Donald Trump’s control over the U.S. presidency seemed increasingly tenuous on Saturday, as Democrats moved forward with plans to challenge him a second time, political allies continued to abandon him and Twitter banned his account, removing his more powerful way to spread lies and incite violence.
Adding to the pressure after Wednesday’s deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol building by Trump supporters, a Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, openly called for the removal of the president.
“I want him to resign. I want him out. He’s done enough damage already, ”she said, punctuating the wave of revulsion that followed Trump’s incitement to a crowd that sought to nullify his defeat in the Joe Biden elections.
Five people died, including a police officer who faced protesters and a rioter shot by police. Several arrests have been made, including a Florida resident photographed hanging out with the Mayor of the House, Nancy Pelosi.
The US attorney’s office said a 70-year-old Alabama man was charged with possession of Molotov cocktails and assault weapons after his truck was discovered full of bombs and homemade weapons.
Impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection and of “gravely threatening the security of the United States” and its institutions, were set to be presented to the U.S. House of Representatives as early as Monday, Pelosi said.
The move is part of a multifaceted approach by Democrats pushing for the removal of Trump before Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
Pelosi, who spoke with the leader of the U.S. armed forces seeking to ensure that Trump cannot launch a nuclear attack in his remaining days in office, also called for his removal through the 25th amendment, which provides for the expulsion of a president deemed unable to serve. your duties.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be among the authorities to discuss such a course. But it seems unlikely, mainly because the cabinet members who would participate in the process resigned.
White House sources said Trump will not step down or hand over power to Vice President Mike Pence in search of forgiveness, so a second high-speed impeachment is approaching. In his first impeachment, on Ukraine’s approaches to dirt on political rivals, Trump was acquitted by a Republican-controlled Senate.
This time, more Republican senators are indicating support. Murkowski became the first, telling the Anchorage Daily News: “I think he should go.
“He will not appear at the opening. He hasn’t been focusing on what’s going on with Covid. Either he has been playing golf or inside the Oval Office smoking and throwing all the people who have been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with the vice president.
“He just wants to stay there for the title. He just wants to stay there for his ego. He needs to leave. He needs to do a good thing, but I don’t think he is capable of doing a good thing ”.
Murkowski’s intervention was dramatic, echoing the Republican delegation that went to Richard Nixon and told him to resign before being impeached because of Watergate in 1974.
Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska, was also critical, accusing Trump of “abandoning duty” and indicating that he was open to impeachment.
Many more Republicans would have to resort to having the president convicted and removed, however, even if a trial could be held before the day of the inauguration. An impeachment vote in the House later this week would send the case to trial, but Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, indicated that the House would not consider the proceedings until after the inauguration.
Several Republicans said they would not support impeachment. Jeff Flake, a Trump critic and former Arizona senator, told CNN on Saturday that it would be better if Trump “just left.”
Trump will be vulnerable to lawsuits, state or federal, after leaving the White House. If successfully prevented, he would also lose all the benefits of life after the Oval Office, including Secret Service pension and protection, and the option to apply again.
Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Trump’s account, however, separates the president from a megaphone he manipulated to spread lies and misinformation. Since Wednesday, he has called for calm and promised to respect the transfer of power, but he has also continued to falsely claim that the election was stolen through mass electoral fraud.
The company, which had previously removed Trump’s tweets, cited repeated violations of rules and risks, including the “new incitement to violence”.
Twitter said two tweets sent on Friday were “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that occurred on the United States Capitol.” Plans for “future armed protests” were spreading, the company warned, “including a proposed secondary attack on the United States Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17”.
A 7-foot “non-scalable” fence was being erected around the Capitol, where it was to remain for at least 30 days. The state of emergency was declared in Washington until the day after the inauguration. More than 6,200 members of the National Guard would be in town over the weekend, said Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The reaction against Trump also extended to two right-wing Republican senators, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who led unsuccessful efforts to oppose Biden’s election on the same day as the riot.
Cruz’s hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, said his lies cost lives and called for his resignation. Editor Simon and Schuster canceled Hawley’s book contract, accusing him of “a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom”.
After Democratic victories in Senate contests in Georgia, Republicans lost control of the White House and Congress, which led to introspection in the party ranks.
Murkowski said he was thinking of leaving. “If the Republican Party has become nothing more than Trump’s party, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me,” she said.