Congressional calls for the impeachment of President Trump are gaining traction on both sides of the aisle, as lawmakers announced Saturday that impeachment would be introduced in the House on Monday.
Many agree that the violent breach and riot at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday that left five people dead was a direct result of the president’s conduct and a rally he held that morning.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., on Thursday became the first House Republican to voice his support for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, but could not be reached by Fox News to confirm whether or not he would support impeachment.
The House could vote on articles of impeachment as soon as Wednesday, with more than 185 cosponsors having signed the Articles of Impeachment document Saturday.
But at the same time, GOP House lawmakers made a plea with President-elect Joe Biden to intervene.
In a joint letter, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., along with other Republican lawmakers, asked Biden to urge the speaker to drop her “inflammatory” intent to impeach Trump for the second time.
Buck congratulated Biden on his win and noted that he, along with the other signatories on the letter, were opposed to the objections made by their fellow House Republicans during the certification of the Electoral College results.
“[W]e believe the Constitution is clear that the role of Congress is simply to count the electoral votes,” Buck wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News. “The Twelfth Amendment does not give Congress the authority or discretion to disqualify electors based on its own findings or beliefs that fraud took place.
“Nor does the Constitution envision impeaching a President without an adequate investigation and congressional hearings,” he added, saying that the move would only further divide the nation.
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Fox News could not immediately reach Biden for comment on whether he intends to intervene in the House’s push to introduce articles of impeachment.
The president-elect tweeted Saturday that he does not think anyone is above the law, but stopped short of saying Trump should be impeached. He said earlier this week that it was a decision he thought Congress needed to make.
Buck said that he and his fellow signatories would be in attendance of Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Trump refuses to attend – marking the first time in nearly 200 years a president has not attended his successor’s inauguration.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, Pa., said in a Fox News interview with “The Journal Editorial Report” earlier in the day that Trump had “committed impeachable offenses and that his behavior disqualifies him from serving.”
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first Republican senator to call for the impeachment of Trump, telling The Anchorage Daily News Friday, “I want him out.” GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska also said Friday that he would “consider whatever articles” the House may push forward.
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Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has been highly critical of Trump throughout his presidency, called Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol the result of “a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters, whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action.”
But Fox News could not reach Romney to confirm whether or not he would again support the impeachment of the president, after being the only GOP senator to vote in favor of impeaching him in February 2020.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
