The storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday has prompted calls by some lawmakers to remove him from office before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar on Wednesday said she was drawing up articles of impeachment against President Trump after mobs broke into the U.S. Capitol following Trump's urgings to his supporters to fight to undo his election loss.

"We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfil our oath," Representative Omar wrote on Twitter.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another Democratic lawmaker and member of the "Squad" often targeted by the Republican Trump, echoed Omar's call in a one-word tweet: "Impeach."

Hundreds of protesters marched from a Trump rally near the White House to the Capitol and stormed the building. Video showed people breaking windows and pressing past barricades to get inside. Lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives were evacuated as they met to confirm Biden's victory in the November 3 election.

The mayhem at the Capitol forced Congress to temporarily postpone a session to certify Biden's victory. But the certification process reconvened around 8 p.m. ET after the U.S. Capitol Police restored the order of the Congress building. 

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Calls for Trump's removal spread rapidly across social media from Democratic lawmakers, leaders of non-government orgnizations and some of Trump's fellow Republicans, including Vermont Governor Phil Scott.

"The fabric of our democracy and the principles of our republic are under attack by the President. Enough is enough. President Trump should resign or be removed from office by his Cabinet, or by the Congress," Scott said on Tweet.

Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat, said Congress should "impeach and convict" Trump on Thursday. "This is outrageous and the president caused it."

"Inciting a coup has to warrant impeachment," the chairman of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Leon Russell, wrote on Twitter. Russell and others said Trump's cabinet should initiate the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which transfers power to the vice president if the president becomes unable to do his job.

Trump's former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci told Reuters via text: "Donald Trump and elected officials need to be impeached and removed from office. They have damaged our standing in the international community and are now threatening our way of life."

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Chief Executive Jay Timmons said Trump "incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. ... Vice President (Mike) Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy."

The NAM represents 14,000 companies including Exxon Mobil Corp, Pfizer Inc and Toyota Motor Corp. 

Other business groups issued strong statements but did not go as far as the manufacturers' group. 

The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives of some of America's biggest companies, called on Trump "and all relevant officials to put an end to the chaos and to facilitate the peaceful transition of power."

Blackstone Group Chief Executive Steve Schwarzman, a Trump ally, said in a statement: "The insurrection that followed the President's remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans. I am shocked and horrified by this mob's attempt to undermine our constitution."

There are two ways to remove a president from office: the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and impeachment followed by a Senate conviction. In either scenario, Vice President Mike Pence would take over until Biden's inauguration.

AFP reported that according to its source, there have been some preliminary discussions among some Cabinet members and Trump allies about invoking the 25th Amendment. But the move would likely flounder in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The Senate acquitted Trump in February 2020 after an impeachment trial led by the Democratic-controlled House on charges of trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

(With input from agencies)