Senate Democrats are calling for a special counsel to investigate the Trump administration for possible collusion with Russian officials to interfere in the 2016 election.
The lawmakers, along with other Democratic lawmakers, wrote in a letter Monday to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that if Trump has committed impeachable offenses, he should be prosecuted.
Democrats also call for an independent prosecutor to investigate any possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
The Senate is expected to take up the measure at a Thursday meeting.
Schumer, who has led the Democrats’ charge to impeach Trump, said he would support the move.
“If President Trump has violated the law, then that’s a criminal offense,” Schumer said.
“The Senate has the power to hold him accountable.
I will not allow this to happen.”
Republicans have been reluctant to take a more aggressive approach against Trump, but Senate Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and other Republicans have said they would vote for an impeachment resolution.
If approved by the House, the measure would move to the upper chamber.
Trump has said he won’t step down.
Senate Republicans have largely stuck to the same line that Democrats have, that they will not support the measure.
If Trump is impeached, he would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to remove him from office.
If he is acquitted, Trump would become the first sitting president to be impeached.
“I think impeachment is a very tough one,” said Senate Majority whip Sen. James Lankford (R/Tex.).
“I do believe that if President Trump is removed from office that it is time for a new, independent, nonpartisan prosecutor to handle this investigation.”
Lankford said the GOP would “certainly” support the impeachment resolution in the coming weeks.
Democrats have said the Democrats are acting “like a banana republic.”
Senate Republicans will also consider a measure that would allow Congress to impose a new $50,000 limit on political donations by lobbyists.
The bill is expected in the House next week, and could be debated next week.
The legislation would give Congress the power “to impose a $50 million limit on lobbying expenditures by federal contractors that are not related to the performance of official functions.”
The GOP would also repeal the so-called “federal ban on lobbying by former employees of the federal government.”
