Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.

The draft, citing "incitement of insurrection," could be introduced Monday.

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 11 days.


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More Guardsmen headed to DC, fencing to go up around Capitol

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, at a press conference alongside Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Thursday morning, said that 6,200 Guardsmen will be deployed to the DC area by the weekend and, as of noon, 850 personnel are on Capitol grounds.

He also announced the National Guard will set up seven-foot fencing surrounding the Capitol complex from Constitution, Independence and First Ave to the front of the Capitol pond.

Around 4,000 new Guardsmen will arrive from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Some of these troops were already going to be arriving in D.C. to help out with the inauguration, as they have in the past.  The official said that their arrival has been accelerated and that they will be on month-long deployments to help out with the current situation and continue beyond the inauguration.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Quinn Owen


SCOTUS rejects Gohmert's appeal

After Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, filed an appeal to the Supreme Court in his suit against Vice President Mike Pence, the Supreme Court formally rejected the effort by Gohmert and nearly a dozen other Trump allies.

The suit attempted to force Pence to acknowledge he has the authority to reject electoral votes and effectively overturn the election, which was not within his power.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer and Jonathan Karl


FBI director releases statement on Capitol breach

FBI Director Chris Wray has released a statement on Wednesday's violence and destruction of property at the Capitol, slamming the rioting as "a blatant and appalling disregard for our institutions of government and the orderly administration of the democratic process."

"As we've said consistently, we do not tolerate violent agitators and extremists who use the guise of First Amendment-protected activity to incite violence and wreak havoc. Such behavior betrays the values of our democracy. Make no mistake: With our partners, we will hold accountable those who participated in yesterday's siege of the Capitol," Wray said in the statement.

He said the FBI has deployed its full investigative resources and is working its partners to pursue those criminally involved. He also encouraged members of the public to provide tips.

"We are determined to find those responsible and ensure justice is served," he added.

-ABC News' Jake Date


White House withdraws DHS official's nomination, says it doesn't have to do with his call for Trump to condemn violence

Soon after acting Department of Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf issued a statement calling on Trump to condemn Wednesday's violence, the White House said that his nomination to be DHS secretary had been withdrawn from the Senate.

But a White House spokesman said the withdrawal took place Wednesday and had nothing to do with Wolf's statement Thurdsay.

“The withdrawal occurred yesterday and was not related at all to Wednesday’s events or the Acting Secretary’s comments this morning," White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said. "Acting Secretary Wolf remains the acting secretary and continues to perform the duties of his office."

Wolf is currently on a flight back from the Middle East, according to a person familiar with his whereabouts.

Wolf's nomination was only sent to the Senate on Sunday, the same day the new Congress was sworn in. He had previously been nominated in September.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Luke Barr


340 DC National Guardsmen to help DC police around Electoral College demonstrations

At District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser's request, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy has activated about 340 unarmed D.C. National Guardsmen to assist local law enforcement with the demonstrations taking place on Wednesday pegged to the Electoral College certification.

"We think it's helpful to have our D.C. Guardsmen, who are our Guard, that I have requested from the Secretary of the Army to assist MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] with traffic management," Bowser said Monday. "It absolutely frees up more officers."

The D.C. Guard is unique in that any call-ups have to be made by the Army secretary and not the jurisdiction’s top elected official -- as is the case with state governors. Additionally, more focus has been given to the call-ups since the controversial presence of D.C. Guardsmen and the use of D.C. Guard helicopters during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer.

"They will be deployed to assist us with crowd management, as well as traffic control in our nation's capital that will allow for the police officers to focus on anyone who's intent on instigating agitating or participating in violence in our city," said D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee. He also labeled any possibility of violence surrounding the protests as "unacceptable" and repeated that carrying firearms is not allowed under D.C. law.

A senior defense official said Bowser put in the request for Guardsmen on Dec. 31 and that it was approved Monday morning. Beginning Tuesday through Thursday, the 340 personnel will help man 30 traffic control checkpoints around the northern side of the downtown area close to the National Mall.

"No one's going to be armed or body armor or anything like that," said the official. "What they need is traffic control."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Quinn Owen