Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other members of Congress called for the “immediate removal” of President Donald Trump following a chaotic protest on Capitol Hill Wednesday that led to House and Senate offices sheltering in place, four people dead and 52 arrested.
“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump,” the top Senate Democrat tweeted. “This president must not hold office one day longer.”
“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,” the senator continued, adding, “If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress much reconvene to impeach President Trump.”
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger showed his support for removing President Trump from office, an apparent first from the Republicans.
“It’s with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked,” Kinzinger tweeted along with a recorded statement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also backed calls for removing Trump.
Pelosi said, “I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th amendment. If the vice president and cabinet do not act the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar echoed appeared to lead Schumer’s calls for removing Trump from office, tweeting that she was “drawing up Articles of Impeachment.”
“Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate,” the Democrat congresswoman said.
“We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath,” she added.
Late Wednesday, Rep. Steven Horsford tweeted his support of removing the president, even going so far as to blame President Trump for the woman who was shot and killed during the Capitol Hill protests.
“Today, a woman is dead because President Trump encouraged insurrection against our government and duly-elected leaders,” Horsford stated. “We cannot allow another day to pass without accountability for the harm this President has caused. President Trump must be impeached and removed from office.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer called President Trump a “madman” and announced his support for invoking the 25th Amendment.
“Besides impeachment, I also support invoking the 25th Amendment,” Blumenauer tweeted. “This madman must be removed as soon as possible and we can’t allow him to burn the house down as he goes out the door.”
Maryland Congressman Anthony Brown called Trump a “rogue Commander in Chief,” adding that the president’s removal “cannot wait.”
“Trump is a rogue Commander in Chief who represents a credible threat to our national security, our democratic institutions and the people of this country,” Brown tweeted. “We cannot wait until January 20th — Donald Trump is a subversive and must be removed from office.”
The calls for President Trump’s removal from office became so pervasive Thursday afternoon that the hashtag “ImpeachTrumpNow” began trending on Twitter.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also called for the 25th Amendment, declaring that Congress didn’t have “the luxury of time.”
“If the 25th amendment is not invoked today, Congress must reconvene immediately for impeachment and removal proceedings,” the representative tweeted.
