WASHINGTON, D.C. — One week after the Capitol breach, the House is expected to debate and vote on President Donald Trump's impeachment.

Democrats and at least five Republicans have said the president is a "danger" to national security and could incite more violence in the days leading up to Inauguration Day.

One Southern California Representative, Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, who has been a staunch supporter of removing Trump from office, explained that this week has been mentally draining. Just one week ago, he was in the same chambers, texting his wife while pro-Trump mobs tried to break in.

"I said, 'It's going crazy here. Someone breached the Capitol building. We're on lockdown,'" Gomez said, as he read the texts aloud.

Gomez was texting his wife, Mary, while he scrambled to safety in the House gallery, which is one level above the House floor.

Gomez said he helped a nearby colleague open the bag that held her gas mask. He then gripped his mask as he and his colleagues peered down onto the House floor where some other lawmakers were getting evacuated by security.

"And someone up in the gallery said, 'What about us? What are you going to do with us?' And they said, 'You have to run, all the way to the right,'" Gomez said.

As Gomez explained, he was on the left side. The bags that held the gas masks were ripped open and spread across the aisles between him and the exit doors. He helped a few colleagues as they started to run.

"Running through the debris of everyone opening up the gas masks was difficult in and of itself, so you had to run over that, and there was a lot of debris once you got past a certain section," Gomez said. "And the handrails, you had to calculate, 'Am I going to jump over it or go under it?' And it's real quick. And for a lot of us, going over it was like impossible, so everyone ducked underneath it."

Gomez added that once they got to the other side, the doors to escape were either blocked by "insurrectionists" or locked. That's when security called for everyone to "get down" as they drew their firearms. Officers called out that they were ready to use tear gas on the crowds.

"This [was] when I was on the ground, when I texted her, 'Trying to get out with Capitol Police,'" Gomez said.

Gomez noted that he tried not to scare his wife with the details, even though he knew the situation could worsen. He said he felt like if the pro-Trump mobs got a hold on any lawmakers, the crowd might have killed them. Looking back at the text messages, Gomez said he hadn't realized only a few minutes had passed.

"At 3:24 [p.m.] I said, 'When I sent the text 'trying to get out,' I was laying on the galley floor, hiding in the gallery, didn't want to scare you,'" Gomez said, as he read the message he sent his wife once he got to a secure location in the Capitol.

Gomez explained that he grew up in rough neighborhoods where he has heard and faced gunfire. He said he could run away in those moments, but in this moment at the Capitol, it was worse because he felt trapped. Gomez added that Congress was vulnerable to a terrifying situation by pro-Trump crowds due to the president's rhetoric and misinformation about the elections. He said that's why he's pushing for impeachment — to keep democracy intact.

The impeachment vote was expected Wednesday. The majority of Republicans, like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, said this vote would "further divide" the nation. Trump also spoke out about it, calling the impeachment "ridiculous."