogans. Chants of ``Hell

No, Never Joe'' and ``Stop the Steal'' broke out, as did

strains of ``God Bless America'' and ``The Star-Spangled

Banner.''

Derrick Evans of West Virginia, who just two months before

had been elected as a Republican state delegate, wandered the

halls of the Capitol Building, filming himself and joining in

the occasional chant. At one point he shouted, ``Derrick

Evans is in the Capitol!''

Outside the building, Mr. Griffin, who was once

photographed wearing a 10-gallon hat and sitting across from

President Trump in the Oval Office, was now gleefully

addressing the camera from atop one of the crowded terraces,

declaring it ``a great day for America.'' Asserting that ``we

came peacefully,'' he was interrupted by a man wearing a

jacket with a hand-grenade logo, who said, ``Believe me, we

are well armed if we need to be.''

Amid the cheers and whoops of excitement were questions of

what to do next. Some can be heard hunting for specific

members of congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,

whose office was broken into by several people. She and other

lawmakers were hiding for fear of their safety.

One image showed a trim man moving through the Senate

chamber in full paramilitary regalia: camouflage uniform,

Kevlar vest, a mask and baseball cap obscuring his face. He

carried a stack of flex cuff--the plastic restraints used by

police. The image raised a question yet to be answered: Why

carry restraints if not to use them?

Several rioters wielded fire extinguishers. One stood on a

balcony on the Capitol building's west side, spraying down on

police officers trying to fend off the crowd. Others carried

them into the building itself, one into Statuary Hall and

another onto the steps outside the Senate Chamber, spraying

in the direction of journalists and police officers.

Our president wants us here,'' a man can be heard saying

during a livestream video that showed him standing within the

Capitol building. ``We wait and take orders from our

president.''

Despite his followers' hopes and expectations, President

Trump was missing in action as rioters rampaged through the

halls of Congress. It would be hours before he eventually

surfaced in a somewhat subdued videotaped appeal for them to

leave.

``We have to have peace,'' he said. ``So go home, we love

you, you're very special.''

Some of Mr. Trump's supporters expressed frustration, even

disbelief, that the president seemed to have given up after

they had put themselves on the line for him.

Mr. Haag, the retired landscaper, was among the

disappointed. Still, he said, the movement will continue even

without Mr. Trump.

We are representing the 74 million people who got

disenfranchised,'' he said. ``We are still out here. We are a

force to be reckoned with. We are not going away.''

One man wandered away from the Capitol in the evening

gloom, yelling angrily through a megaphone that Mr. Pence was

a coward and, now, Mr. Trump had told everyone ``to just go

home.''

Well, he can go home to his Mar-a-Lago estate,'' the man

shouted, adding, ``We gotta go back to our businesses that

are closed!''

As some rioters face fallout, others mull a repeat. In the

aftermath of what Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority

leader, called a ``failed insurrection,'' scores of those who

responded to the incendiary words of the president now face a

reckoning.

A chief target of investigators will be whoever struck

Brian Sicknick of the Capitol Police with a fire

extinguisher; the 42-year-old officer died Thursday after

being injured in the riot. At the same time, authorities are

investigating the fatal police shooting of Ashli Babbitt, 35,

an Air Force veteran who had joined those breaching the

Capitol.

Among those charged so far with federal crimes are Mr.

Chansley, the so-called Q Shaman; Mr. Evans, the West

Virginia lawmaker--who resigned on Saturday; and Richard

Barnett, an Arkansas man who was depicted in a widely

circulated photograph sitting with his foot on a desk in Ms.

Pelosi's office.

Meanwhile, Mr. Griffin, the commissioner from New Mexico

who runs Cowboys for Trump, saw his group's Twitter account

suspended and calls for his resignation.

The anger, resentment and conspiracy-laced distrust that

led to Wednesday's mayhem did not dissipate with Thursday's

dawn. Along with the smashed furniture in the Capitol

Building, there were smashed expectations of a continued

Trump presidency, of lawmakers held to account, of holy

prophecies fulfilled.

Signs of potential violence have already surfaced. Twitter,

which terminated Mr. Trump's account on Friday, noted that

``plans for future armed protests have already begun

proliferating'' online, including ``a proposed secondary

attack on the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings on

January 17.''

The urge for more civil unrest is being discussed in the

usual squalid corners of the internet. Private chat groups on

Gab and Parler are peppered with talk of a possible ``Million

Militia March'' on Jan. 20 that would disrupt the

presidential inauguration of Mr. Biden.

There is chatter about ride shares, where to find lodging

in the Washington area--and what to bring. Baseball bats,

perhaps, or assault rifles.

``We took the building once,'' one commenter posted, ``we

can take it again.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Mr. Speaker, may I ask the gentleman how many more speakers he may have?

We have exhausted all of our speakers.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I thank my friend, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, Mr. Cole, for his friendship and for the way he conducts himself in this Chamber. I know he has great respect for this institution.

Mr. Speaker, it is impossible for me to fully capture the reverence that I have for the United States Capitol. I worked on these grounds starting back when I was a college intern working for Senator George McGovern back in 1977. No relation. Great last name.

Since that time, I have done everything from working as a staffer for Congressman Joe Moakley of Massachusetts to being elected to the United States House of Representatives myself.

But that internship will always be a high point of my life: Coming here for the first time, walking these hallowed Halls, and seeing the glory of American democracy up close.

The idea that someone would incite an out-of-control mob of homegrown fascists and domestic terrorists to desecrate the people's House fills me with a deep sadness for our country. The contempt that these people had for our democracy and our freedom fills me with horror.

What Donald Trump did, encouraging them, fills me with rage not just on behalf of all of those serving here, but all of those who work in these Halls. And I am talking about the reporters, the cafeteria workers, the custodians, the Clerks, the Parliamentarians--I can go on and on and on--and the staff, the Democratic staff, the Republican staff, the nonpartisan support staff, who were terrorized, some hiding under their desks and barricading in their offices.

I was in the Speaker's chair the day this unfolded, and many of the people who are sitting up there now were present at that time. What a horrifying thing for anybody to have to experience.

Now, some of my Republican friends have been trying to lecture us about unity here today after they voted to overturn a free and fair election of the United States of America, but also preaching unity and not acknowledging that, for 4 years, many of them gave oxygen to Donald Trump's conspiracy theories, to the big lies. They have turned the other way in the face of racism and bigotry and how he embraced some of the most intolerant voices in this country. They just let it go.

I will remind everybody here that words have consequences, and ignoring words that are wrong also have consequences. What happened would never have happened if everybody stood up in unity and called out the President when he was not telling the American people the truth, when he was pushing a big lie. We will never have unity without truth and also without accountability.

This week in Congress, we saw the best of us and the worst of us. Some of my colleagues have shown that they will defend this President no matter what he does. There is nothing that he could do that would dissuade them from all-out support. But some are standing up and doing the right thing under tremendous pressure, and I am proud of that and I honor them for their courage.

This impeachment resolution outlines the truth of what Trump did. It is time that this Congress now holds him accountable for his words and for their devastating impact.

Last week, we took an oath to protect this Nation. As history calls on us today, I pray that we all have the moral clarity to uphold it here today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin my formal remarks, I want to ask for God's blessing and protection on you; on my friend, Mr. McGovern; for all who come to this Chamber today to speak and to vote; for our wonderful staff that make this possible; and most especially for the men and women of the Capitol Police and the other affiliated law enforcement agencies that are here to protect everybody and to make sure that this proceeding can go forward.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts, my very good friend, the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, today is a sad day for all of us, for me personally, for the Rules Committee, for the entire House of Representatives, and most certainly for the American people.

For the second time in 13 months, we are meeting to discuss the impeachment of the President of the United States. Our meeting today does not arise in a vacuum and comes at what I hope and pray is the end of a tumultuous period for our country.

Less than 1 week ago, Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election. What started out as peaceful protests, turned into a riot as an untold number of individuals stormed the Capitol Building. Six people died as a result of this mob. It is only by the grace of God and the brave acts of the U.S. Capitol Police; the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police; the FBI; the ATF; and other responding agencies that there was not more bloodshed.

Violent acts such as these have no place in our Republic. These shocking and sobering events rest high on our minds today, as well they should. Certainly, January 6, 2021, will live in my memory as the darkest day during my time in service as a Member of this House.

After these grave events, we, as a nation and as an institution, have an opportunity to come together. President Trump has conceded the 2020 election. Congress has certified the results of the election, and next Wednesday, President-elect Biden will be sworn in as the President of the United States.

Congress and the Nation can move forward knowing that the political process was completed as designed and that the constitutional framework that has governed our Republic since 1789 held firm. But instead of moving forward as a unifying force, majority in the House is choosing to divide us further.

With only 1 week to go in his term, the majority is asking us to consider a resolution impeaching President Trump, and they do so knowing full well that even if the House passes this resolution, the Senate will not be able to begin considering these charges until after President Trump's term ends.

Mr. Speaker, I can think of no action the House can take that is more likely to further divide the American people than the action we are contemplating today. Emotions are clearly running high and political divisions have never been more apparent in my lifetime.

We desperately need to seek a path forward, healing for the American people. So it is unfortunate that a path to support healing is not the path the majority has chosen today. Instead, the House is moving forward erratically with a truncated process that does not comport with the modern practice and that will give Members no time to contemplate the serious course of action before us.

In every modern impeachment inquiry, an investigation and committee action has preceded bringing an impeachment resolution to the floor. In part, this is to ensure that members have the full facts, the opportunity to engage expert witnesses, and have a chance to be heard. It also provides due process to the President of the United States. Again, in every modern impeachment inquiry, the President has been given an opportunity to be heard in some form or another.

This is necessary in order to ensure that the American people have confidence in the procedures the House is following. It is also necessary, not because of the President's inappropriate and reckless words are deserving of defense, but because the Presidency itself demands due process in the impeachment proceedings.

Unfortunately, the majority has chosen to race to the floor with a new Article of Impeachment, forgoing any investigation, any committee process or any chance for Members to fully contemplate this course of action before proceeding.

Professor Jonathan Turley is correct when he called this ``a dangerous snap impeachment--an impeachment that effectively would go to a vote without the deliberation or inquiries of a traditional hearing.''

Professor Turley also noted that ``the damage caused by the rioters this week was enormous. However, it will pale in comparison to the damage from a new precedent of a snap impeachment. . . .''

Mr. Speaker, if the majority is seeking consensus, this is hardly the way to create it.

The majority is failing to provide the House with an opportunity to review all the facts--which are still coming to light--to discuss all the evidence, to listen to scholars, to examine the witnesses, and to consider precedence. This is not the type of robust process we have followed for every modern impeachment, and the failure to do so does a great disservice to this institution and to this country.

Mr. Speaker, I could think of nothing that will cause further division more than the path the majority is now taking. Rather than looking ahead to a new administration, the majority is again seeking to settle scores against the old one. Rather than seeking to heal America, they are seeking to divide us more deeply, and rather than following the appropriate processes the House has used in every modern impeachment, the majority is rushing to the floor, tripping all over themselves in their rush to impeach the President a second time.

What is worse, though, is the majority seems to believe this course of action is self-evident, and that is simply not the case. I have to tell them: it is not. Members have reviewed the same conduct and have come to dramatically different conclusions. Legal scholars like Professor Turley and Professor Alan Dershowitz, both of whom condemn the President's statements, believe that his statements are not impeachable. I know other scholars have different points of view.

Given this difference of opinion, shouldn't we have a better process than this?

Shouldn't we have a chance to examine witnesses, discuss the matter with legal scholars, and consider this in committee?

On a matter as grave and consequential as impeachment, shouldn't we follow the same process we have used in every modern impeachment rather than rushing to the floor?

On behalf of generations of Americans to come, we need to think more clearly about the consequences of our actions today. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, there is no reason to rush forward like this, other than the very obvious fact that there are only 7 days left until the new President takes office. But what is worse, as Professor Dershowitz has pointed out, because of the Senate's rules, the case cannot come to trial in the Senate until 1 p.m. on January 20, 1 hour after President Trump leaves office.

This is an ill-advised course, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker. Even Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, agrees. Senator Manchin is quoted this week as having said, ``I think this is so ill-advised for Joe Biden to be coming in, trying to heal the country, trying to be the President of all the people when we are going to be so divided and fighting again. Let the judicial system do its job.''

So what, then, is the point of the rush to impeach?

We are coming off a horrific event that resulted in six deaths. We have an opportunity to move forward, but we cannot if the majority insists on bringing the country through the trauma of another impeachment. It will carry forward into the next President's term ensuring that he will struggle to organize his administration. What is worse, it will continue to generate the bitterness so many of us have opposed.

Why put us through that when we can't actually resolve this before the end of the President's term?

Mr. Speaker, I think my colleagues in the majority need to think about this more soberly. We need to recognize we are following a flawed process. We need to recognize that people of goodwill can differ. We need to recognize that, while the House may be done with this matter after today's vote, it will not be done for the country. It will not be done for the Senate, and it will not be done for the incoming Biden administration. The House's action today will only extend the division longer than necessary.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would note that there are other remedies that can be pursued. The President is expected to face litigation over his role in last Wednesday's events. There will be criminal proceedings against the perpetrators, and I hope all of those who stormed the Capitol will be brought to justice. And some Members have proposed an alternative procedure--censuring the President--which could garner significant bipartisan support in the House.

I do not think impeachment is a wise course, Mr. Speaker. I would urge my friends in the majority to reconsider. There is still time to choose a different path, one that leads to reconciliation and hope for better and brighter days.

Mr. Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to immediately bring up a resolution establishing a bipartisan national commission on the domestic terrorist attack on the United States Capitol. This proposed bipartisan commission will be tasked with examining and reporting upon the terror attack upon our Capitol that occurred last Wednesday. The commission will be bipartisan in nature, modeled after the 9/11 Commission, and will fully be empowered to undertake a full investigation and make recommendations to the President and to Congress.

I can think of no more appropriate path for Congress to follow than by ensuring a bipartisan commission reviews all evidence and reports back to us on this horrific event.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), who is the ranking Republican member on the House Administration Committee, for a further explanation of this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace), one of our new Members, and note this is her first speech on the House floor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), the distinguished Republican leader of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), a new member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my very good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I advise the Chair that I have additional speakers on the way, but they are having a difficult time. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop), who is my very good friend.

Whenever the gentleman is prepared to close, we will close. We were hopeful that one of our speakers would arrive, but they are having a difficult time getting here.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for presiding over these difficult proceedings today. I thank my good friend, the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee. And I thank everybody who came to the floor and had something to say at an important moment.

I think the debate, while spirited, reflected the civility and decency of the institution that we are all privileged to be part of. I am very proud to have been part of it. I am very proud of all the Members and the manner in which they participated.

I want, again, to thank the staff and thank those who kept us safe in the process, particularly the Capitol Police.

Mr. Speaker, I oppose this rule, and I oppose the majority's actions today. After the traumatic events of last week, the majority should be taking steps to unite us. Instead, they are only dividing us further.

They are rushing to judgment, in my opinion, and bringing up impeachment after failing to follow any meaningful process whatsoever. No hearings have been held, no witnesses heard, no process or opportunity to respond was provided to the President. No Members had an opportunity to review or amend this article before it came to the floor. This is hardly the way the House should undertake such a serious act.

Mr. Speaker, there is still a way to unite the country. Let us look forward, not backward. Let us come together, not apart. Let us celebrate the peaceful transition of power to a new President rather than impeaching an old President. And let us affirm and reaffirm with one united voice that the House does not rush to judgment on the most consequential action we can take. Mr. Speaker, we deserve better than that and the American people deserve better than that.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, as they reflect on this minute and we move into our next stage of debate, to remember that we are all privileged to represent a great and a good people. We have gone through a horrifying and tragic time, and we owe them the opportunity to reflect and we owe them our best efforts to bring everyone together.

I know people on this floor feel very passionately about this subject with different points of view. I honor each one of those points of view and I honor the people that voice them. Let's remember when we are through this that we are one people and that we have one purpose, that we are free through the grace of God and millions of brave Americans over centuries of time and we will remain that way, and we will move forward together once we settle this debate.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question, ``no'' on the rule, ``no'' on the underlying measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Rules Committee for yielding. I congratulate him for his efforts down at the Rules Committee in acting and acting swiftly.

I appreciate the remarks of Mr. Cole, for whom I have great respect, but I disagree with his sense of a lack of urgency in action. I do agree with him of the consequences of our action. There are consequences to actions, and the actions of the President of the United States demand urgent and clear action by the Congress of the United States.

The chairman of the committee introduced the remarks and put them in the Record, but I want to reference the remarks of the chair of the Republican Conference, which is the analog to the Democratic Caucus. It is all the Republicans elected to the Congress of the United States in the House of Representatives. And they elected Liz Cheney, the daughter of the Vice President of the United States, the former whip of this House, Dick Cheney, with whom I served in the eighties.

Representative Cheney, from Wyoming, a conservative Republican, said this: ``The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.''

That is not some irresponsible new Member of the Congress of the United States. This is the daughter of the former Republican whip and former Vice President of the United States of America. She knows of what she speaks.

She said this as well: ``There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.''

This is not, as Liz Cheney says, just some action. She characterized it as the biggest betrayal of any President of the United States in our history.

Mr. John Katko--not a backbench Republican who just got here and doesn't know what is going on--Mr. John Katko, who is the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, says this: ``To allow the President of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy.''

This is not some backbencher on their side of the aisle, Mr. Speaker. It reflects the sense of outrage and the sense of historic dissimilarity from the actions of any previous President.

Then Mr. Adam Kinzinger, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a senior Member from Illinois--so we have a Member from Wyoming, a Member from Illinois, and a Member from New York. There will be others on this vote who will join them. Mr. Kinzinger said this: ``If these actions''--he hasn't had any hearings; he doesn't need any long, drawn-out consideration--``If these actions are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?''

There is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath and incited this insurrection.

I tell my friend, Mr. Speaker, a gentleman for whom I have great respect--he is my friend, and I say that honestly, not just as rhetoric that we say on this floor, because there are some that I don't consider friends, whose values I do not share. That is not Mr. Cole. We have a difference. Liz Cheney, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, and other Republicans whom I have talked to within the last 24 hours believe this action is required.

Mr. Speaker, I see the gentleman from Ohio is on the floor. He likes to say that we Democrats were elected and the first thing we wanted to do was impeach this President. He is shaking his head in agreement because, like the President of the United States, he denies the facts. Trump-like. Fake news.

Mr. Speaker, December 6, 2017, Mr. Green, who I am going to refer to, offered a motion because he saw the danger that confronted our country, and he filed a resolution of impeachment. On December 6, 2017, we had a vote on that, and the majority of Democrats voted ``no''--actually, they voted ``yes'' to table--so that we did not proceed in 2017.

The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) thought, however, the next year that there was still a danger to our country. Some of us shared that view, but we were not confident that the case could be made or that the transactions that preceded would lead to conviction. So, on January 19 of 2018, we had a motion to table Mr. Green's resolution, and the majority of Democrats voted to table that resolution.

What a rush to judgment.

And then, on July 17, 2019, 9 days before the call to Ukraine to get the Ukrainian leader to act on the political behalf of the President of the United States and where he withheld money to defend the Ukrainian people from Russian involvement and offered that as a bribe, on July 17, the majority of Democrats voted to table that resolution.

Mr. Speaker, there was no rush to judgment.

Then that call to which I just referred was on July 26, 9 days later. I call that the ``a-ha moment.'' Yes, I knew what I thought, but that was proof.

Some gentlemen have lamented that we didn't know the whistleblower, because, after all, if we knew the whistleblower, we could intimidate everybody else from coming forward. This President has done everything he can to intimidate whistleblowers, people who came forward and told the truth. And we had witness after witness after witness who confirmed what the whistleblower brought to our attention.

So, Mr. Speaker, the reason I rise today--and I am going to speak on the resolution itself at some later time--is to recognize the contributions that Al Green from Texas has made to getting us to this place.

I am not going to read all of the resolution, but I want to read some excerpts from the resolution he has introduced. We won't be considering his resolution. We will be considering Mr. Cicilline's resolution which over 200 others have signed on to.

Mr. Green had a resolution be introduced: ``Resolved, that Donald Trump, President of the United States'' . . . `'is impeached for high misdemeanors, and that the following Articles of Impeachment be exhibited to the Senate.''

Article I says, ``In his capacity as President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies necessary for stability''--to which my friend spoke, the gentleman from Oklahoma-- Donald John Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the Office of President ``has harmed the society of the United States, brought shame and dishonor to the Office of President of the United States, sowing discord among the people of the United States'' by weaponizing hate for political gain.

He went on to say, ``On January 6, 2021, in a speech at the National Mall, President Donald Trump weaponized the hate that resulted in violence, the deaths of multiple people, an assault on democracy, and an insurrection against the Capitol of the United States of America by inciting a mob''--who said that? Liz Cheney said it, and Al Green said it--infected with white supremacists carrying a rebel flag, erecting a gallows structure with a noose, wearing shirts and hateful messages such as ``Camp Auschwitz: Work Brings Freedom'' and ``MAGA Civil War, January 6, 2021.'' ``MAGA Civil War.''

They had the hats on of the army of MAGA, which I refer to as ``Make America Grieve Again.'' We grieved at Fort Sumter; we grieved on December 7, 1941; and we grieved on 9/11. And, yes, we grieved on January 6 of this year.

He goes on to say what the President told this mob that Liz Cheney said was recruited by the President of the United States. This is the President talking to this mob:

``All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by bold and radical left Democrats''--like the Secretary of State in Georgia and the Governor of Georgia--``which is what they are doing, and stolen by the fake news media.''

Inciting, riling up, creating anger with the fake news and lies that the President of the United States said to these folks.

``That is what they have done and what they are doing,'' the President continued. ``We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn't happen. You don't concede when there is theft involved.''

And so what did they do? Incited by this President, as Liz Cheney said, as John Katko said, as Adam Kinzinger said, and, frankly, what Secretary Chao acted upon and what the Secretary of Homeland Security acted upon and what so many others in the administration have acted upon--disgusted, dismayed, and disheartened by what their President had done, they got out. They quit.

The President further emboldened them, saying--this is the Green resolution. We are not considering it, but it is the Green resolution. The President further emboldened them, saying, ``You will never take back our country with weakness.''

We had a display of non-weakness, criminal insurrection-like conduct, recruited by and deployed by the President of the United States to come to this Capitol and ``stop the steal.''

The ``steal,'' of course, was: We assembled, accepting what all the courts that considered it said was a fair and accurate election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President of the United States.

After his National Mall speech, a mob of his supporters proceeded to the Capitol complex. We know that.

And so Mr. Green's resolution ends with, ``Wherefore, to prevent national harm to our society, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, warrants an immediate impeachment trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States Constitution and the 14th Amendment.''

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Green is going to speak after me, but, in conclusion, let me tell my friend Mr. Cole: I have been here some time; he has as well. I served with Ronald Reagan, with George H.W. Bush, and George Bush. I had respect for all of those Presidents. They cared about our country, they honored our Constitution, and they executed the duties of their office consistent with the Constitution and laws of our country.

That is not true of this President, and, therefore, he ought to be removed. We have that opportunity to do so. Is there little time left? Yes. But it is never too late to do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Contrary to my good friend's words, the President of the United States is an insurrectionist. He led an insurrection against the United States of America.

Prior to the January 6 attack by violent domestic terrorists, the President spoke to the crowd for 1 hour, and these were his words. These were his words, which is that we cannot take the Nation back. We have to take the Nation back with strength, and you must go and do that. Those were the paraphrase of his words.

The President provoked these domestic terrorists with words, with actions and conduct that betray a contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under the law, telling domestic terrorists, nearly all of them white supremacists, many of them, who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail Congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the vote.

Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary and on Homeland Security, I rise in strong support of the rule governing debate on H. Res. 24, a resolution impeaching the current President of the United States for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, warranting his conviction and removal from office and, in accordance with Article I, Section 3, clause 7, disqualification from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.''

I strongly support the rule and the underlying resolution calling for impeachment and removal of this President because after the horrifying events of Wednesday last, January 6, 2021, another day that will live in infamy, the continuance in office of this President for even one moment longer represents a clear and present threat to the security of the United States, its people, institutions, and democratic form of government.

To put it in the words of the Framers, the current President's conduct reflects and reveals a person ``whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.''

To put it in contemporary terms, the current President can rightly be said to be perhaps the leading cause of state-sponsored domestic terrorism.

Every minute this President remains in office represents a minute of maximum peril to the American people and the American Experiment.

Unrepentant after his perfidious and treacherous conduct of Wednesday last, the President just yesterday went to Alamo, Texas, without giving any advance notice or consultation to the leaders of that community.

Does anyone really doubt that the President's true purpose in going to Alamo was to signal to his band of disloyalists his desire that they make a last stand and fight to the death in his name?

I do not, and neither does the majority of the American people, and I suspect that in their heart of hearts, neither do our colleagues on the Republican side.

Mr. Speaker, three facts demonstrate why immediate action to remove the President is essential.

First, the abject failure and refusal of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed puts lives at risk.

When the U.S. Capitol was besieged last week by domestic terrorists, the President obstructed and denied the request of the Mayor of the District of Columbia to call out the National Guard to protect life and property; it took the Vice-President, working with Speaker Pelosi and incoming Senate Majority Leader Schumer to prevail upon the Department of Defense to come to the defense of the Capitol and the people trapped inside.

Instead of acting in accordance with his sacred oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and to take care that the people and property of the United States are protected against all enemies, foreign or domestic, the President did nothing but watch the mayhem on television, ebullient at the enthusiastic display of support from his lawless loyalists.

Second, the current President's conduct stands in stark and marked contrast to his conduct earlier this year when protests were sweeping the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, when the President dispatched law enforcement authorities to put down peaceful protests led by moms and veterans in Portland, Oregon and social justice activists in Washington, D.C.

Back then, the President mobilized a heavy police presence, many on horseback and others using tear gas, to clear Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so he could walk across the street to have himself photographed clutching a bible upside down in front of a church.

Third, the President's words, actions, and conduct betray a contempt and hostility to the national value of equal justice under law, telling the domestic terrorists, many of whom were white supremacists who support him politically, who stormed the Capitol to derail Congress from completing its constitutionally required duty of counting and verifying the votes of presidential electors, that ``we love you. You're very special,'' while referring to African Americans and other persons of color protesting social injustice and inequalities in the criminal justice system as ``animals,'' ``thugs,'' and ``anarchists.''

Mr. Speaker, the President's actions inciting insurrection against the United States was the proximate cause of the horrifying siege of the U.S. Capitol, the destruction and desecration of the Citadel of Democracy, and the deaths of at least six persons, one of whom was a uniformed officer to the United States Capitol Police, whom was bludgeoned to death by the incited mob.

Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, Donald John Trump has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurptions, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States.

The utter unfitness of the President for the office he holds and his contempt for the sacred oath he took before the nation with God as his witness, was vividly on display on January 6, 2021.

But signs of his calumny were on display in plain sight, reflected by his misbehavior and malfeasance from the earliest days of his administration.

Abusing the powers and resources of his high office, this President has actively and continuously endeavored to undermine the essential institutions and foundations of a democratic system of government in the United States, engaging in a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evincing a design to make himself an authoritarian ruler unaccountable to, and independent of, the people of the United States by:

(1) Soliciting and welcoming the assistance of a hostile foreign power to aid him in securing election in 2016 as President of the United States;

(2) Refusing to acknowledge Russian interference in the internal affairs of the United States, and then opposing responses by Congress and the Executive Branch to protect the national security and interests of the United States against future Russian interference and aggression;

(3) Publicly conveying his interest and willingness to accept the assistance of foreign powers in his attempt win reelection as President of the United States;

(4) Refusing continuously to acknowledge to the American people that he would accept and be bound by the verdict rendered in the 2020 Presidential election, instead claiming that any outcome in which he was not declared the winner was fraudulent, rigged, and illegitimate;

(5) Taking active measures to impede and undermine the ability of American citizens to convey their disapproval of his continuance in office by exercising their rights as voters, including misusing the United States Postal Service to prevent the timely delivery of mail-in ballots;

(6) Instituting frivolous lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election, falsely alleging wide-spread voting fraud but producing no evidence in support of his spurious allegations;

(7) Exhorting and inciting his supporters to believe falsely that victory in the 2020 Presidential election had been stolen from him and

that constitutionally required Joint Meeting of Congress for the purpose of counting the votes of electors and announcement of the result by the President of the Senate was illegitimate and intended to complete the theft of his victory; and

(8) Failing to take action to protect and defend Federal officers and personnel, property, buildings, and institutions on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by supporters of Donald John Trump, resulting in extensive damage to the property of the United States and the deaths of at least four persons.

This is why multiple Members of Congress, introduced resolutions of articles of impeachment; joined by dozens of original cosponsors, I introduced H. Res. 26, impeaching the President for the High Crimes and Misdemeanors of (1) Abuse of Power and (2) Willful Refusal And Failure To Protect And Defend The Constitution Of The United States.

Mr. Speaker, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

He must be impeached, convicted, removed from office, and disqualified from ever again holding and enjoying an Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.

My love and reverence for the Constitution compels me to vote to impeach this President and I urge all my colleagues who revere the Constitution and our democracy, which has endured for more than 240 years, to join me in voting for the rule for H. Res. 24, so we can vote to impeach Donald John Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors against the United States.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, let me be clear: Last week's violent attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, un-American, and criminal. Violence is never a legitimate form of protest. Freedom of speech and assembly under the Constitution is rooted in nonviolence. Yet the violent mob that descended upon this body was neither peaceful nor democratic. It acted to disrupt Congress' constitutional responsibility. It was also an attack on the people who work in this institution: Members, staff, and the hundreds who work behind the scenes so that we can serve the American people.

The greatest statesman in the history of our country understood that the most dangerous threat to freedom is lawlessness. A young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln famously said, ``There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.''

Yet, for several hours last week, mob law tried to interfere with constitutional law.

Some say the riots were caused by antifa. There is absolutely no evidence of that, and Conservatives should be the first to say so.

Conservatives also know that the only thing that stops mob violence is to meet it with force rooted in justice and backed by moral courage. Last week, we saw mob violence met by courage, sacrifice, and heroism from the brave men and women who protect this institution every day. But for the bravery of the Capitol Police, the destruction and loss could have been

much greater. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

The loss of Officer Brian Sicknick and Officer Howard Liebengood was tragic and heartbreaking. We mourn their loss, remember their lives, and continue to pray for their families and loved ones.

The officers of the Capitol Police deserve our eternal thanks. We will never forget the dangers they faced, the determination they showed, or the sacrifices they made.

Make no mistake, those who are responsible for Wednesday's chaos will be brought to justice, which brings me to today's debate. I believe impeaching the President in such a short timeframe would be a mistake.

No investigations have been completed. No hearings have been held. What is more, the Senate has confirmed that no trial will begin until after President-elect Biden is sworn in.

But here is what a vote to impeach would do. A vote to impeach would further divide this Nation. A vote to impeach will further fan the flames of partisan division.

Most Americans want neither inaction nor retribution. They want durable, bipartisan justice. That path is still available, but it is not the path we are on today.

That doesn't mean the President is free from fault. The President bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.

These facts require immediate action by President Trump: accept his share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest, and ensure President-elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term.

And the President's immediate action also deserves congressional action, which is why I think a factfinding commission and a censure resolution would be prudent. Unfortunately, that is not where we are today.

Truly, this past week was one of the most difficult for Congress and our Nation. Of all the days here, last Wednesday was the worst day I have ever seen in Congress. Our country is deeply hurt.

So, where do we go from here? After all the violence and chaos of the last week, it is important to remember that we are still here to deliver a better future for all Americans. It does not matter if you are liberal, moderate, or conservative; all of us must resist the temptations of further polarization. Instead, we must unite once again as Americans.

I understand, for some, this call for unity may ring hollow, but times like these are when we must remember who we are as Americans and what we, as a nation, stand for.

As history shows, unity is not an option; it is a necessity. It is as necessary today as it was at the start of our country. I want us all to think back to how John Adams and the Federalist Party handed power over to Thomas Jefferson and his party after the election of 1800.

That election and, indeed, that era was one of the most divisive ever. Partisans used every dirty trick in the book. They demonized each other, dismissed reasonable dissent, and described their opponents as seditious. Sound familiar?

The election of 1800 could have destroyed our young Nation, but instead of breaking us, it helped bring us together, thereby preserving the world's last best hope of freedom. After a hard-fought battle over the electoral college in Congress, Adams conceded. A peaceful transfer of power, the first in American history, took place.

Jefferson, for his part, put aside the division of the era and preached forgiveness and, yes, unity. In his first inaugural address, he famously said: ``Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.''

Jefferson and Adams did not end every difference of opinion that existed in America, nor did they try. In a free country as big and diverse as ours, that would be impossible. What they did was more important. They recognized the deeper unity, a unity rooted in the famous proposition both men helped to write. At a critical moment in history, our Founders chose peace, liberty, and partnership over tension, division, and partisanship.

For the sake of our country, we must make the exact same choice. We have already begun.

Last week, despite the lingering shock and amid the windows still broken, we did what all healthy democracies do. We debated, and we voted. In this country, we solve our disputes at the ballot box and through debates and votes on the floor of this exact Chamber. We did our duty then, and we must do more.

The eyes of the Nation and the world are upon us. We must seize this opportunity and heal and grow stronger. As leaders, our place in history depends on whether we call on our better angels and refocus our efforts to work directly for the American people.

United, we can deliver the peace, strength, and prosperity our country desperately needs. Divided, we will fail.

What we saw last week was not the American way. Neither is the continued rhetoric that Joe Biden is not the legitimate President.

Let's be clear: Joe Biden will be sworn in as President of the United States in 1 week because he won the election.

And his Presidency and this Congress will face immediate challenges that must be addressed. I stand ready to assist in that effort with good faith, goodwill, and an open hand.

The United States remains exceptional. We remain extraordinary. In the coming weeks and months, we must work together, all of us, to recharge the light of our shining city on the hill.

History has shown us a way. History has given us a path. Just as Adams and Jefferson have shown, now is the moment that we should do the exact same.

In these trying times, may God continue to bless America. Let's chart a course that history will repeat but not what is happening today.