Congress
The U.S. House rushed ahead Tuesday toward impeaching President Donald Trump for the deadly Capitol attack, taking time only to try to persuade his vice president to push him out first.
Illinois U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider is the third Democratic member of the House who has tested positive for COVID-19 after being forced to go into lockdown during last week’s violent siege at the U.S. Capitol.
Poised to impeach, the House sped ahead Monday with plans to oust President Donald Trump from office, warning he is a threat to democracy and pushing the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly.
GOP senators urge Trump to resign
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump, calling him a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.
Police arrested more Capitol rioters on Saturday, including a man who carried off the House speaker’s lectern, as more graphic details of the insurrection emerged, revealing the violence and brutality of the mob that stormed a seat of American political power.
Warnings flashing, Democrats in Congress laid plans Friday for swift impeachment of President Donald Trump, demanding decisive, immediate action to ensure an “unhinged” commander in chief can’t add to the damage they say he’s inflicted.
The violent siege of the Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters forced painful new questions across government on Thursday — about his fitness to remain in office for two more weeks, the ability of the police to secure the complex and the future of the Republican Party in a post-Trump era.
There were signs for weeks that violence could strike on Jan. 6, when Congress convened for a joint session to finish counting the Electoral College votes that would confirm Democrat Joe Biden had won the presidential election.
U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, called Thursday morning for President Donald Trump to be removed immediately from office and replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.
Lawmakers were resolved to complete the Electoral College tally in a display to the country, and the world, of the nation’s enduring commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power. They pushed through the night with tensions high and the nation’s capital on alert.
Chaos, violence, mockery as mob occupies Congress
On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. The pro-Trump mob took over the presiding officer’s chair in the Senate, the offices of the House speaker and the Senate dais, where one yelled, “Trump won that election.”
For members of Illinois’ congressional delegation, Wednesday was an unprecedented — and for some, scary — experience.
“It’s a sick, disgusting day in American democracy and we’ll get through it and hopefully be stronger somehow for it,” U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said of Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.
A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election.
President Donald Trump told his supporters on Wednesday to “go home” after they stormed the Capitol in protest of his reelection defeat and he urged them to stay peaceful, but he also praised their mission even after it erupted in violence.
President-elect Joe Biden called Wednesday for the restoration of “just simple decency” as a mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying the results of November’s election in which Biden won the White House.