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THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021 A7 WASHINGTON, D.C. | CAPITOL BREACH Pelosi moves cautiously against Trump BY BILLY HOUSE Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is mov- ing cautiously as she faces pres- sure from angry Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, while President-elect Joe Biden is making it clear he wants to fo- cus on his agenda and fighting the coronavirus. With many House Democrats demanding impeachment after Trump encouraged a mob that stormed the Capitol on Wednes- day, Pelosi said Friday that Dem- ocrats “will preserve every op- tion” to force Trump from office unless he resigns immediately. That could either be through the very unlikely prospect that Vice President Mike Pence in- vokes the 25th Amendment to declare the president incapable of governing or by impeach- ment in the House, which would require the Senate to act and convict Trump. She also could just let the clock run out on Trump’s pres- idency. Another possibility — that Trump’s remaining advis- ers might simply convince him to resign — seems remote. Pelosi said she’s instructed the House Rules Committee to be ready to move forward with an impeachment case, but she stopped short of saying that would be brought for a vote. “With great respect, our deliberations will continue,” Pelosi said in a statement. If Democrats follow through, Trump would become the first American president to be im- peached twice. Transition to Biden For Democratic leaders there’s little risk in pressuring Trump’s Cabinet and Pence, but impeachment would put the spotlight on Trump instead of on preparing for Biden’s incoming administration. It could also mean a Senate im- peachment trial during the first days of Biden’s presidency, forcing the chamber to set aside other business, including confirming a new Cabinet. Biden on Friday, when asked about impeaching Trump, said that was a judgment for Con- gress. But he also appeared to suggest tapping the brakes on such a politically fraught move when there’s just days until his J. Scott Applewhite/AP Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds a news conference on the day after violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol. inauguration and he wants to begin tackling his agenda. “It’s important we get on with the business getting him out of office. The quickest way that that will happen is us being sworn in on the 20th,” Biden said at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware. “I am focused now on us taking control as president and vice president on the 20th, and to get our agenda moving as quickly as we can.” Pelosi told House Demo- crats in a conference call early Friday afternoon that she would be talking to Biden to get his view about how they should proceed, according to a person who listened to the call. A statement from the pres- ident-elect’s transition team later said Biden spoke to Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer but it made no mention of any discussion of what actions to take on Trump. The text of the proposed im- peachment resolution includes a single article accusing Trump of “Incitement of Insurrection” and says he engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors by “willfully inciting violence against the gov- ernment of the United States” in connection with the storming of the Capitol Wednesday by throngs of his supporters. Any attempt to impeach Trump would be running up against the calendar as well as against divisions among Repub- licans over how to contain the president during his final days in office. The House would have just days to act before Biden’s inauguration, and it’s not clear that the Senate could move ahead with a trial within a week. Convicting Trump would re- quire support from a significant number of GOP senators. McConnell’s message about impeachment Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has stayed mum on any next steps regarding Trump, sent a memo to GOP senators late Friday that outlines what the timeta- ble would be for any impeach- ment trial. It said the Senate is in recess and it would require unanimous consent in the Unease with Trump grows in the Senate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the first GOP senator to urge the president to step down, telling the Anchorage Daily News that she ques- tioned her future as a Re- publican if the party doesn’t break with the outgoing president. “I want him to resign. I want him out,“ Murkowski said in a Friday interview with the newspaper. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., told Fox News on Saturday that the president “commit- ted impeachable offenses.” Toomey has said he will retire from Congress in 2022. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., has said he is open to con- sidering impeachment pro- ceedings. chamber to act on any articles impeachment trial before Jan. 19. A trial would not begin un- til Trump’s term expired and then would require the Senate to remain in session daily until a verdict is rendered. Where Bentz, Wyden, Schrader stand on Trump’s removal Bulletin wire reports U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for a swift, last-minute removal of President Don- ald Trump in a news conference Saturday, Wyden days after the siege of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. “My view is Donald Trump is a clear and present danger,” Wyden said. “He is responsible for this week’s domestic terrorist attack on the peo- ple’s Capitol and he ought to be held to account.” Wyden called for the president to be removed by either impeachment or use of the 25th amendment, which requires a majority of the president’s cabinet to declare him unfit for office. U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader on Satur- day added his voice to those calling for Trump to be removed. Schrader, a Democrat representing the Salem area, part of the coastline and the southern Portland suburbs, said he will vote to impeach the presi- dent, calling Trump “a clear and pres- ent danger to our country.” “While I have pushed other reme- dies for his criminal conduct, impeach- ment is the tool before us and war- ranted for his sedi- tious acts,” Schrader said in a statement Schrader posted to social me- dia Saturday. Schrader’s statement comes the day after he apologized for compar- ing possible impeachment proceed- ings against Trump to a “lynching.” He made the comment on a call with other House Democrats, sources told ABC News. Schrader has faced blow- Up To back for his comment, including los- ing the support of a powerful political consultant group based in Portland. Bentz: No impeachment, no resignation Rep. Cliff Bentz, Oregon’s sole Re- publican member of Congress, said in an interview Saturday with the Mal- heur Enterprise that impeachment wouldn’t be a “productive exercise.” He also said Trump shouldn’t resign. Bentz, the representative for much of Eastern and Central Oregon, took office a week ago and had joined the effort in Congress to overturn the presidential 50% off election results. Articles of im- peachment could come Monday, and the House could vote on them by the middle of the week. Bentz House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have called for the presi- dent’s removal, as well as other mem- bers from Oregon’s congressional del- egation, including Sen. Jeff Merkley and Reps. 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