Lawmakers are blaming Trump for inciting mobs at the Capitol.
WASHINGTON D.C. (Politico) – Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to immediately remove President Donald Trump from office following the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol.
“If the vice president and the Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi joined a growing number of lawmakers in demanding the end to Trump’s presidency, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, either through the 25th Amendment or impeachment despite Trump having less than two weeks left in office.
Democrats and many Republicans have blamed Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol Wednesday in a failed effort to block certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Democrats’ bid to immediately remove President Donald Trump from office is taking on growing urgency after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol, as key lawmakers plot ways to take action and force Congress into session next week.
A once-unthinkable push for a second impeachment vote is steadily gaining ground across the House Democratic Caucus, with members incensed at Trump’s role in the deadly chaos on Wednesday that gripped Capitol Hill — and put the lives of themselves and their staff at danger, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.
Support for that move includes the House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, who tweeted Thursday afternoon: “Donald Trump should be impeached, convicted and removed from office immediately.
There is also a very real discussion of Congress pressuring Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would install Pence as president for the final two weeks of Trump’s term.
“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
“The quickest and most effective way — it can be done today — to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment. If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” Schumer said.
At least one Republican lawmaker has endorsed that option, though many Democrats say it doesn’t go far enough as Pence would still need to agree.
“It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment and to end this nightmare,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said Thursday, becoming the first Republican to call for invoking it. “The president is unfit and the president is unwell.”
It’s with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked. My statement: pic.twitter.com/yVyQrYcjuD
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) January 7, 2021
Privately, multiple Democratic members and aides insist that there is a larger group of Republicans beyond Kinzinger that support the move, and are in discussions about how to proceed.
The timeframe for any floor action is impossibly tight: There are just 13 days until President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath, and both chambers are slated to be on recess next week.
But even senior aides did not rule out the possibility of further action before the inauguration.
