Three variants of the virus are currently circulating in the state now.

AP Photo / Bryan Witte

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday called for President Trump to resign — or to be removed from office if he refused to do so.

Hogan became among the first Republicans in elected office to call for Trump’s removal in the wake of the attack on the Capitol the day before. But he was joined by plenty of local Democrats.

Hogan, who has been a sharp critic of the president, told reporters that Trump “has abandoned the sacred oath” to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

“What we saw at the nation’s capital was not just an attack on the nation’s representatives or historic buildings or law enforcement, it was an attack on the rule of law, the foundations of self-government, and who we are as Americans,” he said.

In calling for Trump’s removal, if necessary, Hogan evoked the 25th Amendment. That could be used to transfer the power of the presidency to Vice President Mike Pence until Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

“I think there’s no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office,” Hogan said. “How that should happen, I don’t know.”

Other regional leaders have also called for Trump’s removal.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, tweeted that “the current president poses a danger to our country every minute he holds office. The sooner he is out, the better.”

Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined other members of Congress who have drafted articles of impeachment for the president.

The document states that Trump “willfully made statements that encouraged— and foreseeable resulted in— imminent lawless action at the Capitol. Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced members of Congress and the vice president … and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.”

Beyer wrote in a tweet that “Trump is a danger to our democracy.”

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) also tweeted that Trump should be removed, writing, “If the President is unfit to have a Facebook account, he is unfit to stay in office with full control of the nuclear codes.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) also tweeted that the president was “unfit to remain in office for the next 2 weeks…he continues to be a threat to our security.” And Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) went so far as to tweet that “Congress should inform Trump that he is not welcome at the inauguration.”

A number of Republican members of Congress withdrew their challenges to Biden’s victory following Wednesday’s attack. But Maryland’s only Republican congressman, Andy Harris, who represents the 1st District, voted in favor of two objections to results in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

He was joined by Virginia’s Republican Reps. Ben Cline, Bob Good, H. Morgan Griffith, and Robert Wittman.

Afterwards, Yvette Lewis, chair of the Maryland’s Democratic Party, promptly called for Harris’ resignation. “Make no mistake, the Republican members of Congress who instigated this violence — including Representative Harris — are complicit in this attempted insurrection,” Lewis told the Baltimore Sun. “They have blood on their hands.”

Harris responded saying he had no intention of stepping down. In a statement, Harris said he “rejected violent protests” adding that he “held legitimate Constitutional concerns about how the November election was conducted in certain states.”

During the siege on the Capitol, Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam mobilized their state police and national guard units to provide assistance to U.S. Capitol Police. Guard members from both states will remain in the District through the inauguration and the end of the month.

This story was updated to show the votes by Virginia’s Republican House members and Gov. Ralph Northam’s support for the president’s removal.

Filed Under: capitol insurrection, governor larry hogan, trump,