“I join the Democratic leader of the Senate by appealing to the Vice President to remove this President by calling for the 25th Amendment immediately,” Pelosi said. “If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, Congress may be prepared to continue with accusations that are the overwhelming sentiment of my caucus and the American people.”
To call for the 25th amendment, Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet will have to vote to remove Trump from office because of his inability to “fulfill the powers and duties of his office” – an unprecedented step .
Any 25th amendment shot faces an unprecedented steep hill to get to its right with little time left before Biden’s inauguration. However, the calls in Congress highlight the extent to which lawmakers are furious and furious about the president following the devastation at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Sen. Patty Murray, the no. 3 in the Democratic leadership of the Senate, also said it was time to call for the 25th Amendment.
“The most immediate way to ensure that the president is prevented from inflicting further damage in the coming days is to call for the 25th amendment and remove him from office. While looking at history, I call on “Vice President Pence and the president’s cabinet to introduce and act on the country,” she said in a statement.
House Oversight Committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, backed Thursday by removing Trump from office through the 25th Amendment or Accusation.
“The 25th Amendment is the fastest way to do that, and that should be our goal,” she said, adding: “If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, we have a duty to pursue accusations. “
Other prominent Democrats have demanded indictment following the mob violence at the Capitol that took place when a joint session of Congress convened to count the electoral votes cast for the election of Pres. .
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, tweeted on Thursday: “Donald Trump should be charged immediately, convicted and immediately removed from office.”
Three members of the House Judiciary Committee – Representatives Jamie Raskin, David Cicilline and Ted Lieu – are spreading an indictment to colleagues calling Trump’s actions an abuse of power. They wrote that Trump had violated the Constitution by “intentionally inciting violence against the United States government”.
All four members of the progressive ‘group’ of Democratic lawmakers – representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley – have also spoken out in support of the violent siege of the Capitol.
“I am drafting articles of indictment. Donald J. Trump must be indicted by the House of Representatives and removed by the Senate of the United States. We can not allow him to remain in office; is a matter of preserving our Republic and we must keep our oath, ‘Omar tweeted on Wednesday.
“This is about Donald Trump, period. He called people to DC and instructed them. He should be charged and removed immediately,” Tlaib tweeted Wednesday.
As Biden’s inauguration date is fast approaching January 20, it is highly unlikely that there will be sufficient time or political will in Congress for any form of accusation.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives has already accused Trump in 2019. To remove a president from office by the indictment, the Senate must vote after conviction after a process of indictment. That did not happen in the GOP-controlled Senate where Trump was eventually acquitted.
After the Capitol pro-Trump mob was removed, lawmakers reconvened late at night to continue the election count. Congress completed the count and clinched Biden’s victory Thursday morning in the early hours of the morning.
This story was updated Thursday with additional developments.
CNN’s Alex Rogers and Michael Warren contributed to this report.