
Democrats in the US House of Representatives will most likely introduce a legislation on Monday urging the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Representative Ted Lieu said in a tweet on Saturday said there were now 180 co-sponsors for one new article of impeachment following rioting in the US Capitol on Wednesday by Trump supporters.
Lieu was an active participant in the December 2019 House impeachment of Trump that ultimately failed in the Senate.
Trump quite apparently exhorted thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol as Congress met to certify his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, prompting chaos in which crowds breached the building, forced the evacuation of both chambers and left a police officer and four others dead in their wake.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that if Trump did not resign, she had instructed the House Rules Committee to move ahead with a motion for impeachment and legislation on the US Constitution's 25th Amendment, which provides for removal of a president who is unable to discharge his official duties.
Democrats hope the impeachment threat will intensify pressure on Vice-President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment before Trump's term ends in less than two weeks.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Thursday and Friday found 57 per cent of Americans want Trump to be removed immediately from office following the violence. Nearly 70 per cent also disapproved of Trump's actions in the run-up to the Capitol rampage.
Trump's role in encouraging Wednesday's chaos has opened a growing rift within the Republican Party too.
It is unclear whether lawmakers would be able to remove Trump from office, as any impeachment would prompt a trial in the Senate, where his fellow Republicans still hold power and two-thirds of the 100 members must vote to convict for his removal.
(with inputs)