Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar announced that she was “drawing up Articles of Impeachment” on Wednesday evening, as President Donald Trump‘s supporters occupied the U.S. Capitol. Omar joined other lawmakers and pundits in saying that this attack proves Trump is not fit to hold a federal office ever again. A successful impeachment would ensure that he could not do so.
“Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate,” Omar tweeted. “We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.” The congresswoman’s post came amid a siege on the Capital building, which was broken into and taken over by dozens of Trump supporters, who came straight from his rally earlier in the day. Their demonstration was in support of Trump’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.
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I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment.
Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate.
We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 6, 2021
Trump was already successfully impeached once by the House of Representatives at the end of 2019, though the United States Senate acquitted him and declined to remove him from office. Now, Trump has just 14 days left in office, though a successful impeachment would at least ensure he could not hold a federal office ever again.
Many commenters applauded Omar for taking this action — especially after experiencing this attack firsthand earlier in the day. However, some argued it did not go far enough, suggesting that more extreme legal action should be taken. Many asked her to enact the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allows lawmakers to remove the president from office in extreme cases. It requires the cooperation of the vice president, the Senate Majority Leader, and the House Speaker, all agreeing that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Many pundits cast doubt on Omar’s impeachment efforts and other calls to remove Trump from office. They doubted that lawmakers would be able to pull of such a historic movie before Trump’s term ends.
This is on Donald Trump, period. He called folks to D.C. and gave them marching orders. He needs to be impeached and removed immediately.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) January 6, 2021
Or Congress must immediately impeach and remove the President for the safety of our nation.
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) January 6, 2021
Others were on board with Omar’s initiative. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted: “This is on Donald Trump, period. He called folks to D.C. and gave them marching orders. He needs to be impeached and removed immediately.” At the same time, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton wrote: “Trump is directly responsible for this insurrection and violence. He needs to be removed from office immediately. It is the Constitutional responsibility of Vice President Pence and the cabinet to exercise the power granted them by the 25th amendment. Or Congress must immediately impeach and remove the President for the safety of our nation.”
So far, no Republican officials have endorsed these calls to remove Trump from office, though some have condemned his actions on Wednesday. President-elect Joe Biden will take office on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
