Opening the debate, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) said members of Congress were standing at "an actual crime scene" to debate the "historic measure."
House Speaker Pelosi (D-California) described Trump as a clear and present danger, accusing him of inciting armed rebellion against the nation.
Republicans arguing against impeachment argued the act would only further divide a fractured nation.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) said."I can think of no action the House can take that is more likely to further divide the American people."The House previously passed a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to begin the process of removing Trump from his position under the powers of the 25th Amendment, but this was quickly shot down by Pence.
It remains unclear how impeachment would move forward in the Senate, as members are not set to be in session until January 19, only a day before Joe Biden's inauguration.
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The number-three House Republican, Liz Cheney, said she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump over the Capitol riot, becoming the latest GOP member to back the move while stoking both joy and outrage from observers online.
"Good for Liz Cheney. She is putting the country over her party," one user wrote, while another reluctantly celebrated the hawkish lawmaker: "Liz Cheney as the person doing the right thing? That's dark. That's real freakin' dark."
Critics from all over the political spectrum also met the news with jeers, with right-wing commentator Michelle Malkin castigating Cheney as "despicable" and "the enemy within," while progressive journalist Jeremy Scahill quipped:"Let me know when Liz Cheney supports prosecuting her dad. Until then, she can quit with that opportunistic press release"referring to her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, who helped launch the disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Other detractors saw the move as opportunistic, suggesting Cheney might have a future presidential bid in mind, or is concerned that high-dollar donors are "jumping ship" in the fallout of the Capitol Hill riot, which left at least five dead in its wake.
Cheney became the second House Republican to join the renewed impeachment effort, after New York Congressman John Katko voiced support earlier on Tuesday, insisting he "cannot sit by without taking action" and "will vote to impeach this president."
Soon after Cheney's statement, Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger also jumped on board, reasoning that Trump "encouraged an angry mob to storm the United States Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes." Michigan legislator Fred Upton became another GOP member to turn his back on Trump as of Tuesday night.
The GOP defections have prompted predictions that others in the party would soon follow suit, with some commenters outright encouraging them to do so, while others suggested Cheney's stance could provide "cover" for fellow Republicans.
Some in the conservative commentariat pushed back, with Human Events editor-in-chief Will Chamberlain arguing that Cheney - who has repeatedly attacked Trump on a variety of issues - could not provide political camouflage for impeachment-supporting Republicans.
Democratic lawmakers moved swiftly to threaten impeachment following the unrest in DC, vowing to move ahead on the effort if Vice President Mike Pence fails to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. With the VP refusing to do so, Democrats say they will force a vote on Wednesday on one article of impeachment, accusing the president of "inciting" the riot on Capitol Hill.
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The US Congress has voted to advance a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to initiate a process under the 25th Amendment to oust President Donald Trump from office, despite the VP's objections to the move.
Trump himself has predicted that the attempt to remove him from office would cause "tremendous anger" among his supporters, saying he is the victim of an ongoing "witch hunt," though he insisted that he wants "no violence" to result from the move regardless.
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With the House set to vote on impeachment today around 3 pm ET, the big question becomes WWMD — what will McConnell do?
Yesterday afternoon, the New York Times reported that the soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader had begun sending passive signals that he would not oppose removal of Donald Trump if and when the issue came to the Senate. Later in the evening, Axios' Mike Allen quantified Mitch McConnell's leaning as "better than 50-50" to vote for removal:Another indication that McConnell might have a plan in place comes from Steny Hoyer, of all people. Up until now, Democrats have talked about holding onto the article of impeachment once passed, perhaps for months, as a way to push off any Senate action. Today, however, Hoyer declared full speed ahead:There's a better than 50-50 chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial, sources tell Axios.
What they're saying:
"The Senate institutional loyalists are fomenting a counterrevolution" to Trump, said a top Republican close to McConnell.
Why it matters: This would represent one of the most shocking and damning votes in the history of American politics, by the most powerful Republican in Congress.
However, Hoyer's move could mean that McConnell has signaled that the Senate will come back into session to receive the impeachment. If McConnell agrees to Chuck Schumer's emergency session, then we'll know that he has the votes to remove.
Watch for an announcement tonight after the House vote to see just what McConnell might have in mind. If he doesn't have 17, or preferably 20, GOP votes for removal solidly in hand, there won't be an emergency session and this will die on the vine on Inauguration Day.
Keep this in mind, too. The momentum might not be as strong as it appeared:
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House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), onTuesday on CNN said:"Situation Room" that given reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated that he believes impeaching President Donald Trump will make it easier to get rid of the president influence on the GOP, in addition to the announcement by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) will vote for impeachment, means the effort is "gathering momentum."
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Comment: More from Gateway Pundit: And Gateway Pundit has also published a video covering Sullivan's past activism as well as his infiltration of the Capitol siege:
And here is footage of him giving a speech filled with anti-Trump rhetoric:
Gateway Pundit also published a piece about Jade Sacker, who accompanied Sullivan during the siege:
And here's another violent leftist exposed as being part of the Capitol siege: More on Mostofsky:
Check out the full thread by @amuse above. Kyle Becker's collection of tweets and analysis here is also worth reading.
And from NewsMax: Finally:
UPDATE: Some interesting, and strange, details about Sullivan, and his family connections, are coming out. It turns out he is an Olympic-level speed skater:
Here he is doing an Uber commercial:
His adopted father is disgraced Air Force Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Sullivan:
And his brother, James, is a right-wing activist. James's organization has been calling John out on social media:
It looks like James has been in touch with Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani (accidentally?) tweeted a PM with James, where he says he is working on pinning the riot on "226 antifa" members:
More from John's Discord activity in this thread:
Max Blumenthal posted a deep dive on Sullivan here:
UPDATE 15/01/2021: Gateway Pundit reports that anarchist John Sullivan has been released without bail: