U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blows a kiss to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as he and Senator Mitch McConnell arrive for a joint session to certify the 2020 election results, inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer called for President Donald Trump‘s removal Thursday a day after a mob spurred by the president overran the Capitol as lawmakers tallied President-elect Joe Biden‘s presidential win.
“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer,” the New York Democrat said in a statement.
“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,” he continued. “If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”
Biden will become president on Jan. 20 after Trump for months spouted conspiracy theories that widespread election fraud cost him a second term in office. More lawmakers have warned another two weeks of Trump’s presidency could further erode American democracy or lead to more loss of life after four people died during the Capitol attack Wednesday.
Vice President Mike Pence presides over a Joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 6, 2020.
Erin Schaff | AFP | Getty Images
More than 100 lawmakers have called for the president’s removal through the 25th Amendment, impeachment or resignation, according to an NBC News tally. Only one of those — Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — is a Republican.
Congress adjourned for at least the week after it counted Biden’s electoral victory early Thursday. It is unclear if either chamber would return in time to vote to remove the president before inauguration. While Schumer’s Democrats will control the Senate in the coming weeks after Senators-elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff from Georgia take office, Republicans will hold the chamber until they are sworn in.
Neither House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have weighed in on whether to expel the president after the Capitol breach.
Under the 25th Amendment, Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet can remove Trump. The president could contest the move, and the Congress would need to vote with a two-thirds majority to push him out of office.
Informal staff discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment have taken place in the White House, NBC News reported. It is unclear whether the talks have gone up to Cabinet secretaries or Pence.
The Democratic-held House impeached Trump in Dec. 2019 in part because the president pushed Ukraine to investigate the Biden family during the 2020 campaign. The GOP-controlled Senate voted against removing him from office last year. Among Republicans, only Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah voted to convict the president.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Schumer’s statement.
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.