Gov. Larry Hogan is calling for President Donald Trump to resign or be removed from office. At a press conference Thursday, he said Vice President Mike Pence should lead until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.
Hogan said Trump has abandoned the oath he swore when he took office.
“There’s no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office and if Mike Pence, the vice president of the United States, would conduct a peaceful transition of power over the next 13 days until President Biden is sworn in,” Hogan said.
Hogan recounted details surrounding his decision to send members of the Maryland State Police and National Guard to the Capitol during Wednesday’s attack by a mob of Trump supporters.
He said initially the Department of Defense did not authorize the state to send its National Guard into Washington, D.C.
“I was actually on the phone with [House Majority] Leader [Steny] Hoyer who was pleading with us to send the Guard. He was yelling across the room to [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer, who — and they were back and forth saying, ‘We do have the authorization.’ And I'm saying, ‘I'm telling you, we do not have the authorization,’” Hogan recalled.
After about an hour and a half, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy authorized the Maryland National Guard to support the Capitol Police, Hogan said.
A contingent of the Maryland National Guard will remain in Washington until after the inauguration and through the end of January “to ensure the peaceful transition of power,” Hogan said.