NANCY Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and a Republican rep have urged Mike Pence to force Donald Trump from office as Congress considers impeaching him again.
Republican Rep Adam Kinzinger and a string of high-profile Democratic politicians – including the House Speaker and the soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader – made the announcements on Thursday, following a night of chaos at the Capitol.
Read our US Politics live blog for the latest news as the US Capitol building is put into lockdown
In calling for Trump's ouster, Pelosi termed the president "a very dangerous person who should not continue in office."
"This is urgent. This is an emergency of the highest magnitude," she continued.
"A complete tool of Putin, this president is," Pelosi said."Putin wants to undermine democracy … and the president gave him the biggest — of all of his many gifts to Putin — the biggest gift yesterday."
Schumer – who is set to be the Senate Majority Leader after Democrats won both of Georgia's Senate seats in Tuesday's special election – was equally condemnatory.
"What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," Schumer said on Thursday. "This president should not hold office one day longer."
"The quickest and most effective way—it can be done today—to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th amendment," he continued.
"If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president."
Schumer said he and Pelosi called Pence to urge him to remove Trump via the 25th Amendment but Pence's office said the Vice President would not be taking their call after a lengthy period on hold.
Earlier that morning, Kinzinger also asked the vice president to step up.
"It’s with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked," Kinzinger wrote.
Though Republican Sen Lindsey Graham refused to rule out a charge of "sedition" for some of the protesters, he said invoking the 25th Amendment was not "appropriate at this point."
High profile Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, however, have joined the swelling tide calling for Trump to be forcibly removed from office.
Rep. Omar has published articles of impeachment for introduction, urging colleagues: "We need to move quickly to remove this President from office."
The resolution reads: "I invite you to join me in introducing a resolution to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdeameanors.
"Once again, Trump has violated his constitutional oath to to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Pressure is mounting as the calls were backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who wrote on Twitter: "If the 25th amendment is not invoked today, Congress must reconvene immediately for impeachment and removal proceedings."
The news comes following reports that Republicans are plotting to remove Trump as president.
Cabinet secretaries and senior GOP members reportedly want to invoke the 25th Amendment and put Vice President Mike Pence in charge just two weeks before the end of Trump's term.
The 25th amendment of the US Constitution allows the vice president to take office if the president should be "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office".
Republicans are said to be "furious" at Trump for stirring up his supporters with false claims of election fraud, Axios reports.
Senior figures believe the brash firebrand has "disgraced" the party and encouraged the MAGA mob to "attack" American democracy, the report says.
And Trump's supporters "invading the sanctity of their chambers" yesterday was reportedly the last straw for many Republicans who now want the president banished from the party.
Political correspondents at both CNN and CBS also reported that bombshell talks to remove Trump from office are underway.
“I’m talking about actual members of the Cabinet,” CBS News' Margaret Brennan said, adding that "nothing formal (has) yet presented to VP Pence".
CNN's Jim Acosta tweeted: "Some cabinet members are holding preliminary discussions about invoking the 25th amendment to force Trump’s removal from office, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
"It’s unclear whether the effort would ultimately be successful at this stage."
Senior State Department officials are encouraging 25th Amendment talks along with other officials at the White House, according to two sources, Axios reports.
Invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office was a choice that nearly all GOP leaders previously passed on making during last year's impeachment trial.
"In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President," the amendment reads.
Calls for the legislation to be invoked resurfaced after Trump supporters ripped down fences and sieged the US Capitol building yesterday.
The chaos came as members of Congress were meeting to vote and certify Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
Both chambers recessed debate over the 2020 electoral votes after the mob forced a lockdown at the Capitol and the evacuation of lawmakers including VP Pence.
One woman was shot and killed bloody clashes erupted, according to police.
California Rep. Ted Lieu called for the immediate removal of the president.
He tweeted: "This assault on our nation’s Capitol is a coup attempt and all those involved should be prosecuted as such.
"Also, for those Dems saying we shouldn’t impeach @realDonaldTrump again? You are wrong.
"Now is the time for @VP @Mike_Pence to start the 25th Amendment process."
All the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee later signed a letter to Pence, urging him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., called for Trump's removal through the 25th Amendment, which was ratified in 1967 in the wake of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963.
Moulton tweeted: "Trump is directly responsible for this insurrection and violence.
"He needs to be removed from office immediately. It is the Constitutional responsibility of Vice President Pence and the cabinet to exercise the power granted them by the 25th amendment.
"Or Congress must immediately impeach and remove the President for the safety of our nation."
Senator Chuck Schumer addressed the floor once lawmakers reconvened just after 8pm on Wednesday.
In a blistering statement directed at Trump, he said rioting did not happen spontaneously.
He said: "The president who promoted conspiracy theories and motivated these thugs, the president who exhorted them to come to the nation's capital….egged them on.
"He hardly ever discourages violence and more often encourages it.
"This president bears a great deal of the blame. This mob was in good part President Trump's doing, incited by his words, his lies.
"This violence in good part, his responsibility, his everlasting shame.
"Today's events certainly would not have happened without him."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled her plan to oust Trump in October, telling Bloomberg that "the president is, shall we say, in an altered state right now."
Trump could also be impeached again, which requires a simple majority of the House and two-thirds of the Senate for removal, writes SFGate.
By impeaching and removing Trump, even at this late stage of his term, the Senate could subsequently vote to disqualify Trump from ever holding federal office again, CNN reports.
On the other hand, invoking the 25th Amendment would require Pence and a majority of the Cabinet to vote to remove Trump from office due to his inability to "discharge the powers and duties of his office".
Former President George W. Bush, released a strongly-worded rebuke Wednesday evening calling the "insurrection" at the Capitol a "sickening and heartbreaking sight".
Bush – who didn't mention Trump by name – said he was "appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement".
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