Connecticut’s Jahana Hayes, whose 5th US Congressional District encompasses Newtown, is among the latest in a growing chorus of legislative voices calling for the removal of lame duck President Donald Trump from office.

Hayes issued a release January 7, around 24 hours after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn the election, undercut the nation’s democracy, and keep Trump in the White House. She joined the top two Democrats in Congress calling on the Cabinet to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

And if it does not, they are considering impeachment — again.

“The issue of impeachment is a gravely serious matter, not to be taken lightly, and I could never have imagined that I would have to weigh this matter not once, but twice during my very short time in Congress,” Hayes said. She won her second term last November.

“Yesterday, for the first time in 232 years, our nation’s transition of power turned violent. In an attempted coup conducted at the request of and enabled by the President we saw the United States Capitol under siege,” Hayes stated. “President Trump’s refusal to condemn political violence and destruction for hours in self-serving apathy, his public proclamation of love for the mob of insurrectionists, and his failure to act swiftly to provide support to law enforcement protecting our Capitol clearly demonstrate his inability to continue to lead this nation.”

Hayes said the president “lit a match igniting disgusting acts of terror and refused to extinguish the flames of sedition and unvarnished extremism which held the very heart of our democracy hostage.”

In addition to putting the Capitol Police, congressional staff, Members of Congress, and DC residents at risk, Hayes said the president sent the message to the world that he will stop at nothing to maintain his grip on power.

“These acts cannot be ignored or further enabled with inaction in favor of political expediency,” she said. “Yesterday’s events are a direct result of the unintended consequences of no accountability.”

Hayes said during the siege, she was in the company of at least one of her children.

“To be locked in my office watching my son’s innocence slip away as he realized the Capitol complex was not the secure place he marveled at exploring, to hear him ask ‘are they coming here,’ and for me to have no answer reaffirmed for me that Americans are looking to their leaders for answers,” Hayes said. “The President cannot be trusted to continue in his role as the protector of our democracy and the official who will respond for our country.”

The Connecticut congresswoman said the events on January 6 are the antithesis of every American ideal, and responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the president.

“He violated his oath to protect and defend our country for the express purpose of overturning a national election,” Hayes said. “The president bears responsibility for the actions that took place... and must be held accountable. The fragile foundations of our democracy and national security depend on our action. I am joining my colleagues in calling for the immediate removal of this President by invoking the 25th Amendment or ultimately impeachment.”

Lawmakers of both parties raised the prospect Thursday of ousting President Donald Trump from office, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that if he was not removed, the House may move forward with a second impeachment.

Senior Trump administration officials raised the possibility of invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment — the forceful removal of Trump from power by his own Cabinet.

Pelosi told a news conference she is waiting for a decision from Vice President Mike Pence and other Cabinet officials. She challenged several of them by name, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also called Thursday for the Cabinet to remove him. In a statement, Schumer said the attack on the Capitol “was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president.” He said Trump “should not hold office one day longer.”

Schumer said Pence and the Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and immediately remove Trump from office. Otherwise, he said, it’s up to Congress.

In what is perhaps the most stark development since the insurrection at the Capital Wednesday, even Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said the president must accept his own role in the violence that occurred. The South Carolina senator said that Trump “needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution.”

Graham was a foe of Trump’s during the 2016 campaign and questioned his mental fitness for office. Once Trump was in office, however, Graham became one of his closest confidants and often played golf with him.

Graham added that he had no regrets of his support of Trump but that “it breaks my heart that my friend, a president of consequence, would allow yesterday to happen.”

Associated Press Content was included in this breaking news report.