Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey is calling for the resignation of President Donald Trump following the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of pro-Trump insurrectionists, becoming the second Republican Senator to do so since last week.

“I think the best way for our country," Toomey told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” Sunday, "is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible. 

What You Need To Know

  • Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey is the second Republican Senator to call for President Trump's resignation, adding that Trump could face “criminal liability” after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol

  • Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the first, saying in an interview, "I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”

  • Toomey also called out Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) for the role they played: "They’re going to have a lot of soul searching to do"

  • Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called for Cruz and Hawley to resign or be expelled from the U.S. Senate

“I acknowledge that may not be likely,” he added, “but that would be best.”

Toomey joins fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski in calling for the president to resign. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News released Friday, Murkowski said, “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”

“I think he should leave. He said he’s not going to show up. He’s not going to appear at the inauguration. He hasn’t been focused on what is going on with COVID,” she said in a stinging rebuke of the president. “He’s either been golfing or he’s been inside the Oval Office fuming and throwing every single person who has been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with the vice president.”

“He doesn’t want to stay there. He only wants to stay there for the title. He only wants to stay there for his ego. He needs to get out,” she concluded. “He needs to do the good thing, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing a good thing.”

Murkowski also called into question the future of her party stance: “If the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me.” 

A number of other prominent lawmakers have called on Trump to resign.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said that “those who allowed this attempted coup should all resign.”

Maloney accused Trump of instigating the insurrection: “He is incapable of leading, he cannot be trusted, he should resign immediately. He is a clear threat to our democracy.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who became the first Republican to call for Trump’s removal last week, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that “the best thing for the country to heal would be for [Trump] to resign.”

Toomey is not seeking reelection in 2022, putting his Senate seat up for grabs in a state that Trump won in 2016, but President-elect Joe Biden flipped back blue in November. Already, the state's Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, said he is exploring a run for the seat.

On CNN Sunday, Toomey repeated his call for Trump to resign, adding that Trump could face “criminal liability” after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.

"I think at this point, with just a few days left, it's the best path forward, the best way to get this person in the rearview mirror for us that could happen immediately,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” adding, "I think there is also a possibility that there is criminal liability here. 

“I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a prosecutor,” he conceded. “The standard for a conviction in a criminal prosecution is quite high.”

Toomey also did not mince words about the role Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) played in the insurrection due to their challenge of the legitimate results of the presidential election.

“They’re going to have a lot of soul searching to do,” Toomey said on “Meet the Press” Sunday. “And the problem is they were complicit in the big lie, this lie that Donald Trump won the election in a landslide and it was all stolen.”

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio called for the “immediate resignations” of Hawley and Cruz, accusing them of betraying “their oaths of office” and abetting “a violent insurrection on our democracy.”

 

 

“If they do not resign, the Senate must expel them,” Brown added.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly called for the resignations of Cruz and Hawley.

“You fist-pumped insurrectionists and baselessly attacked our elections. Your actions fueled a riot and you fundraised in the chaos. Five people are dead,” she said of Hawley. “Even your GOP colleagues have distanced from your acts. Yet here you are crying over a book deal. You should be expelled.”

Ocasio-Cortez said that Cruz’s conduct, including his campaign sending a fundraising message on Wednesday that read Cruz was “leading the fight to reject electors from key states” is “unbecoming of any elected official” before calling for his resignation.

The question of impeachment also came up across a number of Sunday morning talk shows. House Democrats are moving to impeach President Trump this week for "incitement of insurrection," according to a draft of the measure provided to Spectrum News.

“It is the hope of Members that the President will immediately resign," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement following a virtual meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on Friday. "But if he does not, I have instructed the Rules Committee to be prepared to move forward with Congressman Jamie Raskin’s 25th Amendment legislation and a motion for impeachment.

"Accordingly, the House will preserve every option – including the 25th Amendment, a motion to impeach or a privileged resolution for impeachment," she added. "With great respect, our deliberations will continue.”

Toomey told Fox News on Sunday that “I do think the president committed impeachable offenses, but I don’t know what’s going to land on the Senate floor if anything.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that Trump’s actions are an impeachable offense: “If inciting to insurrection isn’t, then I don’t really know what is.”

Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) sent a letter to President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday asking him to implore Speaker Pelosi to call off impeachment proceedings “in the spirit of healing and fidelity to our Constitution.”

 

 

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said that Rep. Buck “should be ashamed” of himself for sending such a letter.

“United States Constitution is quite clear that we protect the US from both foreign and domestic enemies,” Omar wrote on Twitter. “You’ll have made a mockery of yourselves, our country and Constitution. Resign.”

According to an ABC News-Ipsos poll released Sunday, a majority of the country believes that Trump should be removed from office before his term ends, including 94% of Democrats and 58% of independents, following the insurrection at the Capitol. The poll also states that 67% of Americans blame Trump for the violent riot.