Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said that he thinks President Trump should no longer be in office following Wednesday’s siege on the Capitol and detailed the trouble that he had deploying the Maryland National Guard to help with the siege.
“I think there’s no question that America would be better off if the president would resign or be removed from office,” the Republican governor said at a press conference on Thursday, adding, “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, who is a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said that he authorized mobilization of the Maryland National Guard to deploy to the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., but was “repeatedly denied approval to do so.”
“Under federal law, the mayor of the District of Columbia does not have authority of the guard, and we must receive approval from the Secretary of Defense before we’re able to send our Maryland National Guard across the border into the federal city of the District of Columbia,” Hogan said.
After about a half-hour, Hogan said, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy gave authority to move into the city.
Hogan said that the call from the Secretary of the Army came “not through normal channels,” from a number he did not recognize on his phone, asking Hogan to send the Guard as soon as possible.
“It’s clear to me that President Trump has abandoned his sacred oath,” Hogan said.
