Sen. Schumer Calls for Removal of President

White House
(Image credit: Future)

Soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling for the removal of the President.

Following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters egged on by the President Wednesday and the eventual certification of Joe Biden as the next Presidents, Schumer tweeted early Thursday afternoon: "What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by President Trump. This president must not hold office one day longer."

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The news media were riveted to scenes of crowds of Confederate and Trump flag-waving mostly white men breaking into the Capitol and roaming the halls of Congress, having breached, arguably too easily, two police perimeters. One woman was shot and killed during the protest, property was damaged, and some legislators had to don gas masks to protect themselves from the tear gas. 

The President had called on thousands of his supporters to go to the Capitol, where the electoral votes for Joe Biden were being counted, telling them the election was rigged and they should not stand for it.

The storming was widely described as insurrection.

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There were reports Thursday that members of the President's cabinet had raised the issue of invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows for the removal of a President before his term expires if Vice President and a majority of cabinet members provide a written declaration to Congress that the President "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

The Vice President, in this case Mike Pence, would "immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

Schumer also reportedly talked about using the amendment to remove the President, as well as impeachment.

Talking to CBS News about the possible invocation of the 25th Amendment, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: "You’d have to have a majority of his cabinet, Vice President, remove him and that is going to be up to them...I supported impeaching him, removing him from office and I’m just being realistic about what’s going to happen here, but they better be ready to do that if this continues because you cannot have a President leading insurrection against our own country’s government."

Trump tweeted through aid Dan Scavino Thursday that he was willing to accept a peaceful transition of power Jan. 20, if not the election results.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, said late Thursday (Jan. 7) that he has co-sponsored articles of impeachment against the President. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.