Growing group of California Democrats seek Trump’s immediate removal
A growing chorus of Democrats is calling for quick action to remove President Donald Trump from office.
“I am calling on the @VP to invoke the 25th Amendment and convene the cabinet to remove the President from office. The President continues to put himself above the American people and his reckless actions to undermine our democracy must be met with equal consequence,” Rep. Doris Matsui tweeted Wednesday evening.
The usually soft-spoken Sacramento Democrat was one of several influential voices urging Trump be tossed from office for the last 13 days of his term after a mob invaded the Capitol Wednesday. President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated January 20.
“Today’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a coordinated attempt to overthrow our democratic process with violence,” she said in another tweet.
“Make no mistake, these rioters viewed the President’s repeated claims of fraud as a mandate to act. Lies, misinformation, and demagoguery have consequences.”
The 25th amendment, ratified in 1967, permits the vice president and majority of the president’s Cabinet to declare Trump unable to continue in office and replace him with Pence. If the president disputes the action, however, Congress would have to vote to remove him.
Other Democrats agreed with Matsui that Trump has to go. Seventeen House Judiciary Committee Democrats signed a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging Trump’s removal.
Citing the amendment, they wrote, “President Trump’s willingness to incite violence and social unrest to overturn the election results by force clearly meet this standard.”
Others took to Twitter.
Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., called Thursday for invoking the 25th Amendment and for Congress to “quickly pursue articles of impeachment.”
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., urged using the 25th Amendment to “remove this dangerous man from office.”
“After reflecting on yesterday’s events, it’s clear that President Trump is not capable of leading our country over the next 13 days.For the safety of our democracy, Vice President Pence must assume the duties of the Presidency.I urge the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment,” said Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif.
“Dear @VP @Mike_Pence: You need to start the 25th Amendment. @realDonaldTrump is detached from reality,” tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who also signed the letter. Lieu joined other Democrats Thursday in circulating articles of impeachment.
“Donald Trump must be removed immediately. I’m calling on Vice President Pence and the Cabinet to put this country first and uphold their constitutional duty to invoke the 25th Amendment,” tweeted Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
“The President has been encouraging these domestic terrorists since before the election. He could have stopped them at any moment, but instead he whipped them into a frenzy and sicced them on the Capitol. The Cabinet must remove him today or the House must impeach,” tweeted Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.
Others also mentioned impeachment.
“Trump is the single greatest threat to our democracy. He is unfit for office and can’t be trusted for another minute as commander in chief.He must be impeached and removed from office immediately,” tweeted Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 6:59 PM.
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