If U.S. President Donald Trump does not resign his office, and Vice President Mike Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, then the House of Representatives will take a vote on impeaching Trump a second time.

That was the declaration made by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection following the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a group of Trump supporters on Jan. 7 (Singapore time).

In a statement, Pelosi said:

"Nearly fifty years ago, after years of enabling their rogue President, Republicans in Congress finally told President Nixon that it was time to go.

Today, following the President’s dangerous and seditious acts, Republicans in Congress need to follow that example and call on Trump to depart his office – immediately.

If the President does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action."

Some Republicans called for Trump's resignation

The call for resignation, removal or impeachment was also echoed by a number of Republicans.

Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois called on Trump to resign, or for Pence to remove him via the 25th Amendment.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called on Trump to resign, while Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said he would consider Articles of Impeachment.

While the Democrat-controlled House may vote in favour of impeachment, a conviction and removal in the Senate is less likely, as it requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.

Following the Georgia senate runoff elections, there will be an even 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats (including Democrat-aligned Independents) once the results are certified and the new Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are sworn in.

Only three presidents in U.S. history have been impeached -- Trump, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson. Richard Nixon resigned before any impeachment could take place.

Depending on which way the House votes, Trump could be the only president in history to have been impeached twice.

Background: Trump rally before joint session of Congress

Trump held a rally in Washington DC before the joint session of Congress, repeating baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and that he was counting on Pence to "do the right thing".

Trump said that he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol to "cheer on" members of Congress, but some of them not so much.

He added, "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

Trump supporters stormed Congress

The intruders breached security and stormed the building while the Congress was in session to count Joe Biden's electoral college votes.

The count was disrupted, but resumed after the intruders dispersed, and Biden was certified as the next president.

However, the damage done could have been worse, with pipe bombs found in the offices of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, and a van with eleven Molotov cocktails found on Capitol grounds.

Crowds in the Capitol could be heard chanting, "Hang Mike Pence!", with some of the intruders reportedly talking about how they wanted to find the vice president and execute him.

Other members of Congress recounted how their family members and staff barricaded themselves in offices as Trump supporters attempted to break in.

Trump called for supporters to remain peaceful in a tweet, and released a video on Twitter and Facebook urging his supporters to "go home", but again repeated the baseless claims that the election was stolen.

Social media platforms took down the video and locked Trump out of his accounts.

At least five people have died, including police officer Brian Sicknick, who was hit in the head and died of his injuries.

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Top image from Getty Images.