Democrats representing Central Florida on Capitol Hill are among the growing chorus calling for outgoing President Donald Trump to be impeached.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., said she will support the articles of impeachment when the House votes on the matter on Wednesday.
“Congress has a constitutional and moral obligation to provide a check and balance on the president; to hold him accountable for inciting violence and insurrection; and to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States. I will fulfill my oath. I support impeachment.” Murphy said.
The congresswoman, who represents northern Orange County and all of Seminole County and is starting her third term, is also calling for a commission to investigate what happened in last week’s Capitol riot.
“The assault on our Capitol exposed our vulnerability to domestic and foreign terrorists who seek to harm our nation. I am calling for a bipartisan commission with subpoena power to investigate who knew what and when, recommend ways to bolster our defenses, and help prevent future attacks,” Murphy posted on Twitter.
Other Central Florida Democrats are also lining up against Trump.
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. came out early in favor of impeaching the president. U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., also wants to remove Trump.
“Last week, attackers incited by President Trump and his enablers in Congress wounded dozens of Capitol Police officers and killed one while trying to overturn our democracy and to kill or capture the Vice President and other elected representatives. They failed. But the fact that the president and others incited this mob to a violent attempt to overturn our democracy cannot be forgotten nor forgiven,” Demings said on Monday.
Demings wants to go further than Murphy, calling for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment against the president and remove him from office before his term ends next week. U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., has also supported Pence and the Cabinet removing Trump.
So far, Pence has shown no indication that he favors removing Trump, but that has not stopped the Democrats from calling on the vice president to act.
Like Murphy, Demings is calling for a commission to look at members of Congress that voted to overturn the election. Demings is also calling to investigate any member of Congress that tweeted or said anything in public that may have incited the public gathered in Washington DC to march to the Capitol and breach it.
Reach Mike Synan at mike.synan@floridadaily.com.
- Donald Trump Sketches Out a Vision for the GOP’s Future - March 5, 2021, 10:00 pm
- Anna Eskamani Takes Aim at Corporations as Session Starts in Tallahassee - March 3, 2021, 10:00 pm
- Ron DeSantis Takes a Bow in the State of the State Address - March 2, 2021, 4:58 pm
