Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) called for Cabinet members to remove President Donald Trump from office after pro-Trump extremists stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol Wednesday in a failed bid to stop Congress from formalizing Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
Democrats and Republicans should have “serious conversations about implementing the 25th Amendment,” whereby the president could be declared “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” Ryan said.
“I think he needs to be removed from office,” Ryan told reporters in an online news conference Wednesday night, speaking from his Capitol Hill office after the buildings were secured. “We can’t trust him over the next couple of weeks not to continue to try to undermine our democracy in a very significant way. I mean, somebody died today.”
Officials in Washington, D.C., said four people died in the storming of the Capitol complex, including one woman who was fatally shot. Thousands of people overwhelmed Capitol Police, carrying Trump banners into the building, breaking windows, raiding congressional offices and breaching both legislative chambers.
Ryan accused Trump of inciting the assault. At a rally earlier Wednesday, Trump called on supporters to walk to the Capitol, saying, “you will never take back our country with weakness.”
“This was an insurrection in the United States,” Ryan said. “There's no sugarcoating that. This was a coup attempt. The president wanted a mob to storm the Capitol and stop the vote count because he lost the election.”
The resumed joint session of Congress approved the electoral vote count early Thursday morning, certifying Biden’s presidential win. Five Ohio Republicans voted to challenge the Electoral College results: Reps. Steve Chabot, Jim Jordan, Warren Davidson, Bob Gibbs and Bill Johnson.
After the vote, Trump – who has pressed for weeks to overturn his election defeat – released a statement pledging an “orderly transition” Jan. 20, adding, “it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Ryan, chairman of the House committee that funds the Capitol Police, faulted the law enforcement agency for a “strategic breakdown” in protecting the building.
“I think it’s pretty clear that there’s going to be a number of people who are going to be without employment very, very soon,” he said. “Because this is an embarrassment.”
Correction: This report originally omitted Rep. Steve Chabot from the list of House members who voted one or more times to challenge the Electoral College results.
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