Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Ted Lieu of California -- along with 15 other members of Congress -- sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from the Oval Office after supporters of his stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.
Among those who signed the letter was freshman congressman Mondaire Jones, whose district includes Rockland and Westchester counties.
"We have seen the fruit of the President's remarks in the violence and chaos unleashed today," the letter reads. "Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the Vice President and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries with the authority to determine a president as unfit if he 'is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.'"
The letter continues, "Even in his video announcement this afternoon, President Trump revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election. ... For the sake of our democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing President Trump from power. President Trump has shown time and time again that he is unwilling to protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office."
Earlier in the day, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said she was “drawing up articles of impeachment” against Trump, after hundreds of his supporters halted election certification procedures by storming the Capitol building.
“Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate,” she wrote on Twitter. “I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment.”
“We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath,” she added.
In an earlier tweet, Omar said she was “safe, but heartbroken about what we are enduring at our nation’s Capitol.”
“Running for our lives as Members of Congress in the United States is really devastating and totally shocking,” she added.