Finger-pointing begins over why National Guard was not used to protect Capitol from violence
Over 6,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to the Washington, D.C. area; Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon with insight on how the process works.
The Maryland governor and lieutenant governor on Thursday called for President Trump‘s removal from office after pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol Wednesday.
Protesters gathered in large numbers Wednesday in Washington to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election at a “Stop the Steal” rally, where Trump spoke. He repeated unproven claims that the election was stolen, then afterwards, rioters stormed the Capitol while lawmakers were counting Electoral College votes.
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“There’s no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office, and if Mike Pence … would conduct a peaceful transition of power over the next 13 days until President Biden is sworn in,” Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan told reporters during a Thursday press conference.
He praised the vice president for his leadership Wednesday when he did not reject electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden and later condemned violence in the Capitol.
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Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford tweeted Thursday that the president’s actions on Wednesday: “he should step down from office immediately. It’s clear he’s not abiding by his oath to defend the Constitution (encouraging disruption of Congressional duties, refusal to authorize use of the Nat’l Guard in an assault on the Capitol).”
Hogan, who in November called on Trump to “stop golfing and concede” the 2020 election, condemned the violence that took place in Washington during Thursday’s press conference. Maryland “immediately offered support to the District of Columbia, he said.
The state sent riot police and the National Guard to Washington on Wednesday in response to requests from the city and extended the Guard’s deployment through the presidential inauguration and the end of January, he said.
“I just want to assure all Americans that the state of Maryland will do anything and everything we possibly can to continue to secure the core of our nation’s capital and to ensure the peaceful transition of power,” Hogan said. “Today, we are extending the Maryland National Guard’s mission in Washington, D.C., through the [presidential] inauguration and the end of the month.”
Hogan added that “the miracle of self-government and the orderly transition of power” has “come under attack from our own president.”
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Trump has “fanned the flames of hate and mislead millions of voters through lies and conspiracy theories rather than face the reality of his own defeat,” he said.
A number of Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment or to impeach Trump before Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20.
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