January 7, 2021
Statement by UUP President Frederick E. Kowal calling for the immediate removal of Donald J. Trump as U.S. president
“With yesterday’s seditious assault on our democracy, incited by President Donald Trump and carried out by a riotous mob of pro-Trump supporters that marched on and occupied the U.S. Capitol—temporarily halting the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. president—it is imperative that our nation’s commitment to the Constitution and the law be re-established.
“That requires the immediate removal of Donald Trump from the office of president.
“Allowing the president to remain in office until Jan. 20 is far too dangerous and represents an imminent threat to our democracy and, ultimately, to all Americans.
“UUP joins the growing chorus of national leaders—including new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—in calling for the immediate removal of Donald Trump as president. Only then can our country begin the healing process so necessary to bring us together as a nation indivisible.”
“UUP also calls for the immediate censure of four New York congressional members—Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin—by Congress for perpetuating the lie that the presidential election was stolen.
“Jacobs, Malliotakis, Stefanik and Zeldin joined 143 of their Republican colleagues to do Donald Trump’s bidding by voting Jan. 6 to overturn the legitimate election results of the 2020 presidential election—mere hours after Trump’s horde swarmed and vandalized the Capitol.
“As educators committed to fact-based knowledge, we call on our nation’s leaders to become responsible stewards of our Constitution and our nation, particularly as we face a raging pandemic.”
UUP is the nation’s largest higher education union, with more than 42,000 academic and professional faculty and retirees. UUP members work at 29 New York state-operated campuses, including SUNY’s public teaching hospitals and health sciences centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse. It is an affiliate of NYSUT, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the AFL-CIO.