Trump co-defendant Sidney Powell pleads not guilty in election subversion case – as it happened

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Congress is on recess, but when they return to work on 5 September, House Republicans appear determined to open impeachment proceedings again Joe Biden, CNN reports.

It is sure to be a fraught process for the GOP, and almost certain not to result in the president's removal from office, since the Democratic majority is unlikely to vote for Biden's conviction.

But leadership recognizes that the entire House Republican conference is not yet sold on the politically risky idea of impeachment. That's why one of the biggest lingering questions - and something Republicans have been discussing in recent weeks - is whether they would need to hold a floor vote to formally authorize their inquiry, sources say. There is no constitutional requirement that they do so, and Republicans do not currently have the 218 votes needed to open an impeachment inquiry.

Skipping the formal vote, which would be a tough one for many of the party's more vulnerable and moderate members, would allow Republicans to get the ball rolling on an inquiry while giving leadership more time to convince the rest of the conference to get on board with impeachment. During former President Donald Trump's first impeachment, House Democrats ended up voting to both formalize their inquiry and set parameters for the process after initially holding off on doing so amid divisions within their ranks.