Which House and Senate members publicly called for Trump's resignation after the 2020 election and why?
Executive summary
A broad cohort of mostly Democratic House members and Senators publicly demanded President Donald Trump's removal from office after the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, framing their calls as necessary because his words and actions had incited violence and breached his constitutional duties [1]. Among Republicans, a much smaller number—most prominently Senator Lisa Murkowski—went further to say he should resign immediately; other GOP senators expressed that his conduct was impeachable or warranted "soul-searching" without uniformly calling for resignation [2] [3].
1. Large Democratic caucus called for removal — often using “resign, impeach or 25th” language
In the immediate aftermath of the Capitol breach, more than 200 lawmakers — described in a congressional statement collected by Rep. Haley Stevens’ office as “almost exclusively Democrats” — publicly demanded Trump be removed from office, framing the demand variously as calls for resignation, impeachment and conviction, or invocation of the 25th Amendment because they said he “spurred” the mob and violated his oath [1]. That group was reported to include senior Democratic leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the public messaging from these members consistently tied the demand for departure to Trump’s role in provoking the assault on the Capitol [1].
2. Republican dissent was limited but notable — Lisa Murkowski named resignation explicitly
Sources identify Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski as publicly calling for Trump to resign “immediately,” saying he “has caused enough damage,” placing her among a very small number of GOP figures willing to endorse voluntary departure rather than merely criticizing conduct [2]. The reporting underscores how exceptional Murkowski’s stance was within her caucus, with most Senate Republicans stopping short of urging resignation even as a few acknowledged impeachment or other remedies [2].
3. Other Republican senators signaled impeachment or conscience-driven action without demanding resignation
Some Republican senators, while not calling explicitly for resignation, publicly characterized Trump’s behavior as crossing constitutional lines or as potentially “impeachable,” urging fellow Republicans to engage in “soul searching” about their response — language that distinguished criticism and openness to accountability from an outright demand for voluntary departure [2]. The sources report that by January 9 several Republicans had condemned the violence and stated the President’s actions merited further action, but they did not form a unified call for resignation among Senate Republicans [2].
4. Congressional and public calls overlapped with editorial and state-level demands for removal
Beyond the legislature, the record collected by Congressman Henry Cuellar’s office and referenced media excerpts documents a wider ecosystem of calls for Trump to leave office — including editorials and state party statements — which framed removal through resignation, impeachment, or the 25th Amendment as necessary responses to what those voices described as his role in inciting the attack [3]. That material reinforces that the congressional demands were part of a broader chorus from Democratic lawmakers, media outlets and civic leaders pressing multiple paths to removal [3].
5. Why they said it — incitement, oath-breaking, and threat to democracy as recurring themes
Across the statements summarized in the sources, the dominant justification for calls to remove Trump was the allegation that he had spurred or encouraged the violent breach of the Capitol, thereby violating his constitutional oath and posing an imminent threat to the functioning of democratic institutions; Democrats explicitly tied removal options — resignation, impeachment, or the 25th Amendment — to those grounds [1] [3]. Republican critiques that rose to the level of demanding resignation or admission of wrongdoing were far rarer, with Murkowski’s explicit call singled out in reporting as grounded in a belief that his conduct had “caused enough damage” to warrant immediate exit [2].
6. Limits of the available reporting and open questions
The sources document broad Democratic calls and name specific Republican departures from party unanimity (notably Murkowski), but they do not provide a complete roll call of every individual lawmaker who used the word “resign” versus those who pushed for impeachment or the 25th Amendment; the Stevens compilation lists a larger removal-demand coalition without itemizing each lawmaker’s precise language, and the Cuellar materials aggregate media and editorial calls alongside congressional ones [1] [3]. Therefore, while the overall pattern — mass Democratic demands for removal and a handful of Republicans urging resignation or acknowledging impeachable conduct — is clear in the record, a definitive list separating “resign” from “impeach/25th” for every member is not fully supplied by these sources [1] [3].