Calls grow for Trump's removal after Capitol riot

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who was just sworn in on Sunday, condemned “anarchy” after pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol yesterday.

Mace, a single mom, said that she was so concerned by rhetoric “from the President on down” before the rally on Wednesday that she sent her two kids back home after she was sworn in.

“I thought, ‘how neat would that be to roam the halls of Congress, do your virtual classes,’ and instead, I put them on the first flight home Monday morning, because I was worried. And my fears came true yesterday,” she said.  

Mace said the Republican Party needs to “start over,” and some GOP lawmakers should take responsibility for the deadly insurrection. 

“What happened yesterday is because millions of people across the country were misled by Republicans and by the administration that members of Congress could overturn and usurp the Electoral College in a single vote to object yesterday. And that's simply not true,” she added. 

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed sadness and anger at the scenes of pro-Trump rioters storming the US Capitol on Wednesday.

"A basic rule of democracy is after the election there are winners and losers," Merkel said, adding,

Merkel is one of many world leaders who condemned Wednesday's violence around the US Capitol.

She made her comments during a virtual meeting with German conservative parties this morning, saying:

However, Merkel expressed optimism that US lawmakers went back to work and certified Joe Biden's Electoral College win, calling it "a sign of hope."

"It is also certain with the confirmation of the election victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that the United States of America will open a new chapter of the democracy in less than two weeks, as it is supposed to happen," she added.

President-elect Joe Biden formally announced Judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for attorney general, along with additional members of his justice team, which CNN reported yesterday. 

As lawmakers sheltered in place when pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster said she was "fearful for her life."

"We were scrambling to hide behind the wall of the balcony," she said as she described the moment. "I was trying to get my colleagues to safety, getting them behind the railing."

Eventually, the lawmakers were told to evacuate. 

"They told us to use the gas masks that are under the seats, and we had to scramble across the entire length of the balcony," she said. "It was shortly after I left that the shot rang out that broke the window and within minutes, they had breached the door and they were in the chamber."

She added:

"I was frightened that it would be a mass casualty incident, that if they had automatic weapons they could have killed hundreds of members of Congress."

Kuster called the incident "domestic terrorism."

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One of President Trump’s most loyal Cabinet members, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, described the violence at the US Capitol Wednesday as "completely unacceptable."  

Standing alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Mnuchin said:

President Donald Trump’s comments "directly led" to the violent protests at the US Capitol, British Home Secretary Priti Patel told British media early on Thursday.

"His comments directly led to the violence," Patel said on BBC Breakfast.

"Quite frankly the violence that we've seen has just been so appalling and there is no justification for it," she added.

Patel referred to the US as "a beacon of democracy and freedom," adding that the country should now move on and get on with an orderly transition.

Since Patel’s interview, President Trump has said in a statement "there will be an orderly transition on January 20th." This came after a formal affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

Congress has now certified President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, despite a chaotic and deadly scene that erupted after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and delayed the proceedings.

The joint session of Congress, which is normally a ceremonial step, was halted for several hours when rioters breached the Capitol.

Proceedings resumed at about 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, with Vice President Mike Pence bringing the Senate session back into order.

The Senate and House rejected objections to throw out Georgia and Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Biden. Republicans also objected to Arizona, Nevada and Michigan's electoral votes, but the motions failed before they reached debate.

The Senate voted 93 to 6 to dismiss the objection raised by Republicans to Arizona's results, and 92 to 7 to reject the objection to Pennsylvania.

These are the senators who voted to object to some of the results of the election (and the states they objected to):

The House ultimately voted to reject an objection to throw out Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, but over half of the House Republicans backed the effort. The challenge failed by a vote of 282-138.

The GOP House minority leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, and his deputy, Steve Scalise, were among those seeking to overturn the results.

Following a formal affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory, President Trump said the decision "represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history."

"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again," Trump said while repeating false claims about the election that incited a mob to storm the Capitol.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to introduce Merrick Garland as his choice for attorney general, along with other senior members of the Justice Department leadership team, during an announcement at 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware, aides say.

The timing of the event has taken on even greater significance, given the violent breach of the Capitol yesterday, along with the rest of the mob-fueled insurrection.

Following Biden’s strong denunciation of the violence yesterday, Garland is also poised to speak for the first time, offering a window into his thinking on what the role of the Department of Justice is in the post-Trump era.

Some background on the nominee: Obama nominated Garland to the Supreme Court after a vacancy was created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused for months to hold confirmation hearings or the required vote in the chamber.

When Trump took office, Garland's nomination expired and he returned to his position as chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The court is charged with reviewing challenges to administrative agencies. He stepped down from the position as chief judge in February 2020, but still serves on the court. President Bill Clinton appointed him to the court in 1997.