Invoking the 25th amendment would require Vice President Mike Pence to lead the cabinet in a vote on removing him.
Three US news channels have reported that the members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet on Wednesday discussed the possibility of removing Trump from office after his supporters stormed the Capitol.
The discussions revolved around the 25th amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for a president’s removal by the vice president and cabinet if the incumbent President is judged “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Invoking the 25th amendment would require Vice President Mike Pence to lead the cabinet in a vote on removing him.
Quoting unnamed Republican leaders, CNN reported the 25th amendment had been discussed, where the leaders had described Trump as “out of control.”
Margaret Brennan, the CBS reporter, said that “nothing formal” had been presented to Pence. However, ABC reporter Katherine Faulders said “multiple” sources had told her that discussions took place on the unprecedented move.
The Presidents unprecedented behaviour in encouraging the protesters and his unfounded claims that he lost the November 3 presidential election due to massive fraud have cast serious aspersions on his capabilities to lead the country.
Though only 13 days remain before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, the Wednesday’s storming on Trump supporters inside the parliament made many Democrats call on for invoking the 25th Amendment as well.
Saying that he had stoked an act of insurrection and “sought to undermine our democracy”, Democrats of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Pence urging him to act to remove Trump.
The committee, referring to a rambling speech Trump gave Wednesday, said he “revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election.”
“The President incited a domestic terror attack on the Capitol. He is an imminent threat to our democracy and he needs to be removed from office immediately,” Representative Kathleen Rice tweeted, adding that “The Cabinet must invoke the 25th Amendment”.
The lawmakers’ call was also echoed by the prestigious and influential Washington Post and CNN.
“Responsibility for this act of sedition lies squarely with the president, who has shown that his continued tenure in office poses a grave threat to US democracy. He should be removed,” the Washington Post said.
“It’s time for Vice President Mike Pence and the members of the Cabinet to pull the country back from the edge of abyss and remove Trump from office,” CNN said.
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