Dozens of lawmakers are co-sponsoring a resolution introduced Monday by freshman Congresswoman Cori Bush that aims to launch investigations for removal of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives who, along with outgoing President Donald Trump, sparked a violent takeover of the Capitol last week.
"This is sedition. We must hold these Republicans accountable for their role in this insurrection at our nation's Capitol as part of a racist attempt to overturn the election results," said Bush (D-Mo.) in a statement. "There must be consequences."
The Black Lives Matter activist-turned-lawmaker explained that "Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution posits that no individual can serve in the House of Representatives who has engaged in disloyalty or sedition against the United States."
"There is no place in the People's House for these heinous actions," Bush added. "I firmly believe that these members are in breach of their sworn oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. They must be held accountable."
After confirming that she and her staff were safe from the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were trying to certify President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, Bush had vowed her first resolution would call for the expulsion of her colleagues "who incited this domestic terror attack."
Bush's promised resolution—which comes amid mounting calls for impeaching Trump and removing him from office—quickly gained support from progressive groups and activists. Now, at least 47 House members are co-sponsoring Bush's resolution.
"I am proudly co-sponsoring this legislation because there can be no room for white supremacist sympathies in the United States Congress," declared Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), an original member of the progressive "Squad" that now includes Bush.
Fellow Squad members Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have called for removing GOP members who echoed Trump's election lies and provoked the violence:
A version of Bush's resolution (pdf) shared exclusively with The Intercept calls on the House Ethics Committee "to investigate, and issue a report on, whether any and all actions taken by members of the 117th Congress who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution or the rules of the House of Representatives, and should face sanction, including removal."
Bush's introduction of the resolution came as Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) on Monday objected to a request from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) for unanimous consent to pass a measure (pdf) urging Vice President Mike Pence to take action to remove Trump under the 25th Amendment. Mooney was among over 100 House Republicans who voted after the attack on the Capitol to toss Arizona and Pennsylvania's electoral votes, which all ultimately went to Biden.
In the absence of action by Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to hold a vote this week to impeach the president a second time. Politicoreports that "members of the House Judiciary Committee introduced a single article of impeachment Monday that has already gathered at least 218 co-sponsors."
Meanwhile, by Monday afternoon, several thousand lawyers and law students from across the United States signed on to a petition organized by Yale Law School students that calls for the disbarment of Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for their roles in prompting last week's siege of the U.S. Capitol.