Three Republican governors who have established themselves as some of the most vocal critics of President Trump within his party called for his removal from office Thursday, citing the riots at the Capitol the previous day.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) was the first to issue the call Wednesday.
“Make no mistake, the President of the United States is responsible for this event. President Trump has orchestrated a campaign to cause an insurrection that overturns the results of a free, fair and legal election,” Scott said in a tweet.
“There is no doubt that the President’s delusion, fabrication, self-interest, and ego have led us – step by step – to this very low, and very dangerous, moment in American history,” he added. “Enough is enough. President Trump should resign or be removed from office by his Cabinet, or by the Congress.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) who was suggested he may mount a White House bid in 2024, also called for Trump’s removal or resignation.
“I think there’s no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office and if Mike Pence, the vice president of the United States, would conduct a peaceful transition of power over the next 13 days until President [Joe] Biden is sworn in,” he said Thursday.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, meanwhile, said that “people should pursue whatever they believe will make it possible — through the most expeditious way possible — for the president to step down and for the vice president to assume the powers of the office for the next 14 days so that an orderly transition can take place.”
“I think it’s important at this point that there be an orderly transition and that that transition be led by the vice president,” Baker added during a briefing Thursday at the Massachusetts state House in Boston.
After the riot, numerous Republicans have condemned the president as inciting the mobs, including some longtime allies. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while he rejected calls to outright remove the president, said the incident had “tarnished” the president’s legacy.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who has been among the most vocal GOP critics of the president’s refusal to accept the results of the election, went further Thursday, calling for his removal from office through the 25th Amendment.
“The president caused this. The president is unfit and the president is unwell. And the president now must relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily,” Kinzinger said.