US Reps. Schweikert, Stanton weigh in on calls for 25th Amendment
PHOENIX – As members of Congress call for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, two lawmakers from Arizona have differing reactions to the talk.
“In many ways, that’s another example of the political class firing it up … and the media class, too, being rewarded for being hyperbolic,” U.S. Rep. David Schweikert told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday.
Trump loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday during the electoral vote certification of President-elect Joe Biden.
Congress confirmed the Democrat as the presidential election winner before dawn Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the joint session, announced the tally at 306-232.
U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) said the riot was treason and urged Vice President Mike Pence in a tweet to remove the president from office via the 25th Amendment.
President Trump has shown that he is unwilling to protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office.
For our country's sake, my @HouseJudiciary
colleagues and I urge @VP Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to begin the process of removing the President from power. pic.twitter.com/vsokDvwDPw— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) January 7, 2021
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois both said Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and immediately remove Trump from office.
Schumer said, “If the vice president and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”
Kinzinger, the first lawmaker of his party to publicly take that stance, said, Trump “must now relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
