The U.S. House of Representatives reached a resolution on Tuesday to approached Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to removed President Donald Trump after he was blamed for affecting a dangerous revolt at the US Capitol a week ago.
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Trump’s part in inciting “a massive violent invasion of the United States Capitol” on Jan. 6, the day the president had brought his supporters to Washington to fight the certification of the Electoral College vote formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s triumph, the resolution, introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., passed by a largely party-line vote of 223-205.
The resolution asked Pence “to immediately use his powers under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified Nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.”
However, in a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by Vice President Mike Pence, as the House was taking procedural decisions on a resolution approaching him to execute the president’s removal, he expressed that he would not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
“With just eight days left in the president’s term, you and the Democratic Caucus are demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment. I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with the Constitution,” Mr. Pence wrote.
Ratified in 1967 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 25th Amendment allows for the formal transfer of a president’s duties should he or she die in office or become disabled. Under Section 4 of the amendment, a president can be stripped of their powers, although remaining technically in office, if the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet vote to do so.
The House Democrats are relied upon to make another endeavor to remove Trump by casting a ballot a subsequent chance to impeach him today, January 13.
The impeachment vote is set to occur seven days after Trump dishonestly asserted that the election was taken from him, inducing his supporters to storm the Capitol, five individuals were killed including a cop.
