WASHINGTON (AP) – Two Republican senators say President Donald Trump should resign as support for the impulse to charge him a second time gains strength in his final days in office following the deadly Capitol Uprising by a violent crowd of Trump supporters.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey joined Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Sunday to demand that Trump “resign and leave as soon as possible.” Murkowski, who has long expressed his exasperation over Trump’s conduct in office, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “has to get out.”
Toomey said that while he believes Trump committed impugnable crimes by encouraging loyalists to the siege of the Capitol on Wednesday, he did not believe there was enough time for the impeachment process to unfold. Toomey said the waiver was “the best way forward, the best way to bring that person into the rearview mirror.” He was not optimistic that Trump would step down before his term ends on Jan. 20.
The White House made no immediate comment Sunday.
The House seems determined to act despite the short term.
On Saturday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, sent a letter to her colleagues reiterating that Trump must be held accountable. She told her caucus, now scattered across the country in a two-week hiatus, that she “was ready to return to Washington this week.”
“It is absolutely imperative that those who perpetrated the assault on our democracy be held accountable,” Pelosi wrote. “There must be an acknowledgment that this desecration was instigated by the president.”
Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third Democrat in the House, said “it may be Tuesday and Wednesday before the action takes place, but I think it will take place this week.” Clyburn, DS.C., said he was concerned that a trial in the Senate could distract the confirmation process from President-elect Joe Biden’s candidates.
Clyburn said one option could be to give Biden the “100 days he needs to launch the agenda and maybe send the items sometime later” to the Senate for a trial.
He said lawmakers “will take the vote we should do in the House” and that Pelosi “will take the determination of when will be the best time” to send them to the Senate.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has said an impeachment trial could begin as early as the day of the inauguration, Jan. 20.
The Democratic new effort to stamp out Trump’s presidential record, for the second time and days before his term ends, with the indelible mark of removal is gaining supporters. Representative David Cicilline, DR.I.
Lawmakers were scheduled to formally present the proposal Monday in the House, where indictments are to originate.
The articles, if passed through the House, could be forwarded to the Senate for trial, and senators would act as jurors who would ultimately vote on whether to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president.
Potentially complicating this decision on impeachment is what it means for Biden and the start of his presidency. While reiterating that he has long considered Trump unfit for office, Biden avoided a question on dismissal on Friday, saying what Congress is doing “is for them to decide.”
A violent, largely white crowd of Trump supporters dominated police, broke down security lines and crossed the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to disperse as they put the finishing touches on Biden’s victory over Trump. in the Electoral College.
The crowd reached the symbol of American democracy after a rally near the White House, where Trump repeated his false claims that stole the election and urged his supporters to march forcefully toward the Chapters.
Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died as a result of the siege.
Outrage over the attack and Trump’s role in demanding it ended a chaotic and divisive presidency like few in the country’s history. It’s less than two weeks before Trump stays out of office, but Democrats have made it clear they don’t want to wait that long.
Trump, has few fellow Republicans who speak out in his defense. She has become increasingly isolated, in the White House, as she has been abandoned after the riots by many aides, Republican leaders and, so far, two cabinet members, both women.
Toomey appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Clyburn was on Fox News Sunday and CNN.
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Superville reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Lisa Mascaro and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.