Schakowsky Calls For Removal Of Trump, GOP Members Of Congress

EVANSTON, IL — Congressman Jan Schakowsky called for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump and any members of Congress who supported those that stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday during the certification of of Electoral College votes.

"An armed mob, at the behest of President Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol with guns, homemade bombs, and chemical weapons while the entire Congress gathered to certify the election results," Schakowsky said in a statement Thursday evening.

"This was an act of domestic terrorism and a grave assault on our democracy. We must move quickly to hold this President and his enablers, including those in Congress, accountable for these treasonous acts."

Five people are dead as a result of the violence, including a rioter shot dead by Capitol police outside the House chamber and an officer who died after being struck in the head by a fire extinguisher.

Schakowsky said she would join Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and David Cicilline (D-RI) to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump for incitement of insurrection and abuse of power.

"I am also joining my colleague Representative Cori Bush’s resolution calling for the expulsion of those Members of Congress who violated their sacred Oath of Office and supported and encouraged this violent insurrection," she said.

The Evanston Democrat, a senior chief deputy whip, specifically called on recently elected Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller to resign after she told demonstrators Tuesday in D.C. that "Hitler was right about one thing." Miller apologized for her remarks Friday, noting that she is "passionately pro-Israel."

"It is this type of rhetoric that fueled yesterday’s attack by white supremacists and far-right extremist groups, and it has no place in the United States Congress," Schakowsky added.

Schakowsky said she has called on Vice President Mike Pence and members of Trump's cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office "to ensure this dangerous and unfit President can do no further damage to our nation."

House Democrats reportedly plan to introduce new articles of impeachment on Monday if the cabinet does not act or if Trump does not voluntarily step down.

Section 4 of the amendment allows the vice president and a majority of cabinet members to vote to remove the president from office. If the president refuses to go willingly — and a majority of the cabinet votes a second time to find the president unfit — the question goes to Congress, where the House and Senate have 21 days to vote on the matter, with a two-thirds vote required for removal.

Two members of Trump's cabinet resigned following Wednesday's civil unrest, but Pence has given no indication he would invoke the section for the first time in U.S. history.

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"If the President does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our actions," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Friday in a letter to House Democrats.

Pelosi also said she had spoken to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss precautions for preventing the "unstable" lame-duck president from starting a war or ordering a nuclear strike.

While Congressman Adam Kinzinger Thursday became the first Republican member of Congress to call for Trump's ouster following the Capitol breach, House GOP leadership Friday indicated they would oppose impeachment.

"Impeaching the President with just 12 days left in his term will only divide our country more," House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement.

Trump was impeached in December 2019 and acquitted following a brief Senate trial in February 2020. He is the third president to be impeached by the House.

No president has ever been impeached twice or convicted by the Senate.

Schakowsky also called for an investigation into "unacceptable security failures" ahead of the riot. Congress, she said, must ensure such a breach at the center of government can never happen again.

“While yesterday’s events were devastating and will stain this country’s history forever, I have no doubt that democracy will prevail," Schakowsky said. "This nation has successfully fought back against hatred, authoritarianism, and fascism since its founding. Together, we will show that these dangerous ideals have no place in the United States of America.”