WASHINGTON (AFP, REUTERS) - Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday (Jan 13) did not rule out voting to convict President Donald Trump as he was being impeached by the House of Representatives.

"While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," McConnell said in a note to Republican colleagues.

Multiple press reports on Tuesday said that McConnell, a steadfast ally of Trump for four years, was supportive of Democrats' decision to impeach him, believing he warranted the punishment after encouraging a mob to attack the US Capitol on Jan 6 as Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden's win.

But McConnell's office on Wednesday confirmed that he would not reconvene the Senate until Jan 19, the eve of Biden's inauguration, meaning Trump is virtually certain to serve out his term.

However, a conviction in the Senate could lead to a decision to bar Trump from running again in 2024, a relief to those Republicans who have feared incurring his wrath.

McConnell faithfully carried out Trump's agenda and helped ensure his acquittal after his first impeachment by the House in December 2019.

But the Senate leader broke with him on his attempts to overturn the election results, arguing passionately that the move would mark a "death spiral" for US democracy.

McConnell is set to lose his control of the Senate to the Democrats who won two runoff elections in Georgia last week.

If the House approves the impeachment, Trump - already one of only three presidents to be impeached - would become the first president to see it happen twice.

Under the US Constitution, impeachment in the House triggers a trial in the Senate.

The New York Times reported that McConnell is said to be pleased by the House impeachment push.

If Trump is impeached, a two-thirds majority of the Republican-led Senate is needed to convict him, meaning at least 17 Republicans in the 100-member chamber would have to find him guilty.

Trump's actions have weakened his once-iron grip over his party. While no Republican senators have said they would vote to convict, two - Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania - have called on Trump to resign.

At least six House Republicans, including Liz Cheney, a member of her party's leadership team, said they would vote for impeachment.

'Attempted coup'

The House convened in the same chamber where lawmakers hid under chairs and donned gas masks last Wednesday as rioters clashed with police in the halls of the Capitol, after Trump in an incendiary speech urged supporters to march on the building.

In a break from standard procedure, Republican leaders in the House have refrained from urging their members to vote against impeaching Trump, saying it was a matter of individual conscience.

"Instead of moving forward as a unifying force, the majority in the House is choosing to divide us further," Oklahoma Republican Tom Cole said on the House floor. "Let us look forward, not backward. Let us come together, not apart. Let us celebrate the peaceful transition of power to a new president rather than impeaching an old president."

Cole was one of 139 House Republicans who voted against certifying the Nov 3 presidential election results on Jan 6, hours after the violence, after the Republican president repeated his false claims of widespread voting fraud.

Other Republicans argued Democrats were rushing to judgment for political reasons and called for the creation of a commission to study the events surrounding the siege as an alternative.

If Trump is removed from office, Vice-President Mike Pence would become president and fill out his term.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat, said Democrats intended to send the impeachment charge, once approved, to the Senate "as soon as possible," and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named nine impeachment managers who would present the House's case during a Senate trial.

Hoyer told reporters he expected between 10 and 20 House Republicans to vote for impeachment on Wednesday.

Washington is on high alert ahead of Biden's inauguration.

Democrats moved forward on an impeachment vote after Pence rejected an effort to persuade him to invoke the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution to remove Trump.

The House previously voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress stemming from his request that Ukraine investigate Biden and his son Hunter ahead of the election, as Democrats accused him of soliciting foreign interference to smear a domestic political rival. The Republican-led Senate in February 2020 voted to keep Trump in office.

Wednesday's article of impeachment accused Trump of"incitement of insurrection," saying he provoked violence against the US government in a speech to thousands of supporters near the White House shortly before the Capitol siege. The article also cited Trump's Jan 2 phone call asking a Georgia official to "find" votes to overturn Biden's victory in the state.

In his first public appearance since last Wednesday's riot, Trump showed no contrition on Tuesday for his speech shortly before the siege.

"What I said was totally appropriate," Trump told reporters.

Democrats could also use an impeachment trial to push through a vote blocking Trump from running for office again.

Only a simple Senate majority is needed to disqualify Trump from future office, but there is disagreement among legal experts as to whether an impeachment conviction is required first.