Lawmakers call for Trump impeachment, removal

Area legislators are prepared to cast their votes this week to remove President Donald Trump from office in the aftermath of riots at the U.S. Capitol.

House Democrats introduced a resolution Monday to impeach Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” in last week’s riot that resulted in five deaths, including a capitol police officer, after Trump supporters stormed the building. The measure is expected to be voted on Wednesday.

There’s also a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump before Jan. 20 and prevent him from holding public office in the future, which will be up for a vote today.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, an East Moline Democrat representing the 17th Congressional District, said Trump must be removed to prevent further harm.

“I believe that if our nation’s highest leader will not lead, he should step aside or be removed,” Bustos said. “The President’s actions last week revealed an unmistakable failure of leadership, and put our federal institutions under attack and our nation at risk. To prevent further harm to our democracy, I join with Republicans and Democrats alike in supporting his removal.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, of the 14th Congressional District, said she supports removing Trump from office as soon as possible, whether that be by the 25th Amendment, impeachment, or resignation. She intends to support those measures when they come to the floor this week.

Republican 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger called for invoking the 25th Amendment last week, and although he hasn’t made an official statement on the upcoming impeachment vote, he doesn’t think it would be “the smartest move” because it victimizes Trump.

The best course of action would be for Trump to resign, and the second best would be enacting the 25th Amendment, he told ABC on Sunday.

“I’ll vote the right way, you know, if I’m presented with that,” he said in the interview. “I just think it’s probably not the smartest move right now, but I think that’s going to be out of my hands.”

Sixth District U.S. Rep. Sean Casten was one of more than 200 to co-sponsor the articles of impeachment, and plans to vote in favor of impeachment and removal.

“President Trump presents a clear threat to the Constitution I took an oath to defend,” he said.

Trump would be the first president to be impeached twice. The impeachment resolution includes Trump’s repeated false claims that he won the election against President-elect Joe Biden due to widespread fraud, claims he included in his Jan. 6 speech prior to the riot. It also mentions his conversation urging the Georgia Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for him to win the state.

According to the resolution:

“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”