WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Baldwin is joining the growing number of lawmakers calling for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, to remove President Trump from office.
The Wisconsin U.S. senator said in a statement Thursday evening that the move to unseat the president is necessary because he "incited a violent insurrection against Congress."
"This attack on our democracy makes it clear he has broken his oath to support and defend the constitution, and that he is unfit to serve," Baldwin writes. "If the Vice President fails to act, then Congress should take action to address President Trump’s impeachable offenses.”
The tack has already received broad support from members of the Democratic leadership in Congress, and even one Republican representative.
Senate Minority Speaker, Chuck Schumer, and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, both issued statements calling for President Trump's removal, after being accused of inciting hundreds of his supporters to storm the Capitol building, leaving at least four people dead.
A resolution to impeach the president has also been written up, with more than a dozen representatives as co-leads on the measure. In the resolution, lawmakers point to both Trump’s call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2 and his actions toward pro-Trump protesters on Jan. 6 as being the basis for the articles of impeachment.
One Republican Representative, Adam Kinzinger, publicly called on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore also joined the lawmakers, writing in a statement that "13 days is simply too long to permit him to remain in power where he has access to his sycophants at the Department of Defense and the formal levers of power. America can’t wait, Trump must be removed now.”
For the 25th Amendment to be invoked, a majority of the 15 cabinet secretaries and the vice president have to agree and then send formal documents to Congress for consideration and approval.
If that move fails, some lawmakers have also called for impeachment. But the act of impeaching the president, just under two weeks before he leaves office, may end up being a ceremonial move. The U.S. Senate would have to vote in favor of the removal, which remains unlikely with the Republican majority still in control.
Calls for removal in Wisconsin Capitol
Also on Thursday, 32 lawmakers in the Wisconsin State Legislature said they sent a letter to Vice President Pence, calling him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
State Rep. Greta Neubauer said in a statement that “It is clear that President Trump is no longer fit or able to perform the duties of the presidency, and we ask that Vice President Pence step up and begin the 25th Amendment process to remove him from office."