Republican Senator Pat Toomey says Trump must resign for sake of country as Pence refuses to rule out using 25th Amendment if President does something else 'crazy' and Dems prepare for impeachment vote
Pat Toomey demanded Sunday that Donald Trump resign 'as soon as possible' as Mike Pence still hasn't ruled out using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office just 10 days before his term is up.
'Well, I think the best way for our country, Chuck, is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible,' the Pennsylvania Republican senator told NBC's Chuck Todd on 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning. 'I acknowledge that may not be likely, but I think that would be best.'
Representative Adam Kinzinger agreed with this sentiment during his interview with ABC 'This Week' on Sunday, claiming: 'I think the best thing for the country to heal would be for him to resign.'
'The next best thing is the 25th Amendment, and that's why I call on Vice President Pence to do it,' he continued, adding this route is the best because it would 'get the debate out of Congress.'
Toomey also claimed in the wake of the chaotic descent on the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters on Wednesday, which left five dead, that the president shouldn't be allowed to run for this office ever again.
'I would certainly hope and I actually do believe that the president has disqualified himself,' Toomey said. 'I don't think he's a viable candidate for office ever again because of the outrageous behavior in the post-election period.'
Republican Senator Pat Toomey said Sunday that Donald Trump should resign and 'go away as soon as possible' to allow the country to heal in the wake of the riot at the Capitol Wednesday
Mike Pence has not spoken publicly since Wednesday after the pro-Trump mob blamed him for Congress not overturning the election results. The vice president won't say if he will invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power with just 10 days left in his term
Outside of calls for resignation and rumors Vice President Pence could use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump and take over in the final days, there are also those pushing for a second impeachment against the president.
Toomey revealed Saturday that even he believes Trump 'committed impeachable offenses'.
Pence has not spoken publicly since Wednesday's events where he condemned the attacks before moving forward with the joint session of Congress to certify the election overnight Wednesday to Thursday.
Toomey doesn't think, however, that the 25th Amendment will be enacted or that Trump will be impeached before he vacates the White House on January 20.
'It does not look as though there is the will or the consensus to exercise the 25th Amendment option,' Toomey told NBC. 'And I don't think there's time to do an impeachment. There's ten days left before the president leaves anyway. I think the best thing would be a resignation.'
Other than Toomey, there are several other Republican lawmakers calling for Trump's removal one way or the other, including Senators Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney and Representatives Garret Graves of Louisiana, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Steve Stivers of Ohio.
Kinzinger said lawmakers need to put aside consideration of their jobs to do the right thing for Americans.
'We ask young men and young women to give their lives for this country every day,' the 42-year-old Air Force veteran said on ABC Sunday morning. 'We have to be willing to give our careers to do the right thing when it's something as egregious as we're facing like we have been in this last week.'
When Toomey was asked how and other Republicans didn't see a big event like the one Wednesday coming, the Pennsylvania senator said the president's actions since the election are far from just the 'offensive tweets' he's fired off in the past.
'The president spiraled down into a kind of madness that was different,' Toomey said of Trump's behavior in the last few months. 'I'm sorry if people don't acknowledge that.'
'I think what he did this past week is wildly different from the offensive tweets that were common during his presidency, and I don't think that those tweets clearly indicated that this was coming,' he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Pence Thursday to declare Trump unfit for office after he told crowds to 'fight' moments before a mob stormed the Capitol.
The Vice President refused to take their calls, leading the Democrats to begin an impeachment process as an alternative option to remove Trump from office.
Despite Pence's silence, the Vice President is keeping the move to invoke the 25th Amendment very much on the table for if or when Trump becomes more unstable in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, a source told CNN.
The latest twist in this week's events comes as it was revealed Pence sheltered in a bunker with his family during the Capitol riot and Trump didn't check in on his safety.
Pence, daughter Audrey Pence and wife Karen Pence walk during the Inaugural Parade on January 20 2017. Pence and his family were forced to shelter in a bunker where they could hear the angry mob looking for him
No comments