Rep. Lynch Now Supports Beginning 25th Amendment, Impeachment Procedures Against President Trump After Capitol Riot
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rep. Stephen Lynch is now joining the calls from others in the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to start the process of removing President Donald Trump from office. In the immediate aftermath of the riot at the Capitol on Wednesday, Lynch initially told CBSN Boston it would not be a "good optic" to immediately remove the president.
Lynch said in a statement Thursday he was "stunned by the behavior of the President and the circumstances he provoked" after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol complex.
"I do support beginning the procedures of invoking the 25th amendment or drawing up articles of impeachment to limit his ability to cause any further damage to the country," Lynch said. "We would need a significant number of cabinet members to come forward and say the President is mentally unfit and join with the House and Senate in drafting a petition of disability."
I do support beginning the procedures of invoking the 25th amendment or drawing up articles of impeachment to limit President Trump's ability to cause any further damage to the country. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/TdLQrX0Wi3
— Rep. Stephen Lynch (@RepStephenLynch) January 7, 2021
On Wednesday, Lynch said he worried that trying to "yank the president out of the White House. . . would just feed the fervor" and that the focus should be preventing Trump from doing any harm during the remainder of his term.
Reps. Bill Keating, Ayanna Pressley, Seth Moulton, Jim McGovern, Lori Trahan, Richard Neal, and Jake Auchincloss are among those also calling for Trump's immediate removal from office.
"While it is extremely unlikely that this process could succeed within 13 days, it would still send a clear message to other government agencies to resist any questionable or momentous instructions President Trump may give that would put the lives of Americans in peril or threaten our National Security," Lynch said.