Trump: Focus now on transition
President condemns violence, calls it ‘heinous attack’
WASHINGTON — The violent siege of the Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters forced painful new questions across government on Thursday — about his fitness to remain in office for two more weeks, the ability of the police to secure the complex and the future of the Republican Party in a post-Trump era.
In the immediate aftermath, the attack on the world’s iconic dome of democracy reinforced lawmakers’ resolve to stay up all night to finish counting the Electoral College vote confirming that Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential election.
But the rampage that shocked the world and left the country on edge prompted lawmakers to launch a congressional review of the U.S. Capitol Police’s failure to stop the breach and is forcing a broader reckoning over Trump’s tenure in office and what comes next for a torn nation.
In a video message released Thursday evening, Trump said now that Congress has certified the results, the “new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20” and his “focus now turns to ensuring a smooth orderly and seamless transition of power.”
He also spoke out against the violence at the Capitol, calling it a “heinous attack” that left him “outraged by the violence lawlessness and
mayhem.”
Trump did not address his role in inciting the violence, but did tell his supporters that, while he knows they are “disappointed,” he wants them to know “our incredible journey is only just beginning.”
Though Trump has less than two weeks in office, lawmakers of both parties and even some in his administration began discussing his removal as early as Wednesday afternoon as Trump first refused to forcefully condemn the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters, and then appeared to excuse it.
Senior Trump administration officials raised the long-shot possibility of
invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment: the forceful removal of Trump from power by his own Cabinet.
Pelosi told a news conference she is waiting for a decision from Vice President Mike Pence and other Cabinet officials. She challenged several of them by name, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
“Do they stand by these actions?” Pelosi asked. “Are they ready to say that for the next 13 days this dangerous man can do further harm to our country?”
Most Democrats, and many Republicans, put the blame squarely on Trump after hundreds of protesters bearing Trump flags and clothing broke into the Capitol on Wednesday and caused destruction and mass evacuations. The president had urged his supporters to protest as Congress was counting the electoral votes that confirmed Biden’s win.
Pelosi said “a threshold was crossed of such magnitude” that Trump should not be allowed to make any decisions. And if the Cabinet didn’t act, the House might move to impeach the president, she said.
There did not appear to be public support for the move, for now, among members of Trump’s Cabinet, especially after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao resigned in protest Thursday following the Capitol attack.
According to two people involved in the administration talks, staff-level discussions on the matter took place across multiple departments and even parts of the White House for a move. But several were believed to be sympathetic to the notion, believing Trump is too volatile in his waning days before Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. The vice president then becomes acting president.
Under the 25th Amendment, Trump could dispute his Cabinet’s finding, but the
Cabinet could quickly reaffirm its position, keeping Pence in power while the question fell to lawmakers.
Pelosi said that any remaining day with the president in power could be “a horror show for America.” Likewise, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the attack on the Capitol was “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president,” and Trump must not stay in office “one day” longer.
At least one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, joined them.
Lawmakers from both parties pledged to investigate law enforcement’s actions in Thursday’s rioting and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a violent mob to occupy and vandalize the building.
Black l awmakers, i n particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.
Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said if “we, as Black people did the same things that happened .... the reaction would have been different, we would have been laid out on the ground, there would have been, there would have been shootings, there would have been people in jail.”
Before dawn Thursday, when Congress confirmed Biden as the presidential election winner, lawmakers resolved to return from shelter to show the country, and the world, of the nation’s enduring commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power. Pence, presiding over the joint session, announced the tally for Biden, 306-232.