Congressional Democrats and other critics of President Trump said Wednesday that he needs to be impeached and/or removed from office because he helped foment the unrest at the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said she is drawing up articles of impeachment, while Rep. Ted Lieu of California called on Vice President Mike Pence to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office.
“[Mr. Trump] is detached from reality,” Mr. Lieu said.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove Mr. Trump from office.
“The President incited an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol today,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton said Mr. Trump whipped “domestic terrorists” into a frenzy and “sicced them on the Capitol.”
“The Cabinet must remove him today or the House must impeach,” said Ms. Wexton, Virginia Democrat.
Rep. David Cicilline called the events at the Capitol outrageous and said Mr. Trump caused them.
“We should impeach and convict him tomorrow,” tweeted Mr. Cicilline, Rhode Island Democrat.
Larry Summers, a former economic adviser in the Obama administration, called for impeachment and conviction once order is restored.
“Right way to signal we are a nation of law. Vote should be unanimous if those in power support American democracy,” Mr. Summers tweeted.
Mr. Summers later said that given the president’s response to the unrest, Mr. Pence and the Cabinet should simply invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Mr. Trump from office.
“Last chance for those who have been sycophants to get to right side of history,” he said.
The unrest also attracted attention from the business community.
Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said any elected leader defending Mr. Trump is rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy.
“Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy,” Mr. Timmons said.
Mr. Trump declared in a fiery speech earlier Wednesday near the U.S. Capitol that he would never concede the 2020 election to President-elect Joseph R. Biden.
He hinted to supporters who gathered to protest Congress’s counting of the Electoral College votes that he might march to the Capitol along with them before ultimately heading back to the White House.
Protesters ultimately overtook Capitol police and stormed the building, forcing lawmakers and others inside to be rushed to secure locations. At least one person was reportedly shot by law enforcement amid the mayhem.
One woman was shot and killed by law enforcement during the mayhem.
Lawmakers and former aides pleaded with Mr. Trump to take a more active role in telling his supporters to disperse.
The president ultimately released a videotaped message telling people to go home right after Mr. Biden called on him to “step up.”
“We don’t want anybody hurt,” the president said.
Even before Wednesday, some liberal lawmakers had talked about possibly impeaching the president again after he asked Georgia’s secretary of state over the weekend to find him enough votes to overtake Mr. Biden in the state.
The Democrat-led House voted to impeach Mr. Trump in December 2019, accusing him of strong-arming Ukraine into digging up dirt on Mr. Biden. The GOP-led Senate voted to acquit him in February 2020.
Mr. Biden is set to be sworn into office on Jan. 20.
