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Talking Points: Rep. Emmer Calls For Moving Forward, Not Removing Trump From Office

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As Democrats move forward with impeachment, only a few Republicans are calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Minnesota's Republican delegation would prefer the clock to run out on the Trump presidency without an impeachment vote. Until last week, Minnesota's Republicans in Congress were united behind Trump. All three Republican Minnesota congressmen in December supported the Texas lawsuit that went to the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to overturn the election. That suit was rejected.

With the swearing in of Michelle Fischbach, Minnesota now has four Republican members of Congress. After the violent clash at the Capitol, the four Minnesota Republicans split. Reps. Jim Hagedorn and Fischbach joined the majority of House Republicans -- 137 of them who voted to overturn the presidential election. Meanwhile, Reps. Pete Stauber and Tom Emmer were part of the minority of House Republicans who voted to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Tom Emmer
Rep. Tom Emmer (credit: CBS)

Emmer is a figure of national prominence, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.

"There is a lot of division in this country," he said. "I just hope all of us would take a step back, take a deep breath rather than looking back, let's look forward. Let's allow the president-elect to go through his inauguration. President Trump has said that he is expecting a peaceful transition, let's enjoy that peaceful transition, let's move forward."

Emmer says he believes impeaching the Trump in his final days in office will only increase the dangerous tensions. He says that all members of Congress and all Americans should come together and work on uniting the country.

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