WASHINGTON — Ohio’s Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown took the unprecedented step of calling for President Donald Trump’s removal from office via invocation of the 25th Amendment on Thursday, saying Trump incited “domestic terrorists” to attack Congress in a “last, desperate attempt to overturn the will of the American voters.”
“Yesterday was a dark day for our country,” Brown said in a statement. “Domestic terrorists attacked our seat of government, at the behest of the President of the United States.”
Brown joins a growing chorus of lawmakers calling for Trump’s immediate removal, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, among other representatives who drafted a letter to Vice President Pence Wednesday night.
NEW: I am sending a letter with @RepTedLieu and our colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee, calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Donald Trump from office after today’s events. pic.twitter.com/5VK8DLTLn4
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 7, 2021
In order to invoke the25th Amendment, a majority of the 15 Cabinet Secretaries and the Vice President would need to agree and send formal documents to Congress for consideration and approval.
The amendment reads, “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
A large number of Republicans would also have to agree in order to approve the request once it is sent to Congress. It is not clear if that is likely to happen.
“For the sake of our democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing President Trump from power. President Trump has shown time and again that he is unwilling to protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office,” the lawmakers end their letter.
Brown's full statement reads:
“Yesterday was a dark day for our country. Domestic terrorists attacked our seat of government, at the behest of the President of the United States. This was his last, desperate attempt to overturn the will of the American voters, but he failed, and democracy won. We must hold the president accountable for inciting this attack on our country. The cabinet and vice president should immediately invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, to prevent him from doing more damage between now and Inauguration Day. And in 13 days, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office and begin the work to bring out the best in our nation rather than the worst, supported by a Democratic Senate.”
Brown wasn't the only local leader that called for Trump's removal.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur released the following statement:
“Donald Trump presents a clear and present danger to the safety and security of this country and should not be in office one hour longer. I call on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment and for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings.”
“The deadly events that transpired yesterday were treasonous acts of insurrection carried out by a mob loyal to and inspired by President Trump. There must be a swift and thorough investigation of the events. We must determine how they were able to breach not only into the Capitol complex, but onto the House and Senate floors, and pose a direct threat to the health and safety of Members, staff, and Capitol Police, as well as violate the Capitol complex and architecture and historic elements. It must never happen again. Clearly, this is what Trump meant when he told the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and standby’ and again yesterday when he urged those in attendance at his rally on the National Mall to march to the Capitol.”
“In calling for President Trump’s removal, I am aligning myself with a growing number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, as well as national organizations including the National Association of Manufacturers, who understand how critical the rule of law – rather than mob rule – is to maintaining our precious liberty.”
RELATED: Democrat and Republican representatives call on Pence to invoke 25th Amendment
