Administrative officials have begun to discuss the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove it President Trump
Donald TrumpWarnock defeats Loeffler in Georgia Senate run-off The Memo: Georgia Voters Battle Trump Eric Trump Warns of Primary Challenges to Republicans Who Don’t Object to Election Results MORE from office, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Officials have exchanged phone calls and messages regarding the extraordinary measure, which would require a majority of cabinet officials and Vice President Pence to declare to Congress that Trump cannot fulfill his duties as president.
Discussions appear to be limited and it is not clear whether they have reached the level of possible cabinet officials. It’s not clear if officials would actually go ahead with invoking the 25th Amendment, or if enough cabinet members would even back it, especially given that Trump has only been in office for two weeks.
A White House official said Pence had not been approached or involved in the pursuit of the 25th Amendment.
Still, the debate about how quickly Trump’s position deteriorated during the day on Wednesday, as he urged his supporters to march to the Capitol before breaking into the building after an overwhelming police force.
A former White House official acknowledged the possibility that there are discussions on the 25th Amendment, but said they had not been given the feeling that there were any serious talks about it at the moment.
There are many officials in Trump’s cabinet who have been extremely loyal to him, and it seems questionable whether a majority would agree to remove him.
Meanwhile, Democrats increased public pressure on Trump administration officials to take the extraordinary move. A group of Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Pence on Wednesday evening requesting that he invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office after the chaotic events of the day. Some Democrats also called that Trump will be impeached and removed from office.
The National Association of Manufacturers, a trade group that has had influence in the Trump administration, also issued a statement saying that Pence should “seriously consider working with the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment. to preserve democracy “.
Republicans have also publicly rebuked Trump in the wake of the violence, saying he bears the responsibility.
Her. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph Toomey Government Used Patriot Act To Collect Website Visitor Logs In 2019 Appeals Court Rules NSA’s Bulk Phone Data Collection Illegal Dunford Withdraws From Consideration To Chair Coronavirus Monitoring Panel (R-Pa.) Referred to Trump as a “demagogue who chose to spread lies” in comments on the Senate floor Wednesday night as Congress reconvened to count electoral college votes. Sen. Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr Republican Infighting Over Election Steps Up Seven Senate Races To Watch In 2022 Lara Trump Leading Republicans In 2022 North Carolina Senate Poll MORE (RN.C.) said in a statement that Trump “takes responsibility for today’s events by promoting the baseless conspiracy theories that led to this point.”
CBS News first reported that there was talk of using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Axios later reported that senior State Department officials had encouraging talks about the measure.
Discussions about how to address Trump’s last two weeks in office, or whether he should be removed sooner, have heated up in response to the violence that engulfed the Capitol on Wednesday.
Trump further fueled the flames of conspiracy at a rally at the Ellipse of the White House by once again falsely insisting that he won the 2020 presidential election. He urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and make their voices heard.
A short time later, Trump supporters overwhelmed law enforcement outside the Capitol and broke into the building. Lawmakers, staff, press, and Pence were all evacuated or ordered to take shelter in their places. A woman was shot and killed during the chaos.
In subsequent statements, Trump called for peace, but at no point did he condemn the violence initiated by his supporters. Instead, he seemed to approve, calling his backers “great patriots” who responded to the election and told the rioters, “Remember this day forever!”
Three White House aides then resigned on Wednesday and more departures are expected in the coming days.