Congressman John Yarmuth is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, either by impeachment or the 25th Amendment, following the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Yarmuth is Kentucky’s lone Democrat in Congress and has been a frequent critic of the outgoing president.
In a statement, Yarmuth said that Trump is “a danger to our nation.”
“As he showed yesterday, again and more clearly than ever before, every day that he remains in office is an unacceptable threat to our democracy and America’s place in the world,” Yarmuth said.
Yarmuth was not in the House Chambers when it was breached by a group of right-wing extremistson Wednesday afternoon because he had already been evacuated due to a bomb threat.
The people who broke into the Capitol temporarily disrupted a vote to accept presidential election results from Arizona, which was ultimately completed late Wednesday night.
Yarmuth said that even though Trump has only 13 more days in office, that’s too many.
“With a pandemic taking thousands of lives each day and oppressive racism festering in our communities, I am committed to doing anything and everything legally possible to remove this threat to our nation,” Yarmuth said.
Yarmuth’s statement came shortly after U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced she would resign from Trump’s administration, citing the Capitol riot.
“Yesterday, our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the President stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed,” Chao said. “As I’m sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”
Chao is a Kentuckian and married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell has avoided tying the riots to the president, who he has promoted and protected throughout his one term in office.
McConnell said the riots represented a “massive failure of institutions, protocols and planning,” but didn’t mention Trump.
“The ultimate blame for yesterday lies with the unhinged criminals who broke down doors, trampled our nation’s flag, fought with law enforcement, and tried to disrupt our democracy, and with those who incited them,” McConnell said in a statement.
Following Democratic victories in Georgia elections for U.S. Senate this week, McConnell will soon be relegated to the minority. He served as the Senate majority leader for 6 years.
