Updates on the second impeachment of President Trump
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he tours a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Alex Brandon
What's happening:
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President Donald Trump has been impeached for the second time, on the charge of "incitement of insurrection."
Latest updates
3:21 p.m.: McConnell is undecided on impeachment vote
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said in a note to his fellow Republican senators that he is undecided on whether President Donald Trump should be convicted if the House votes to impeach him.
McConnell said in the letter Wednesday: "While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate." -- AP
2:29 p.m. Jordan reads statement from Trump on House floor
President Donald Trump says he opposes violence in a statement read on the House floor as members debate impeaching him for his role in fomenting the violent insurrection at the Capitol last week.
Trump's message was read Wednesday by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Trump says in a statement: "In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind." Trump adds: "That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers." -- AP
Voters cast their vote at Mattituck-Cutchogue Jr. Sr. High School in Mattituck on Tuesday. Credit: Randee Daddona
1:31 p.m.: McConnell rejects emergency session for trial
If the House impeaches President Donald Trump, a Senate trial on whether to convict him of inciting insurrection seems all but certain to have to wait until President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated.
That’s the word from a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The spokesman says aides to the Kentucky Republican have told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's staff that McConnell won’t agree to invoke powers calling senators into emergency session.
That means the Senate almost certainly won’t meet again until Jan. 19. That's the day before Biden’s inauguration.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivers his victory speech Tuesday as his wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, looks on in Louisville, Ky. Credit: Bloomberg / Scotty Perry
The House is set to vote later Wednesday on impeaching Trump, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the Capitol last week. -- AP
12:48 p.m.: Graham says impeachment would `do great damage'
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says the impeachment effort being pushed by House Democrats could "do great damage to the institutions of government" and he's warning his GOP colleagues not to support it.
Graham is a frequent ally of President Donald Trump. Last week, Graham condemned the violent mob of the president’s supporters who invaded the Capitol. After that siege and after Trump had pushed the unconstitutional argument that Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results, Graham said to count him out and that "enough is enough."Still, Graham has stayed in touch with the increasingly isolated president.
And Graham's message to fellow Republicans on impeachment is that those "who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party." -- AP
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to supporters early Wednesday in Wilmington, Del., as he stands next to his wife Jill Biden. Credit: AP / Andrew Harnik
12:24 p.m.: Airbnb to block, cancel DC bookings ahead of inauguration
Airbnb says it will be blocking and cancelling all reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration.
The decision, announced Wednesday, was in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C. It came two days after it said it was reviewing reservations in the area ahead of the inauguration and said it will bar any guests associated with hate groups or violent activity.
The San Francisco-based home sharing company said that guests whose reservations were cancelled will be refunded in full. It will reimburse hosts — at Airbnb's expense — the money they would have earned from those cancelled reservations. It also said that reservations at HotelTonight, a service owned by Airbnb that handles last-minute deals at top-rated hotels, will also be cancelled.
Airbnb declined to say how many reservations were cancelled. But over Presidents' Day weekend, the site lists more than 300 rentals in the Washington, D.C. area. -- AP
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