Michigan Lawmakers Call For Trump Removal Under 25th Amendment

MICHIGAN — Several Democratic Michigan lawmakers are seeking to use the 25th amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office following a chaotic scene on Capitol Hill Wednesday when thousands of pro-Trump rioters stormed government buildings prompting quick evacuations and several arrests.

Many Michigan lawmakers, including state Reps. Haley Stevens, Rashida Tlaib and Brenda Lawrence, have expressed an interest in removing the president from office.

In a tweet late Wednesday, Lawrence said she cannot fulfill her duties if she doesn't "stand up and call for the removal of Donald Trump."

"If Cabinet Secretaries want to exercise real leadership, they would remove (Donald Trump) from office immediately by invoking the 25th Amendment," Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee said in a tweet Thursday.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in a news conference Thursday said he approved of an effort of using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

"He stood there and fired these folks up and sent them across the way to the Capitol building where his own vice president was presiding as an act of intimidation," Duggan said.

Invoking the 25th Amendment would remove Trump from office and replace him with Vice President Mike Pence until the end of the term. Democratic President-elect Joe Biden would then take office on Jan. 20 upon his inauguration.

The amendment was developed in 1967 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and involves a three-part succession plan in the event of a president dying or being removed from office.

Read More: Michigan Lawmakers Condemn Protests As U.S. Capitol Breached

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if Trump is not removed using the 25th Amendment, Congress could move forward with impeachment proceedings that were drawn up by Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar Wednesday. Tlaib co-leads those articles of impeachment.

Wednesday's protests turned into the mayhem that overwhelmed Capitol Police, who evacuated members of Congress as violence escalated and rioters entered government buildings. A California woman was shot to death and three other people died on Capitol grounds. D.C.'s police chief said one woman and two men suffered fatal medical emergencies, but did not elaborate.

The FBI has since begun asking the public for help identifying people involved in the protests. Nearly 70 people have been arrested in connection to riots on Capitol Hill, including six from Michigan.

Dozens of Michigan lawmakers, some in Washington D.C. to count the Electoral College votes and others in Michigan, had to take shelter amid the chaos Wednesday, eventually letting others know they were OK using social media.