In this Nov 24, 2020 file photo, US President Donald Trump (left) speaks in the White House press briefing room as Vice-President Mike Pence listens, in Washington. (SUSAN WALSH / AP)

US President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence met on Monday for the first time since rioters stormed the US Capitol last week, signaling a united front as Democratic efforts to impeach Trump gain momentum.

The meeting in the Oval Office－described as "a good conversation "by a senior official－came ahead of a critical 48-hour period in which Pence will come under pressure to break from the president and initiate his removal.

Just eight days before his term ends, Trump headed to Texas on Tuesday in one of his final trips as president, to reach friendlier territory so he can tout his administration's successes.

Trump is the target of efforts to remove him from power, including a historic second impeachment, this time for "incitement of insurrection" over his supporters' deadly breach of the Capitol building

In Washington, though, Trump is the target of efforts to remove him from power, including a historic second impeachment, this time for "incitement of insurrection" over his supporters' deadly breach of the Capitol building.

ALSO READ: Democrats barreling toward impeaching Trump after Capitol siege

First, the House of Representatives was expected to vote on Tuesday on a long-shot bid to get Pence and the cabinet to invoke the US Constitution's 25th Amendment, which would declare Trump unfit to perform his duties and install Pence as acting president.

Pence's meeting with Trump appeared to quash any prospects of that outcome.

The two men "reiterated that those who broke the law and stormed the Capitol last week do not represent the America First movement backed by 75 million Americans, and pledged to continue the work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term", the official said.

Democrats will then follow up with impeachment proceedings, including a House vote expected on Wednesday.

The move－which threatens to torpedo any hopes of a political future for Trump－could make for a tense culmination of four years of controversy ahead of Joe Biden's Jan 20 inauguration.

While Biden's transition team expressed confidence in the ability to hold a safe inauguration, the FBI warned in an internal memo that armed pro-Trump protesters could seek to disrupt the inauguration.

The bureau, according to ABC News, also received information on a group seeking to "storm" government offices in all 50 states on the Inauguration Day.

Biden said on Monday that he was "not afraid" of taking the oath of office outside－as is traditionally done at the Capitol's west steps, one of the areas where people stormed the building.

In this Jan 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of US President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the US Capitol in Washington. (JULIO CORTEZ, FILE/ AP)

15,000 troops

Military personnel have flooded into Washington, where as many as 15,000 National Guard troops could be deployed.

In the US Capitol on Monday, where security has been tightened substantially including with a metal fence around the building, Republicans blocked immediate passage of the 25th Amendment resolution, forcing a debate and House vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hit out at Republicans, accusing them of enabling Trump's "unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue".

Trump has been largely silent in recent days, making few statements and holding no news conferences

Trump has been largely silent in recent days, making few statements and holding no news conferences. He has been banned from Twitter, his favored public platform, for language that could incite violence.

READ MORE: Pence tells Pelosi he won't invoke 25th Amendment to oust Trump

Support appeared to be crumbling within his inner circle. Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security which safeguards the inauguration, resigned on Monday, the third cabinet member to quit since the riot.

In the Republican-controlled Senate, which is on recess until Jan 19, top Democrat Chuck Schumer is said to be considering a rarely used maneuver to force the chamber back into session under emergency circumstances to more quickly open an impeachment trial.

But some Democrats have expressed concern that a trial would hamper Biden's efforts to get his cabinet confirmed and quickly lay out his agenda, starting with the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the need to support the economy.

Biden, speaking in Delaware after receiving his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, told reporters he was talking with congressional leaders to see if it were possible to "bifurcate" the process.

He proposed working "half day on dealing with impeachment, and half day getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate as well as moving on the (economic) package".

Any conviction would likely occur after he is no longer president, but it would disqualify Trump, who might have considered a White House run in 2024, from holding public office again.

Agencies and Ai Heping in New York contributed to this story.