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A second Republican Senator in the United States has called on Donald Trump to step down after some of the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington, DC this week in a deadly riot.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press news show on Sunday, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey said Trump should step down for the sake of the country.
“I think the best way for our country is for the president to resign and leave as soon as possible,” he said.
Toomey said the president’s resignation was the “best way forward, the best way to put this person in the rearview mirror for us,” but added that he didn’t think Trump would step down until his term ended on the 20th. January.
He also said that the president’s role in encouraging the riot was an “impenetrable offense”.
The momentum was building among Democratic lawmakers to impeach Trump for inciting rioters on Capitol Hill on Jan.6. Five people, including a policeman from Washington, DC, died in the incident, and dozens of suspected participants have been charged.
Democrats said they plan to introduce an impeachment article in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday over the riot.
The impeachment article accuses Trump of engaging “in serious crimes by willfully inciting violence against the United States government,” according to a copy from U.S. Representative Ted Lieu posted on Twitter Friday.
Location said On Sunday 195 lawmakers backed the impeachment article.
A day earlier, the California Democrat said he had asked the New York State Bar Association to investigate Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, ” for his involvement in the violent Capitol Hill uprising ”.
“Giulianli [sic] must be struck off and held accountable, ”Lieu tweeted.
We request @NYSBA investigate @POTUS lawyer @RudyGiulianli for his involvement in the violent Capitol uprising in which five people died, including one @uscapitol police officer. Giulianli should be struck off and held responsible. Our letter with @RepJones ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bH1N9U0769
– Representative Ted Lieu (@RepTedLieu) January 9, 2021
Delay in getting to the Senate
Also on Sunday, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said the House of Congress could vote this week to impeach Trump, but delay sending legislation to the US Senate until many secretaries to cabinet appointed by President-elect Joe Biden be confirmed for their positions.
Clyburn said he was concerned that a Senate trial could hijack Biden’s process of confirming candidates.
Patty Culhane of Al Jazeera, reporting from Capitol Hill, said House Democrats appear likely to impeach Trump while he is still in office, then wait until the first 100 days of the new Biden administration are over. elapsed before sending the documents to the Senate.
“Then, 100 days later, the Senate can hold a trial,” said Culhane, who pointed out that after victories in the runoff election in Georgia last week, Democrats took control of the Senate.
“So unlike the last impeachment trial, where Republicans for the first time in the history of this country chose not to call witnesses… Democrats can make it a full spectacle. They can bring him to justice (Trump). “
An ABC News / Ipsos survey released on Sunday found that 56% of 570 people polled said they believe Trump should be removed from office before his term ends – although only 13% of Republicans agree.
Fifty-two percent of those polled also said Trump deserves “a lot” of blame for the riot.
‘Oath ignored’
While the impeachment is mainly supported by Democrats, Republican Senator Ben Sasse, who has consistently criticized Trump, told CBS News he would “definitely consider” impeachment because the president “ignored his oath of office ”.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Friday that Trump should resign immediately and suggested she would consider leaving the party if he did not disassociate himself from him.
Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another Republican, called on Trump to step down on Sunday and on Vice President Mike Pence to apply the 25th Amendment if he refuses.
the 25th amendment deals with situations in which a chair is unable to do his or her job but does not resign voluntarily. Under Section 4, Pence and the majority of Trump’s cabinet would have to declare Trump unable to serve as president and remove him from office.
Protesters at a “Take him out!” Defend Democracy Rally in Brooklyn, New York, a day after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]
But Pence opposed the idea of ​​invoking the 25th Amendment, according to an adviser, while the Republican leadership urged the Democratic-controlled House not to start impeachment proceedings.
Some Republicans have suggested that impeaching Trump before he leaves office “is as unnecessary as it is inflammatory” and could undermine efforts to unify the people in the United States – a claim that has been criticized by Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“When we talk about healing, the healing process is distinct and, in fact, requires responsibility. And so if we allow the insurgency against the United States with impunity, without accountability, we invite it to happen again, ”she told ABC News on Sunday.
These Republicans are not asking for unity. They ask for surrender to a deeply sick and unstable man.
It won’t heal or unify anything.
Accountability, the rule of law and the elimination of clear and present dangers are what will help stabilize the current situation. https://t.co/pEShIlEgL5
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 10, 2021
If Trump were to be impeached by the House and sentenced by the Senate, he could also be barred from running for president again in 2024 or resuming public office. He is said to be the only president indicted twice.
The chances that Trump will actually be removed from office before January 20, when Biden is sworn in, remain low, however.
Trump said he did not plan to attend Biden’s inauguration – a move the US president-elect hailed last week as “a good thing“. A senior Trump administration official said on Saturday that Pence would be in attendance.
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