SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joined other senior politicians from the state Thursday in calling for President Donald Trump’s removal from office, calling him a “cancer” at the heart of the insurrection at the nation’s Capitol.
Inslee spoke during a preview of the legislative session hosted by The Associated Press. The Democrat said Trump must be removed from office by any legal means necessary.
“We need to go to the heart of that insurrection, and remove that cancer, and that means the president of the United States, who has continually fueled this insurrection with his outright deception,” Inslee said.
Several members of Washington’s congressional delegation have also called for Trump to be impeached or stripped of power through the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to assume the duties of the presidency if the president cannot function.
“The insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol today should be held fully accountable for their actions under the law. So should the President,” Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, said in a written statement Thursday. “The most immediate way to ensure the President is prevented from causing further harm in coming days is to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office. As history watches, I urge Vice President Pence and the President’s cabinet to put country before party and act.”
Inslee also addressed an incident at the governor’s mansion in Olympia on Wednesday, when Trump loyalists broke through a gate and demonstrated on the front lawn and porch with the governor inside. The Washington State Patrol is reviewing the incident to improve security, he said, but no decision has been made about whether to call out the National Guard to help ensure safety when the legislative session begins Monday.
