WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following last Wednesday’s Capitol attack, emotions boiled over during a U.S. House hearing Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Tensions were high as Rep. Jim Jordan defended Trump in hearing

  • Four Ohio Democrats want Trump removed from office

  • Ohio Republicans are largely staying quiet

Lawmakers were debating the resolution calling on the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan testified against it.

“So, here we are again, considering another divisive effort to go after President Trump. We should use this time to bring the nation together,” Jordan (R, 4th Congressional District) said.

While Jordan has condemned last week’s violence and has begun to acknowledge Joe Biden as president-elect, Democratic members on the committee repeatedly pressed him to say the fact that there is no evidence the election was stolen from Trump.

Jordan declined to.

“For the last several months, the gentleman from Ohio and others have given oxygen to the president’s conspiracy theories…The president to this day continues to perpetrate that. And so does —” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said before Jordan interjected.

“Are you saying there were no problems, no concerns with this election? Of course I understand Joe Biden won, but are you saying there’s no concerns with this election?” Jordan said.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) raised his voice with Jordan as they went back and forth.

“I asked you a yes or no question. Please! We’re trying to bring this nation back together! Jim, jeez!” Perlmutter said.

Four Ohio Democrats in Congress are calling for Trump’s removal, including Rep. Tim Ryan, who is supporting both the 25th Amendment resolution and impeachment.

“I feel like that’s the cleanest way for us to get rid of the president and to reduce the imminent harm that he can cause,” Ryan (D, 13th Congressional District) said in a virtual interview Monday.

Besides Jordan, Ohio’s other Republicans in the U.S. House are staying fairly quiet throughout the situation. Only one of the 12 has responded to requests for comment — a sign that Trump’s grip on the party continues.

“Encouraging the President’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and launching another impeachment…will only serve to further divide the American people,” Cincinnati-area Republican Steve Chabot (R, 1st Congressional District) said in a statement.

After this story first aired on TV, Rep. Bob Gibbs (R, 7th Congressional District) released a statement. 

“Congress pressing the Vice President to invoke the 25th Amendment, which was enacted for a very specific set of circumstances, or a hasty impeachment without even an attempt at an investigation are not appropriate paths forward,” Gibbs said in a statement Tuesday night. 

Rep. Warren Davidson (R, 8th Congressional District) also released a statement Tuesday night.

"The President is fit to serve out his remaining eight days in office...I will not participate in this political effort to further divide Americans under the guise of impeaching a man who will not be in office within a few days,” Davidson said.

In a radio interview with Scott Sloan on WLW 700 last Thursday, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R, 2nd Congressional District) did criticize the president’s actions last Wednesday.

“One of the things that I’m really bothered by, is the president’s response afterwards,” Wenstrup told the Cincinnati radio host.

But the congressman said this when asked about removing Trump from office:

“Hopefully with him saying there’ll be a peaceful transition of power, we just ride out these two weeks, and as a member of Congress, we start doing our work.”

On Tuesday evening, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) released a statement that said, in part, “Both in his words before the attack on the Capitol and in his actions afterward, President Trump bears some responsibility for what happened on January 6.”

Portman called on Trump to “address the nation and explicitly urge his supporters to remain peaceful and refrain from violence” and said the president “will bear responsibility" if he doesn’t speak out and his supporters cause more violence.

Portman’s statement did not mention whether he feels the 25th Amendment should be invoked or whether he supports pursuing impeachment.