Senate Democrats are demanding that two of their Republican colleagues resign following the riots Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol building, claiming that their role in tackling the outcome of the November election is helping to undermine democracy.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Were outspoken objectors during Wednesday’s count in the election, and are now being asked to resign.
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“In a time of deep national division and in the midst of a violent attack on the American Capitol, Senators Cruz and Hawley have chosen to undermine our democracy and feed the great lie that the election was stolen,” said Senator Tina Smith , D-Minn. ., tweeted Saturday night. “They must resign immediately.”
Smith joins several other Democrats, including Sens Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Patty Murray, D-Wash .; and Chris Coons, D-Del.
‘Both @HawleyMO and @SenTedCruz “betrayed their oath of office and carried out a violent uprising over our democracy,” Brown said. I ask for their immediate resignation. If they do not resign, the Senate must expel them. ‘
In an interview with WBOCsays Cassie Semyon, Coons agrees with those seeking the Republicans’ resignation.
“Yes, I think they should resign,” he said.
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Murray also called for Hawley and Cruz to resign, saying ‘[a]ny Senators who stand up and support the power of power over the power of democracy have broken their oath of office. Senators Hawley and Cruz must resign. ‘
While Hawley and Cruz were an outspoken supporter of the opposition to the election, neither endorsed any force or violence. Both condemned the violence, saying those who break the law should be punished.
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What happened Wednesday was what Cruz called a ‘terrorist attack’ and a ‘horrific attack on our democracy’. He demanded that those involved be prosecuted.
In an interview with KXAS-TV, Cruz claims that by appealing to a debate in the Senate, he followed the correct procedure and was in no way involved in violent activities.
“What I have done is debate on the floor of Senate Electoral Integrity,” Cruz said. “It has nothing to do with this criminal terrorist assault, which was wrong and which should be prosecuted. It is exactly the opposite. What I have done is how you should resolve issues in this country.”
Hawley also said that ‘those who attacked the police and broke the law should be prosecuted’.
Fox News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.