Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries from New York has said that President Donald Trump remains an “existential threat” to the United States despite the imminent end of his presidency on January 20.
“The goal at the present moment is to address the existential threat that Donald Trump presents at this time. Every second, every minute, every hour that Donald Trump remains in office presents a danger to the American people,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Jeffries told NBC on Sunday.
“You know, Donald Trump may be in the Twitter penalty box, but he still has access to the nuclear codes. That's a frightening prospect,” he added, referring to Trump’s permanent suspension from Twitter.
Twitter Inc on Friday said that it had permanently suspended Trump’s account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters.
Social media companies have suspended Trump’s accounts after he posted messages on the social media platforms to support violent protesters at the US Capitol.
Jeffries added, “All of our efforts at the present moment are focused on his immediate removal. That's the right thing to do. The House is a separate and co-equal branch of government.”
“We have a constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch. Donald Trump is completely and totally out of control, and even his longtime enablers have now come to that conclusion,” he continued.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday said she spoke with the country’s army chief about preventing the “unstable” Trump from initiating military hostilities or ordering a nuclear attack.
Pelosi called Trump an “unhinged president,” adding that the president must be stopped from using his assigned codes to launch America’s nuclear weapons.
The action was taken by her office in a letter to House Democrats under a section titled “Preventing an Unhinged President from Using the Nuclear Codes.”
House Democrats will introduce legislation on Monday calling for the impeachment of Trump following the violence in which five people, including a US Capitol police officer, died.