Calls for Trump impeachment rise over Capitol riots

What will happen to Trump in the days he has left?

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(CNN) ––

A growing number of legislators, including those in the Democratic leadership, are calling for the removal of President Donald Trump, either through impeachment or the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.

This, after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday.

• LOOK: What is the 25th Amendment and how does it work?

Chuck Schumer, Democratic leader of the Senate, denounced this Thursday in a statement the "insurrection" in the Capitol "incited by the president."

"This president should not hold office for another day," he said.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, joined the impeachment call hours later at a press conference.

"I join the Senate Democratic leader in asking the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment," Pelosi said.

"If the vice president and cabinet do not act, Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment, which is the overwhelming sentiment of my group and the American people," he added.

• MIRA: Chronology: this was how a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the United States Capitol

So far, the calls have come largely from Democrats, but at least one Congressional Republican has joined.

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representative from Illinois and a frequent critic of the president, called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked. In a video message he said Thursday that "the president must now relinquish control of the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily."

What would it take to impeach Trump with the 25th Amendment?

Invoking Amendment 25 would require Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet to vote to remove Trump from office, due to his inability to "fulfill the powers and duties of his office."

This is an unprecedented step.

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Famous people react to what happened in the Capitol 0:58

Any push for Amendment 25 faces a difficult, unprecedented path to deliver results.

In addition to the short time left before Joe Biden's inauguration.

Yet calls in Congress underscore the extent to which lawmakers are shocked and furious at Trump following the devastation on Capitol Hill this Wednesday.

Sen. Patty Murray, third in the Senate Democratic leadership, also said it's time to invoke the 25th Amendment.

“The most immediate way to ensure that the president does not cause further damage in the coming days is to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office.

As history watches us, I urge Vice President Pence and the cabinet to put the country before the party and act, "he said in a statement.

• LOOK: The Washington Police publish photos of dozens of people wanted by the riots in the US Capitol.

Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, backed Trump's impeachment on Thursday.

Either through the 25th Amendment or impeachment.

"Invoking Amendment 25 is the fastest way to do this, and convenience should be our goal," he said.

Then he added: "If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, we have a duty to seek impeachment."

The impeachment calls for Trump's impeachment

Other prominent Democrats have urged impeachment in the wake of the violent mob that stormed the Capitol as a joint session of Congress counted electoral votes reaffirming President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

This, amid Trump's false claims that the election was rigged against him.

Representative Hakeem Jeffries, chair of the House of Representatives group of Democratic legislators, joined the call.

"Donald Trump must be impeached, convicted and removed from office immediately," he tweeted Thursday.

Three members of the House Judiciary Committee - Jamie Raskin, David Cicilline and Ted Lieu - are circulating an impeachment resolution among their colleagues.

There they qualify Trump's actions as an abuse of power.

They wrote that Trump violated the Constitution by "deliberately inciting violence against the United States government."

CNN correspondent recounts the assault from within 1:45

The four members of the progressive "squad" of Democratic legislators - Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley - also spoke in support of impeachment after the violent siege of the Capitol.

I'm writing the articles of impeachment.

Donald J. Trump should face impeachment by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the United States Senate.

We cannot allow you to remain in office.

It is a question of preserving our Republic and we have to fulfill our oath, ”Omar tweeted this Wednesday.

This is about Donald Trump, period.

He called people to the city of Washington and gave them orders to march.

He needs to be impeached and removed immediately, ”Tlaib tweeted on Wednesday.

The political scene

Now, Biden's inauguration is very close, it is January 20.

So it is highly unlikely that there will be enough time or political will in Congress for any kind of impeachment effort.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives already led Trump to political July in 2019. To remove a president from office, through this process, the Senate must vote to convict him after impeachment.

That didn't happen in the GOP-controlled Senate, where Trump was found not guilty.

After the mob of Trump supporters was expelled from the Capitol, lawmakers met again late at night to continue counting electoral votes.

Congress completed the count and definitively reaffirmed Biden's victory in the early hours of the morning of this Thursday.

Alex Rogers and Michael Warren, both of CNN, contributed to this report.

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