SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- After last week’s deadly riots at the capitol, House Democrats are pushing for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
San Diego freshman congresswoman Rep. Sara Jacobs, who represents the 53rd Congressional District, was one of the first Democrats to co-sponsor the impeachment article, calling the president a threat to national security.
“We have to get him out of office as soon as possible,” Jacobs said Monday night. “President Trump still has access to the nuclear codes. There’s a lot of national security things he can have a harmful impact on over the next week or so. We have to hold him accountable.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, San Diego’s lone Republican congressman leading the 50th Congressional District, said rioters should be held accountable but he will vote against impeaching the president.
“Impeaching him and trying to remove him after he’s already left is inappropriate. I will hear the evidence and any motions brought,” Issa said. “Many people came with malintent, people came prepared to hang the vice president, people came with nylon handcuffs, people came with weapons, and those people and anyone else who followed into the capitol need to be punished as the criminals they are.”
Issa said the focus should be on a peaceful transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden.
“If there were six months left in the presidency, other things like the 25th Amendment or an impeachment might have some validity,” Issa said. “But with only a week left, Vice President Biden, as president-elect wanting his transition, has said he really needs to focus on the transition, and we all should.”
Rep. Mike Levin, who represents California’s 49th Congressional District once held by Issa, said it’s not just about the president’s final days in office.
“The Senate will also have the consideration of whether or not the president can serve again, can hold federal office again, so it isn’t just about the next week,” he explained.
