U.S. Sen. Casey, Three PA House Members Urge Trump's Removal

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey and at least three U.S. House members from the state are urging use of the Constitution's 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office. They are among a growing number of Congressional members contending Trump is not fit to complete his term following Wednesday's deadly Capitol riot that the president has been blamed for inciting.

Democratic U.S. representatives Mike Doyle of Allegheny County, Mary Gay Scanlon of Delaware County and Madeline Dean of Montgomery and Berks counties also want Trump gone before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20. They are among 29 Democratic and one Republican representatives who had called for Trump's ouster as of Thursday afternoon, according to CNN.

Casey, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are among seven Democratic senators pushing for Trump's removal under the 25th Amendment. That step, which never has been taken against a president, would require Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of Trump's Cabinet to vote to remove him from office due to an inability to discharge his duties.

Casey minced no words in calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked. He said Trump "inspired, encouraged and emboldened" domestic terrorists to attack the U.S. Capitol in an attempted coup.

"President Trump is a threat to our domestic and national security," Casey said. "It is self-evident that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. I call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing the powers of the presidency from Donald Trump."

The Capitol was breached shortly after Trump riled up supporters and as senators and representatives were certifying the Electoral College vote, the final step in declaring Biden the winner of the November presidential election. Since his defeat, Trump and a team of lawyers have repeatedly contended the election was rigged, despite presenting no evidence of election fraud in dozens of lawsuits thrown out in courts across the country.

Casey said that the riot, in which four people died and 70 were arrested, was the direct result of Trump's lies about the election's integrity and his decisive defeat "that promoted wild conspiracy theories about unsubstantiated fraud and encouraging this insurrection."

Doyle and Scanlon voiced support for the move via Twitter. Dean was one of 19 members of the House Judiciary Committee who signed a letter asking Pence to use 25th Amendment powers.

“The world watched aghast as insurrectionists, who had been egged on by the President, threatened the safety of elected officials and staff and destroyed public property as they stormed and occupied both the House and Senate chambers bringing our democracy to a halt,” the letter stated. "At one point, the insurrectionists even removed an American flag flying at the Capitol and replaced it with a Trump flag.”

Schumer called the Capitol riot an insurrection against the United States incited by the president.

"This president should not hold office one day longer, Schumer 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. If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president."

Schumer was joined in those sentiments Thursday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said at a news conference that Trump "has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people."