Casey wants consequences for Congress members as pressure mounts to oust Trump

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called Monday for the impeachment of Donald Trump and consequences for members of Congress “who led the effort to overthrow a democratic election.”

“If they refuse to resign their office, then Congress should begin to explore censure or expulsion,” Casey, D-Scranton, said in a statement provided by a spokesperson shortly before 6 p.m. “Failing to hold those responsible for the insurrection accountable would be a profound injustice and give a green light to future authoritarians.”

Casey did not cite any names of individual members of Congress in his statement, which also called for charges to be filed against anyone who stormed the Capitol last week. Casey said Trump should be impeached “because he betrayed his oath to the Constitution and incited a mob to violence.”

The Democratic senator joins hundreds of Democrats and some Republicans in both chambers of Congress — including U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, and U.S. Reps. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon and Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills — who have urged Trump’s removal from office since the Jan. 6 violent storming of the U.S. Capitol.

RELATED: Toomey calls on Trump to resign, says it’s what’s best for country

“There can be no justice without accountability for those involved in the insurrection against the federal government,” Casey said. “As a nation, we cannot advance our shared democratic values without consequences for those who have betrayed those values.”

Casey’s push to hold individual lawmakers accountable for their possible roles in the day’s events comes as Democratic leaders ratchet up the pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to oust Trump from the Oval Office immediately.

Earlier in the day, soon after House Democrats introduced impeachment legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threatened to hold an impeachment vote on Wednesday if Pence does not intervene by pushing Trump to resign or forcing him out of office using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment.

Pence has given no indication he is ready to proceed on a course involving the 25th Amendment and a vote by a majority of the Cabinet. No member of the Cabinet had publicly called for Trump to be removed from office in that way as of Monday evening.

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who has not responded to recent interview requests, retweeted posts to his Twitter account in recent days from Republican colleagues who oppose impeachment, including a post by Rep. Jim Jordan that read: “Unity and healing doesn’t happen with cancel culture and impeachment.”

Toomey, a Republican who acknowledged he previously supported and voted for Trump, called over the weekend for the embattled president to step down “and go away as soon as possible.” Toomey told Fox News reporters on Saturday that he believes Trump committed “impeachable offenses,” but that he’s unsure “what will land on the Senate floor, if anything.”

Lamb, who defeated Trump-backed GOP challenger Sean Parnell to win reelection to his second term in November, took to Twitter to detail why he supports impeachment barely a week before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

“Even if he isn’t removed, impeachment can result in Trump being banned from holding any public office ever again,” Lamb wrote. “We owe it to the nation to do absolutely everything we can to make sure that this man can never again be the Commander in Chief.”

First & foremost, he committed an impeachable offense, & a horrible one.

He created The Big Lie & helped incite an invasion of the Capitol of the COUNTRY THAT HE SUPPOSEDLY LEADS, resulting in several deaths, including the murder of a police officer.

— Conor Lamb (@ConorLambPA) January 10, 2021

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said Thursday he was joining House Democrats in calling on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to thwart Trump “from causing more damage to the United States between now and Inauguration Day.” Later that day, Doyle said he supported impeaching Trump immediately, saying, “Every day he’s president is a day he will try to overturn the election and undermine our democracy.”

Other Republicans who represent Western Pennsylvania in Congress have been relatively mum on the latest calls for Trump’s removal.

U.S. Reps. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson Jr., John Joyce and Mike Kelly issued statements via Twitter a few days ago mostly limited to their support for law enforcement and Capitol police.