Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger Calls On Lawmakers To Invoke 25th Amendment, Remove President Trump From Office
WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger on Wednesday called on Vice President Mike Pence and cabinet secretaries to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would remove President Trump from office.
This comes after a group of pro-Trump demonstrators breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as lawmakers were convened to certify the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election.
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"It's a sad day for our country. Every American has the right to peacefully protest. But what happened today was a violent insurrection that resulted in death, injury and insurmountable damage to our nation's reputation on the world stage," Ruppersberger said.
The Congressman said the president has been "using dangerous rhetoric and false claims of a rigged election" and "encouraging his supporters to descend on Washington over the last several weeks."
"President Trump incited an attempted coup and then – even after shots were fired – fanned the flames by repeating his baseless allegations of election fraud without a shred of evidence," Ruppersberger said in a statement.
"While these offenses are impeachable, I believe the ability of the Vice President and cabinet secretaries to invoke the 25th Amendment – which would deem the President unable to discharge of his duties – is more expedient and appropriate at this time. President Trump should be removed from office now. He is a threat to our national security and a menace to democracy."
Ruppersberger added that "democracy will always win."