Calls grow for Trump’s removal after Capitol riot

Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks alongside President Donald Trump on September 4, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, resigned today in the wake of President Trump’s role and response to mob breaching the US Capitol.

“I have chosen to resign today as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use,” McCance-Katz, assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse for HHS, wrote in a letter dated today.

President Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned today.

President Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has submitted her resignation, making her the second Cabinet member to resign over Trump’s response to the mob breaching the US Capitol, according to an official. 

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned this afternoon after taking “time to absorb” the insurrection on Capitol Hill and the President’s response to it.

“Today, there was a lot of soul-searching and discussion,” a senior administration official said. “It was obviously the right thing to do.”

Chao discussed the matter with her staff and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before deciding by around 11 a.m. that she would resign.

A source close to Vice President Mike Pence said inquiries about invoking the 25th Amendment have been coming into Pence advisers and those discussions have been under way.

But the source said it is “highly unlikely” that Pence would pursue that path at this point, given that the effort is expected to be unsuccessful. And an administration official tells CNN that Pence himself has not discussed invoking the 25th Amendment with any Cabinet officials.

However, three senior administration officials also tell CNN that two Cabinet secretaries have called fellow members of the Cabinet to take their “temperatures” about demanding a Cabinet meeting with the President to confront him about his behavior.

The two Cabinet secretaries discussed the possibility of demanding the President deliver a public address committing to a peaceful transfer of power, which Trump did Thursday evening. 

Hanging over the meeting would be the possibility that a majority of the Cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment and strip Trump of his power as president.

Chiefs of staff of federal departments have also been calling each other to discuss the possibility.

Some of the secretaries are hesitant to agree to a meeting because of the risk an attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment would face, or that they would draw Trump’s ire.

Some officials were also concerned about the optics of holding a cabinet meeting amid national discussions about the 25th Amendment. “Why take the risk?” one senior official said. 

On Thursday night, Trump released a pre-recorded video that said he would not serve a second term. It’s not known yet if that was enough assuage Cabinet members’ concerns and took the discussions of the table.

A White House adviser in discussions with senior officials said Trump only recorded the video released this evening because his presidency is currently threatened by looming resignations and potential impeachment.

“That message and tone should have been relayed election night…not after people died,” the adviser added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks with CNN on Thursday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out President Trump for finally pledging an “orderly” transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, saying “it’s about damn time.”

“Had he done this earlier, lives would have been saved,” Whitmer told CNN’s Erin Burnett, a day after rioters stormed the US Capitol building. “Had they invested themselves in a peaceful transition and started working with the incoming administration, lives would have been saved.”

What do we know: Rioters on Wednesday breached the Capitol building and the Senate chamber, ransacked the offices of Pelosi and other Capitol offices, and a laptop was stolen from the office of Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.

“If he’d spent the energy that he has tried to use to sow doubt and violence and seeds of division toward addressing the pandemic, lives would have been saved,” Whitmer added. “I’m glad he’s come to that conclusion finally. However, we paid an incredible price as a nation for his inability to see the facts and understand them and accept them. This is where we are.”

Senate Chaplain Barry Black is urging Congress and the nation to heal and unite after Wednesday’s deadly riot at the US Capitol building.

Black prayed over Congress early Thursday morning to close the joint session following the formal affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

He told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that people too often these days are running from the truth and instead “need to learn to illuminate with truth.” 

“The power of life and death is in your words, and you will reap its harvest,” Black said Thursday on Anderson Cooper Full Circle, referencing Proverbs 18:21.

Black has served as Senate Chaplain since 2003.

Watch the full interview here.

Watch part of Senate Chaplain Barry Black’s interview:

President Trump conceded publicly for the first time Thursday that he will not serve a second term, stopping short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden but acknowledging a transfer of power is now underway.

Trump’s recognition of his loss comes two months after the fact and amid growing calls for either his removal from office or a fresh impeachment. It also came as legal questions swirled about his culpability for inciting rioters who invaded the US Capitol a day earlier.

In the video, released more than 24 hours after Wednesday’s riot, Trump made calls for “healing and reconciliation” and said the country must move forward.

But he also misstated his role in activating the National Guard to combat his supporters who stormed the Capitol, who only a day earlier he called “special.”

Earlier Thursday, Trump issued a dark-of-night statement vowing an “orderly transition,” which came about in part to stanch a wave of resignations from within the West Wing and the broader administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Read more here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to reach out to Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to urge him to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to force President Trump’s removal from office.

The Democrats issued a statement detailing their phone call attempt to Pence, whom they were unable to connect with.

Read their statement:

CIA director Gina Haspel arrives for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on January 29, 2019 in Washington DC. 

CIA director Gina Haspel is not currently expected to resign from her post in response to President Trump’s handling of Wednesday’s violence at the US Capitol, according to a source familiar with the situation, who told CNN there is no indication, at this time, that she intends to step down before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to a source familiar with the situation.  

Haspel’s relationship with Trump has deteriorated in recent months and CNN previously reported that she was on thin ice as the President has considered firing her during his final months in office. But the source told CNN that at this time, it is unlikely Haspel will resign, the source said. 

While the situation involving Trump’s Cabinet continues to evolve after the resignation of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the source told CNN that, for now, Haspel intends to stay in her role to help oversee the CIA’s ongoing operations and a smooth transition process. The CIA declined to comment on Haspel’s plans. 

Some background: There have been calls for other Cabinet members to follow Chao’s lead amid bipartisan criticism of Trump’s response to the violence. But some of Trump’s top national security officials have received calls within the last 24 hours urging them not to resign following his widely panned response to the mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.

The message: it is important they stay on for the continuity of government in the national security realm.

Haspel has kept a relatively low profile since the election. Sources have consistently said Haspel prefers to remain as CIA director until Inauguration Day and step down on her own terms when the new administration takes over.

As of Thursday, it appears Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is also unlikely to resign. 

At this stage, it remains unclear if Ratcliffe has been involved in any discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment but a source familiar with the issue, told CNN Trump’s intelligence chief is well aware that a growing list of Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Cabinet to take that step.

A Capitol Police officer is on life support Thursday night after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol a day before, according to Capitol Police union chair Gus Papathanasiou.

CNN reported Thursday evening, citing three sources, that the officer had died. One of CNN’s sources said that Capitol Police officers were gathered and told that the officer had passed away.

Papathanasiou told WUSA — a local Washington, DC, television news station— that the officer died. Later Thursday, the Capitol Police released a statement stating no officers had died as a result of Wednesday’s riot.

Papathanasiou retracted his statement to WUSA and told CNN the officer was still on life support.

“He had a stroke. I think he’s on life support. We’ve got some misinformation on that. He’s on life support from what I’m hearing,” Papathanasiou told CNN.

One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.

Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the officer is on life support. 

President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater on January 7 in Wilmington, Delaware.

President-elect Joe Biden has no appetite for opening an impeachment proceeding against President Trump, people familiar with the matter say Thursday, as he prefers to keep his focus on taking office in 13 days.

Sources who told CNN earlier Thursday he had no intention of weighing in on the 25th Amendment talks, they said he feels the same about impeachment.

It’s unclear whether Biden will weigh in himself – he declined to answer questions today, but might Friday – but he has made his views known that he doesn’t favor impeachment.

“Impeachment would not help unify this country,” a person close to Biden said, who added that “this is a matter to be decided by the Congress.” 

Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks with CNN on Thursday, January 7.

Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed growing calls for invoking 25th Amendment or an impeachment of President Trump as a “distraction,” saying lawmakers should instead be focused on a successful transition. 

“It really doesn’t excite me,” said the retired four-star general, when asked about removing Trump. “We’ve got about 13 days to go? Nothing will really happen in that 13-day period. Let’s let it play out.” 

Powell suggested the danger Trump presents to the country would mitigate itself on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden assumes the presidency.

“I would not detour in different pieces of the Constitution we think would be helpful,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I just want him out… he’s going to be out.” 

Despite his opposition to removing Trump by a constitutional mechanism, Powell still suggested he believes Trump is unfit to occupy the Oval Office.

“You can’t not have concerns about his mental fitness when you see the way he behaves, the way he acts and the things he does,” said Powell. 

Watch the moment:

Vice President Mike Pence presides over a joint session of Congress on January 6 in Washington, DC.

Vice President Mike Pence has not discussed invoking the 25th Amendment with any Cabinet officials, an administration official tells CNN. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for invoking the 25th Amendment in a news conference today, and said that if that doesn’t happen, Congress may move to impeach President Trump. 

Remember: Invoking the 25th Amendment would require Pence and a majority of the Cabinet to vote to remove Trump from office due to his inability to “discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

Any 25th Amendment push faces an unprecedented steep hill to come to fruition with little time left before Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The calls in Congress, however, underscore the extent to which lawmakers are reeling and furious with the President in the wake of the devastation at the Capitol on Wednesday.

US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning, according to a US Capitol Police official, after facing criticism over an apparent lack of preparedness to deal with Wednesday’s violent mob on Capitol Hill.

Sund’s resignation is effective Jan. 16, according to a Capitol Police official.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today called for Sund’s resignation and said the House Sergeant at Arms has told her he is submitting his resignation as well.

Pelosi made her comments during her weekly news conference, and follows Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer saying he would fire the current Senate Sergeant-at-Arms when he becomes majority leader. 

“If Senate Sergeant Arms [Michael] Stenger hasn’t vacated the position by then, I will fire him as soon as Democrats have a majority in the Senate,” Schumer said in a statement.

As some Trump supporters leave Washington, DC, after yesterday’s attack on the Capitol, the Federal Aviation Administration is warning fliers not to act up. 

The warning comes after social media posts of pro-Trump passengers flying to Washington, DC, shouting down fellow passengers, flight attendants struggling to enforce mask rules, and other Trump supporters harassing GOP Sen. Mitt Romney in an airport terminal. 

On Wednesday, the head of the largest association of flight attendants said that those who participated in the assault on the Capitol should be banned from commercial flights. CNN observed a ramped up police presence at Reagan National Airport, but the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority reports no arrests on Thursday at Reagan or Dulles.

President Trump has been asking aides and lawyers, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone, about his self-pardon power, multiple sources tell CNN.

Some of those conversations have happened in recent weeks, one of the sources said. It is unclear if it has come up since the mayhem at the Capitol building yesterday fomented by the President’s rhetoric or after his recent controversial call with the Georgia secretary of state. Trump has asked about the legal and political consequences of a self-pardon, according to a source close to the President. 

He has also asked for legal opinions on whether he has the authority to issue a self-pardon and has been advised on the potential political fallout. This person said it was not yet clear whether the President would follow through with a pardon for himself.

Another person said it is not in the works in the White House counsel’s office currently but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen or that the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel is not currently reviewing the matter. 

CNN has previously reported Trump has been asking aides since 2017 about his self-pardon power and has been “obsessed” with the idea. Recently, Trump allies such as Sean Hannity on Fox have suggested publicly that he should. Trump has also tweeted that he believes he has the power to do so. 

A presidential self-pardon is untested and experts are divided on its constitutionality. A Justice Department legal memo says the President cannot pardon himself but he can step down and ask his vice president to take over and pardon him. However, that memo is not binding.

DC National Guard guardsmen stand outside the Capitol on January 7 in Washington, DC.

As 6,200 members of the National Guard arrive in Washington, DC, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said they would be used in 12-hour shifts, with 850 of them on Capitol grounds at a time, while others work traffic control points throughout the city.

The National Guard members, which will arrive from Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and DC units, are deployed for a minimum of 30 days, and they are expected to fully arrive during the weekend.

They will help erect a 7-foot non-scalable fence around the Capitol grounds as well as help support security in the area, working with other agencies and law enforcement. 

Speaking on a call with reporters, McCarthy said the rules and use of force would also be reviewed ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, which is seen as the next major milestone — and potential target — as the transition of power moves forward.

“We’ll potentially make adjustments accordingly,” McCarthy said of the rules and use of force. National Guard members were deployed Wednesday with protective gear and riot equipment, but without any weapons, whether lethal or non-lethal.

At the moment, McCarthy said there was 741 National Guard members on Capitol grounds, with another 93 working across 31 checkpoints to control traffic into the area. McCarthy said he has been in constant communication with Congressional leadership and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

McCarthy began the call by condemning the violence and riots, “Yesterday was a horrible and shameful day here in the Capitol and the nation at large. The District of Columbia asked for the Army to help and the National Guard responded.”

President Trump has canceled plans to travel to Camp David on Friday, according to a source familiar with the plans. 

Earlier Thursday a White House official told CNN that the President had planned to be away for the weekend, and a temporary flight restriction from the Federal Aviation Administration had been in place over the presidential retreat beginning Friday — meaning civilian aircraft are directed not to fly over the area. 

A separate source familiar with the President’s schedule says this trip to Camp David was on Trump’s calendar, prior to Wednesday’s siege of the US Capitol. 

Senator Chris Coons testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 15, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, fears that President Trump may put the US in a precarious position during his last days in office.

Coons remarks come after White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany walked into the briefing room and made no apology for the President’s behavior, or his rhetoric, or his administration, in the wake of the riot Wednesday at Capitol Hill.

Former Chief of Staff John Kelly listens as President Donald Trump speaks at a briefing on October 5, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

President Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly today said he would vote to invoke the 25th Amendment if he was still serving in Trump’s Cabinet. 

“Yes, I would,” said Kelly, hesitating slightly before replying to CNN’s Jake Tapper’s question: “If you were in the Cabinet right now, would you vote to remove him from office?”

Earlier in the conversation, Kelly, who served on the Cabinet from July 2017 through December 2018, also said current members of the Cabinet ought to meet to consider removing Trump, even though he has just 13 more days in his term. 

“The Cabinet should meet and have a discussion,” said Kelly. I don’t think it will happen. But I think the Cabinet should meet and discuss this.”

Watch the moment:

Two men became the first people to be hit with federal charges on Thursday for their actions in a riot at the US Capitol building one day earlier in which pro-Trump supporters overran the building leading to officers being injured and four deaths.

The men, identified as Christopher Alberts and Mark Jefferson Leffingwell, were both scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, DC, Thursday afternoon.

Alberts, of Maryland, was charged with one count of carrying or having access to firearms or ammunition on US Capitol Grounds, according to the complaint sworn by an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department.

Alberts, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and wearing a backpack, was approached by the MPD officer after the officer identified a bulge on Albert’s right hip.

The officer said Albert’s tried to flee and after he was apprehended with the help of two other officers they found with a black Taurus G2C 9mm handgun and a magazine of ammunition.

In total, according to the complaint, Alberts had 25 rounds of ammunition on him. The officer also seized a gas mask, pocket-knife, first aid kit, and one military meal-ready-to-eat, or MRE.

Alberts told authorities after his arrest that “he was in possession of the firearm for personal protection and he did not intend on using the firearm to harm anyone.” 

Leffingwell, 51, faces three criminal counts and has not yet entered a plea.

During the push of to enter the Capitol building, Leffingwell allegedly attempted to push past a Capitol Police officer who was trying to blockade the building, then punched the officer, authorities said.

The officer, Daniel Amendola, wrote that Leffingwell punched him “repeatedly with a closed fist” in his police helmet and in the chest. The police then restrained him. Leffingwell later apologized to Amendola, according to a court filing.

The Capitol Police officer’s statement of facts released Thursday also described the police reaction to the siege as the joint session of Congress was underway certifying the electoral vote of Joe Biden for president, when a crowd gathering outside that then broke into the Capitol building. 

“Members of the US Capitol Police attempted to maintain order and keep the crowd from entering the Capitol; however, shortly after 2:00pm, individuals in the crowd forced entry into the US Capitol, including by breaking windows,” Amendola wrote.

The officer also described evacuating Congressional officials and the Vice President Mike Pence. 

“In reacting to the crowd that had breached a window of the building, I moved to a hallway” on the Senate side of the Capitol, Amendola described. “While there, I attempted to form a barrier with other officers to stop or deter additional individuals from entering the Capitol building.”

The federal court proceedings for Capitol-related defendants are before Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey of the DC District Court and are ongoing now.

Police did not report where Leffingwell resides. He is currently being held in the central cellblock of the DC jail, according to his court proceeding. He’ll stay there overnight until he can be seen in court again Friday. Prosecutors say he might flee if released.

His attorney told the court that Leffingwell is a disabled veteran who suffers from memory loss.