Long Island’s three Democratic Congress members have spoken out in support of removing President Donald J. Trump from office after his supporters violently stormed the Capitol building last week. Long Island’s two Republican Congressmen have remained silent regarding the president’s influence on the riot or whether he should be removed.
Congressional Democrats begin their drive to force Trump from office this week, with a House vote on articles of impeachment expected as early as Wednesday that could make him the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
“President Trump, who must leave office on Jan. 20, 2021, cannot leave soon enough,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), said in a statement. “I will support any action against him that will hold him accountable for his irresponsible and reprehensible behavior.”
Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) have also voiced support for impeachment.
“This was a domestic terrorist act that was aided and abetted and incited by this president,” Rice said Saturday on MSNBC. “Except for a handful [of Republicans], there’s silence on the other side of the aisle. That’s absolutely outrageous.”
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol last week, scattering lawmakers who were certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory, in a harrowing assault on the center of American democracy that left five dead.
The violence came after Trump urged supporters to march on the Capitol at a rally where he repeated false claims that his resounding election defeat was illegitimate. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, many of her fellow Democrats and a handful of Republicans say Trump should not be trusted to serve out his term, which ends on Jan. 20.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) voted against the certification of Biden’s win, causing Long Island Democrats to call for Zeldin’s resignation. Zeldin has condemned the chaos at the Capitol but not spoken about impeachment.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bay Shore), however, did vote to certify Biden’s win. He has condemned the Capitol riots but not mentioned whether he is for or against impeaching Trump.
Several progressive Long Island advocacy groups were set to protest outside of Rice, Garbarino, Suozzi, and Zeldin’s offices this afternoon to call for Trump’s impeachment, as well as Zeldin’s removal from office. The groups include Indivisible Nassau County, NY02 Indivisibly, Long Island Activists, and Young Long Island For Justice.
“Unless there are consequences, Trump and his fascists will come back stronger than ever, whether that’s Trump or Trump 2.0,” they wrote in a Facebook post. “We demand Congress come back in session and enact immediate consequences and fundamental changes to prevent these fascists from succeeding in the future.”
-With Reuters
