D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton called Saturday for colleagues in Congress to censure former President Trump, saying it is the only way to keep him out of office after his latest acquittal.
Ms. Norton, the District’s nonvoting member of the U.S. House of Representatives, pushed for passage of a resolution censuring Mr. Trump soon after his second impeachment trial ended in the Senate.
“I strongly supported impeachment, conviction and disqualification of former President Trump who incited an insurrection at the Capitol on January 6,” Ms. Norton, a Democrat, said in a statement.
“However, since the Senate has acquitted him, I again call on Congress to pass my censure resolution,” Ms. Norton continued. “It is the only method available now to send a bipartisan, bicameral message to the country and the world that the United States is a nation of laws, and it’s the only avenue left to prevent Trump from holding public office again,” she congressional delegate added.
Ms. Norton originally introduced the resolution censuring Mr. Trump on Jan. 11, less than a week after mobs of people upset over him losing the latest presidential election stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The resolution was introduced the same day the House voted by a margin of 232-197 to impeach Mr. Trump for “high crimes and misdemeanors” for inciting an insurrection against the U.S. government.
Mr. Trump has since been sparred conviction in the Senate, however, where his latest impeachment trial – his second in roughly the span of a year — ended this weekend in a 57-43 vote and his acquittal.
A majority of the Senate voted to convict Mr. Trump, but not the two-thirds needed to find him guilty.
Ms. Norton’s resolution, if successful, would censure Mr. Trump “for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election through unlawful means and for inciting insurrection.”
The resolution, if passed, would declare Mr. Trump engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the U.S., or given aid or comfort to its enemies, and is, therefore “ineligible for future office” under the 14th Amendment.
Additionally, the censure resolution also calls on Mr. Trump to acknowledge President Biden rightfully defeated him in the November election and to call on his supporters not to engage in violence.
Mr. Trump would still be able to run for elected office if the resolution passes in Congress. Two-thirds of the House and Senate would have to vote in favor of allowing him first, however.
The censure resolution currently lists six co-sponsors, all Democrats: Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, Rep. Ann Kuster of New Hampshire, Rep. Andrew Carson of Indiana, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona.
Five people died in connection with the storming of Capitol Hill, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, Trump supporter Ashli Babbit and three others. Multiple officers were injured in the riot.
The House previously voted to impeach Mr. Trump in late 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over revelations about his administration withholding aid from Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He was acquitted that time in the Senate, too.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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