17 members of Congress sign letter to Pence asking him to invoke 25th Amendment to remove Trump

Seventeen members of Congress signed a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging him to invoke the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to remove President Donald Trump from office in the wake of protests in Washington by Trump’s supporters that devolved into a violent riot inside the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. David Cicilline, congressman for Rhode Island’s 1st District, as well as California Rep. Ted Lieu, announced on Twitter that they will be asking Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would temporarily transfer power to Pence until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., speaks during the House Democrats news conference in the Capitol to unveil their debt-free college plan on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

RELATED: 1 shot dead after pro-Trump mob storms Capitol, breaking windows and violently clashing with police

The letter cited the president’s role in encouraging the pro-Trump riot that transpired at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

The signatories of the letter called into question the president’s mental state and his inability to accept the results of the 2020 election.

"President Trump’s willingness to incite violence and social unrest to overturn the election results by force clearly meet this standard," the letter stated, referring to the 25th Amendment, section 4. "So too are his recent tweets, which Twitter has since deleted, saying the election was ‘stolen’ and that today’s riots ‘are the things and events that happen.’"

President Donald Trump speaks at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.

"For the sake of democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing President Trump from power. President Trump has shown time and again that he is unwilling to protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office," the letter concluded.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized Trump for fanning the flames that led to a riot inside the U.S. Capitol by repeating false claims of widespread voter fraud and relentlessly questioning the integrity of the 2020 election, with some calling for the president to be impeached for a second time, and others calling for use of the 25th Amendment.

RELATED: Chaos: Pro-Trump rioters make selves at home inside Capitol, sitting behind desks, making off with podiums

On Wednesday, a pro-Trump mob breached the U.S. Capitol building, breaking windows, leveling barriers, scaling walls and violently clashing with police. Rioters took over the presiding officer’s chair in the Senate, the offices of the House speaker and the Senate dais, where one yelled, "Trump won that election."

They mocked its leaders, posing for photos in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one with his feet propped on her desk, another sitting in the same seat Pence had occupied only moments before during the proceedings to certify the Electoral College vote.

Elected officials and public figures who were not listed in the letter sent to Pence, including former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Rep. Charlie Crist, had voiced their support for implementing the 25th Amendment earlier on Wednesday in the wake of the riot at the Capitol.

RELATED: Rep. Crist calls for removal of president under 25th Amendment

Gabriel Noronha, a U.S. State Department official who oversees communications between the U.S. and Iran, tweeted that the president is "entirely unfit to remain in office, and needs to go."

Under the 25th Amendment, Congress, the cabinet and vice president can strip powers from a president if for some reason he or she is declared unfit under dire circumstances. But that requires a two-thirds vote of both chambers.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment also states that a majority of "such other body as Congress may by law" determine if the president cannot discharge the powers and duties of his office. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in October that it's time for Congress to set up a commission on presidential succession, saying that the coronavirus crisis has further shown the need for a plan in the event that the president is incapacitated.

Raskin's bill, which would have to be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president, would set up "the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office."

RELATED: Here’s what the 25th Amendment says and how it works

The 17 members of the bipartisan commission would work with the vice president to determine whether the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office" due to physical or mental incapacity.

Prospectively, that commission would adjudicate the need for a transfer of power.

"In times of chaos, we must hold fast to our Constitution," Raskin added. "The 25th amendment is all about the stability of the presidency and the continuity of the office."

The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report.