WASHINGTON: Amidst mounting pressure for the removal of President Trump from office, House speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to the nation's top military leader to curb the President's authority to take military action - at home and abroad.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Pelosi detailing the meeting in a letter, stating that “This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike".
Pelosi articulated that "The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy", adding that “The House will preserve every option [...] With great respect, our deliberations will continue".
In the aftermath of the chaotic events on Wednesday, in which the President urged thousands of his supporters to flock to the Capitol building, which resulted in an insurrection to repeal the results of the election; leaving five dead.
President-elect Biden, speaking to reporters in Wilmington Delaware, stated that he intends to focus on preparing for his inauguration, adding that “Getting him out of office — the quickest way that that will happen is us being sworn in on the 20th, what action happens before or after that is a judgment for the Congress to make".
Biden added that "One of the few things he [Trump] and I have ever agreed on: It’s a good thing he’s not coming - he’s exceeded my worst notions of him. He’s been an embarrassment to the country. He’s embarrassed us around the world. He is not worthy to hold the office.”
Biden suggested that the fallout from the rampage at Capitol Hill prompted many Republicans to take a step away from the President, making the goal of a renewed bipartisan spirit in Washington more likely, adding that "Many of them [Republicans] are as outraged and disappointed and embarrassed, mortified by the president’s conduct, as I am, as the Democrats are. ... My overarching agenda is to unify this country.”