Democrats to kick off bid to remove Trump from office
The Democratic Party will today kick off attempts to remove President Donald Trump from office after last week’s riots at the US Capitol.
Yesterday Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wrote to fellow party members setting out the plans.
“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both”, she wrote.
When the House of Representatives convenes this afternoon, lawmakers will bring up a resolution asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
The Amendment, which has never been used before, allows the Vice President and the Cabinet to remove a President deemed unfit for the job.
A vote on the resolution is then expected tomorrow.
If this move fails, Democrats will introduce articles of impeachment on the charge of “incitement of insurrection”, Pelosi added.
Again, a vote on this motion could come by the end of the week.
Last week the world watched on in shock as a crowd of protestors broke into the US Capitol building, disrupting confirmation proceedings for incoming President Joe Biden.
Five people were killed in the chaos, including a police officer, while Congress had to be evacuated.
The violence came after Trump urged supporters to march on the Capitol at a rally where he repeated false claims that his resounding election defeat was illegitimate.
The President’s actions have met with fierce criticism around the world. Yesterday, Republican Senator Pat Toomey joined the ranks of those telling him to resign.
“I think the best way for our country is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible,” Toomey told NBC.
“I acknowledge that may not be likely, but I think that would be best.”