House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump could step in for a second term for his role in inciting a crowd of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol two days ago.
“If the president does not leave office soon and willingly, Congress will go ahead with what we have done,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to members of the chamber on Friday.
Pelosi and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer are also being asked to urge Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to implement the 25th Amendment to oust Trump – a process for a president who resigned and the vice-president deployed to take over.
But President Joe Biden did not support the attempt to oust Trump and declared that the matter was the responsibility of Congress.
“If we were out six months, we should be doing everything we can to get him out of the office. Attacking it again, trying to implement the 25th Amendment, no matter what it took, ”Biden said in references in his home state of Delaware. “But my focus now is on taking control as president and vice president of the 20th and moving our agenda as quickly as we can.”
Earlier on Friday, Pelosi revealed in a separate letter that she had spoken to the U.S. military chief about taking care to ensure that Republican President Donald Trump cannot launch enemies or order a nuclear attack in the remaining 12 days of his appointment.
The dramatic development came two days after Trump urged thousands of supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, sparking a chaotic scene in which a crowd broke into the building, sending legislators to hiding and leaving a police officer and four others dead. .
Pelosi said in the letter that she considered “measures available to prevent an unstable president from initiating armed enemies or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike” by Mark Milley.
“The situation of this non-stop president could not be more dangerous, and we must do all we can to protect the American people from his unjust attack on our country and our democracy. , “Pelosi said.
President Donald Trump will deliver a speech, a day after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, in this image still taken from a video posted on social media on January 8, 2021 [Donald J Trump via Twitter/Reuters]
Pelosi told members that she had received an assurance from Army General Milley, chairman of the Allied Chiefs of Staff, that safeguards are in place if Trump tried to launch a nuclear weapon, according to a source listening to the call.
While U.S. leaders have access to the codes needed to fire nuclear weapons 24 hours a day, a top military or national security official has not publicly expressed any concern about Trump’s state of mind regarding nuclear weapons .
Milley’s office said Pelosi had initiated the call and that the general was “answering her questions regarding the nuclear control authority process”.
Calls grow for impeachment
Democratic lawmakers have drafted impeachment articles for Trump for “inciting violence” on the Capitol and have called for the use of the 25th Amendment, which will allow the president’s cabinet and vice president remove from office if he is unable to perform his duties.
U.S. media reported that impeachment articles could be made by House Democrats Monday.
Republican lawmakers have firmly rebuked Trump in the wake of the Capitol chaos, but some have eased their tones after the disturbed president released a video with a resonant tone Thursday night, in which he denied the violence and that he recognized the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
It is widely believed that the 25th Amendment, which has never been used, will only work if the president is incompetent, or if he has gone wrong.
Vice President Mike Pence had to agree to his use, along with a majority of the president’s cabinet. Trump would be able to dispute a practice in a letter to Congress, which would ultimately decide.
Pence, who confirmed Biden ‘s election victory Wednesday after protesters broke the Capitol, is unlikely to agree to the use of the change.
Members of Trump’s cabinet, including the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Secretary of State for Elaine Chao, have resigned, allowing Trump to appoint new members next week .
Trump’s second impeachment – previously introduced in 2019 for allegations that he called for foreign intervention in the 2020 election – would be an unprecedented move, and would require a swift process to removed by January 20, when Biden is ready to resign.
President Joe Biden has blamed Trump for inciting violence Wednesday but has made it clear he will not put pressure on impeachment.
Some Republican senators have opposed the removal of Trump through a high-profile move, which could prevent him from holding public office.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of Trump, said that impeachment “in the last days of Trump’s presidency” would do more harm than good.
As president @realDonaldTrump said last night, it is time to heal and move on.
If Speaker Pelosi pushes impeachm ent in the last days of Trump’s presidency it will do more harm than good. I hope that President – elect Biden will see the damage that would be done by such an act.
– Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 8, 2021
However, some Republicans have stated that they are open to secession.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse told CBS News Friday that if the House of Representatives “come together and have a process, I will definitely consider the articles on which they may move.”