‘What happened yesterday was horrific’: Growing number of lawmakers want Trump removed from office before end of term

In the wake of Wednesday’s violence at the U.S. Capitol, a growing chorus of lawmakers are calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office before his term ends.

Late Thursday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted out an impeachment vote could take place as early as Friday.

Most likely tomorrow.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 8, 2021

"First, we need to immediately impeach and remove this president, he is a clear threat to our democracy," Omar told reporters in an earlier conference call. "He cannot threaten our democracy and the world any longer, and hold public office ever again."

Impeachment requires a majority of the House to approve at least one article of impeachment.

Then, there would be a Senate trial — a process that could take weeks or longer.

There are currently just 13 days left in Trump’s term.

"It would be difficult to move an impeachment process very rapidly because the president would want, of course, the opportunity to prepare his case," David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University, said. "[Omar] should certainly introduce her resolution, but it’s very important to get a lot of support for impeachment from a broad range of Democrats and Republicans."

Omar’s resolution — called a "privileged impeachment resolution" — could be introduced to the full House, without going through the chamber’s judiciary committee.

University of Minnesota Law School Professor Richard Painter argues the president’s call to the Georgia Secretary of State, about "finding" votes, is evidence of wrongdoing.

"There he is, soliciting election fraud, which is a felony under Georgia law and under federal law," Painter said. "It’s right there on the telephone, very easy to prove. It’s a serious offense, and alone is grounds for impeachment."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t mince words while demanding Vice President Mike Pence to take a different route — to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.

"By inciting sedition as he did yesterday, he must be removed from office," Pelosi said. "While there’s only 13 days left, any day could be a horror show for America."

"What happened yesterday is a wakeup call to many, but it’s a call for accountability for others," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) said on his Twitter account. "All indications are the president has become unmoored not just from his duty, or even his oath, but from reality itself."

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The 25th Amendment was adopted in 1967, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Pence and a majority of the cabinet would have to inform Congress that the president is either mentally or physically unfit to fulfill the duties of his office.

Schultz said that’s never happened before.

"We’ve never had a situation where the 25th Amendment has been invoked by the vice president and the cabinet," he explained. "It’s not altogether clear if the amendment applies to situations like are being debated right now, where people who’ve lost faith in the president are questioning his judgment."

Before now, the amendment has been invoked only a few times. All of them, voluntarily, by the president himself.

Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both had colonoscopies and temporarily transferred power to their vice presidents.

Three presidents — Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump — have been impeached by the U.S. House and acquitted by the U.S. Senate.

The impeachment process was never completed against President Richard Nixon, as he resigned from office.

Schultz said part of what’s going on could be a bit of political posturing by Pelosi.

"I think she’s hoping by threatening impeachment, it puts pressure on Mike Pence and upon the cabinet to take some kind of action," he said. "I can see a possibility of this just as a political statement to express the degree I think Democrats and many Republicans disapprove of the president’s behavior."