Democrats could move to impeach Donald Trump if Mike Pence fails to act

A workman cleans up debris outside the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

House Democratic leaders say the House could take up articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as soon as next week if Vice President Mike Pence and Mr Trump’s Cabinet do not act to remove him.

Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark of Massachusetts says the House “can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the House floor quickly”, as early as the coming week, if Mr Pence does not invoke the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Mr Trump from office.