Pelosi and Schumer Call On Mike Pence To Invoke The 25th Amendment (Updated)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined presumptive Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, after the president’s incitement of a crowd of supporters that violently stormed the U.S. Capitol.

NBC News reports, Pelosi joins growing call for Trump to be immediately removed from office, may back impeachment:

Pelosi said if Pence does not act, then the House would consider impeachment to remove him from office. Such a move would be largely symbolic, since there would be little time for a Senate trial before Trump’s term ends in 13 days.

“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday morning. “This president should 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,” Schumer said. “If the vice president and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”

In the afternoon, Pelosi called Trump a “dangerous man who should not continue in office. “This is urgent. This is [an] emergency of the highest magnitude,” she told reporters at her weekly press conference.

“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. That is the overwhelming sentiment of my caucus, and the American people, by the way.”

Pelosi said that Trump incited “sedition” on Wednesday when a crowd of his supporters violently stormed the Capitol.

“While it’s only 13 days left, any day can be a horror show for America,” she said.

Under a provision of the 25th Amendment, the vice president can, with the support of the majority of the Cabinet, invoke the the measure and declare Trump unfit for office, which could lead to his early removal. Under such a scenario, the vice president would immediately take over as acting president.

Asked what would spur the House to vote on articles of impeachment, Pelosi said that the fastest way that Trump can be removed is if Pence, with the assistance of members of Trump’s Cabinet, decide to remove up using the 25th Amendment.

“My phone is exploding with impeach, impeach, impeach,” said Pelosi, who admitted that she had no immediate plans yet because she hasn’t gone to sleep since the electoral vote certification process finished around 4 a.m. ET.

As for investigating the violence that unfolded at the Capitol, she said that she is calling for the resignation of U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. She also said that there will be an after-action review that will look into the shortcomings in the government’s intelligence and what took so long for National Guard troops to be mobilized and sent to the Capitol.

The attack on the Capitol on Wednesday came after Trump spoke to the crowd, encouraging them to march to the building and saying, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

Earlier Thursday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois became the first Republican in Congress to call for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

In an interview with MSNBC, Kinzinger called Trump “unmoored, not just from his duty, or even his oath, but from reality itself,” and said Pence and the rest of Trump’s Cabinet needed to invoke the measure “to end this nightmare.”

“The president is unfit and the president is unwell. And the president must now relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntary,” he said.

Democratic Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland circulated articles of impeachment against Trump on Thursday.

The legislation accuses Trump of “willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States” and having “gravely endangered the security of the United States,” which they added, “demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.”

NEW: I am circulating Articles of Impeachment that @RepTedLieu, @RepRaskin and I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday's attack on the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/b92GL9Ap33

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 7, 2021

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., began circulating articles of impeachment against Trump in the House, she tweeted Thursday.

Articles of Impeachment for introduction, so proud of everyone co-leading this effort with us.

We need to move quickly to remove this President from office. pic.twitter.com/vbZtA7g6fc

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 7, 2021

Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota and others joined Schumer in calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News late Wednesday that there have been informal discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment among staff within the Trump administration.

It’s unclear whether Cabinet-level officials have discussed the matter; two sources said the issue hasn’t been broached with Pence, who would need to agree along with a majority of the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Theconversations have been fueled in part by concerns of unrest and insurrection throughout the U.S. over the next two weeks, before President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

Impeachment has the advantage of disqualifying Donald Trump from ever holding public office again.

Another option is a bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders, including Vice President Pence, holding an intervention and demanding that Donald Trump resign immediately.  “You will sign it.”

Donald Trump poses a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and needs to be removed.

UPDATE: NBC News reports, Over 100 lawmakers are calling for President Trump’s removal. Here’s who they are. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill) is the only Republican who has signed on.

UPDATE: Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal called for Trump to resign in a new editorial posted online on Thursday. Donald Trump’s Final Days (excerpts):

“In concise summary, on Wednesday the leader of the executive branch incited a crowd to march on the legislative branch. The express goal was to demand that Congress and Vice President Mike Pence reject electors from enough states to deny Mr. Biden an Electoral College victory. When some in the crowd turned violent and occupied the Capitol, the President caviled and declined for far too long to call them off. When he did speak, he hedged his plea with election complaint.”

“This was an assault on the constitutional process of transferring power after an election. It was also an assault on the legislature from an executive sworn to uphold the laws of the United States. This goes beyond merely refusing to concede defeat. In our view it crosses a constitutional line that Mr. Trump hasn’t previously crossed. It is impeachable.”

“If Mr. Trump wants to avoid a second impeachment, his best path would be to take personal responsibility and resign,” the Journal suggested.

“We know an act of grace by Mr. Trump isn’t likely. In any case this week has probably finished him as a serious political figure. He has cost Republicans the House, the White House, and now the Senate. Worse, he has betrayed his loyal supporters by lying to them about the election and the ability of Congress and Mr. Pence to overturn it. He has refused to accept the basic bargain of democracy, which is to accept the result, win or lose.”  “It is best for everyone, himself included, if he goes away quietly.”