Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Impeachment Needn’t Be Quick to Be Effective

Even if Trump is already gone, a Senate trial could help Americans confront the gravity of efforts to overturn the election.

Do it right this time.

Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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The House of Representatives appears to be moving both very fast and very slowly toward impeaching President Donald Trump. With a final vote likely by the end of the week, we’ll have the fastest-ever impeachment, which is remarkable given that few politicians were even talking about it until Jan. 6. But it’s also true that even though House Democrats are saying that Trump should not be in office one minute longer after he egged on the rioters who invaded the Capitol that day, they didn’t impeach him on Thursday, or Friday, or over the weekend, and they’ll apparently not be impeaching him on Monday. Indeed, they’re trying to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to initiate procedures to remove him, or for Trump to just resign, both choices that are far inferior to Congressional action.