The riots in Washington, D.C., led to calls Thursday for U.S. President Donald Trump to be removed from office by invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
Trump has 14 days left in office before president-elect Joe Biden is sworn in Jan. 20. Supporters claiming he was cheated of reelection stormed the U.S. Capitol, destroyed property and clashed with police.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the attack a "desecration."
The 25th Amendment says the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members can declare a president "unable to discharge the powers and the duties of the office." Under these circumstances, the vice president, will be named acting president.
The amendment has never been used to remove a sitting president against his will.
Two Democratic Party congressmen are writing to vice president Mike Pence requesting he invoke the amendment, according to news reports.
Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, who was the 44th governor of Florida as a Republican and was once a Trump friend, called for Trump's removal. "The amendment allows for the removal of a president," Crist said. "It's time to remove the president."
Rep. Al Lawson, another Florida Democrat, also called for Trump's removal.
Earlier, the National Association of Manufacturers urged senior U.S. officials to consider removing Trump from office.
Association chief executive Jay Timmons said Trump "incited violence in an attempt to retain power and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy."
"This is not law and order," argued Timmons. "This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such." He alleged Trump incited the violence.
Business leaders and major business groups also condemned the insurrection instigated by Trump, but most shied away from invoking the 25th Amendment to restore law and order.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said "attacks against our nation's Capitol Building and our democracy must end now." A statement from chamber chief executive Thomas Donohue said the U.S. Congress "must gather again (Thursday) to conclude their constitutional responsibility to accept the report of the Electoral College."
The Business Roundtable said "the chaos unfolding in the nation's capital is the result of unlawful efforts to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election."
Blackstone Group chief executive Steve Schwarzman said the riots were "appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans. I am shocked and horrified by this mob's attempt to undermine our Constitution."
Facebook, Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said "we need our political leaders to lead by example and put the nation first...We removed the recent video of president Trump's remarks expressing support for the people causing the violence. We are treating this situation as an emergency."
Apple, Inc. chief Tim Cook said "those responsible for this insurrection should be held to account and we must complete the transition to president-elect (Joe) Biden's administration."
