Schumer backs Trump's removal as 60 in House now call for impeachment

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday said Donald Trump must be immediately removed from office. He added that if Trump’s Cabinet does not invoke the 25th Amendment to make that happen, then Congress should impeach and remove Trump from office.

Schumer made the call in a statement, in which he said Trump incited “an insurrection against the United States” and he “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 in a statement. “If the Vice President and Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”

Schumer’s statement comes after 60 Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives have called for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office following Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol, according to a joint tally from Daily Kos Elections and the American Independent Foundation. That number has steadily grown since Wednesday afternoon.

“I would impeach him. I would impeach him in the next 24 hours. He should not be president. He’s brought our country, he’s brought our democracy to its knees,” Rep. Anna Eshoo of California told a local news outlet in her district. “Beyond his party registration, I think he’s a sick, broken individual.”

At least four people died in the attack, which was launched by Trump supporters who wanted to force Congress to overturn the election to keep Trump in office.

The attack shut down the Capitol for hours, as law enforcement tried to remove the insurrectionists from the building, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Ultimately the attack on the Capitol and Republicans’ attempt to overturn the election failed, and Biden’s victory was certified.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.