Government officials have begun discussing the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove it. President Trump
Donald TrumpWarnock defeats Loeffler in the second round of the Georgia Senate. The note: Georgia voters hit Trump Eric Trump warns of major challenges for Republicans who do not oppose election results MORE according to a source familiar with the matter.
Officials have exchanged calls and messages about the extraordinary measure, which would require most 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 unclear whether they have reached the level of cabinet officials. It’s unclear whether officials would really move forward with the invocation of the 25th Amendment, or whether there would even be enough Cabinet members, mostly because Trump has only two weeks in office.
A White House official said Pence had not been contacted or involved in any pursuit of the 25th Amendment.
Still, the fact that it is being discussed reflects how quickly Trump’s position has deteriorated over the course of Wednesday, which saw him urge supporters to leave the Capitol before entering the building after ‘overwhelm the police.
A former White House official acknowledged the possibility of discussions on the 25th Amendment, but said they had not had the feeling that there were serious talks about it at the time.
Trump’s cabinet includes many officials who have been extremely loyal to him and it seems doubtful that a majority will agree to dismiss him.
Meanwhile, Democrats increased public pressure on Trump administration officials to take the extraordinary step. A group of House Judiciary Democrats sent a letter to Pence on Wednesday evening asking him to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office after the chaotic events of the day. Some Democrats they have also called for Trump to be charged and removed from office.
The National Manufacturers Association, a trade group that has had influence in the Trump administration, also issued a statement saying Pence “should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.”
Republicans have also publicly criticized Trump after the violence and said he is responsible for it.
His. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph Toomey The government used the Patriot Act to gather records of website visitors in 2019 The appeals court rules that the massive collection of telephone data from the illegal NSA Dunford is removed from consideration to chair the MORE coronavirus monitoring panel (R-Pa.) He referred to Trump as a “demagogue who chose to spread falsehoods” in statements at the Senate floor Wednesday night when Congress met again to count the votes of the Electoral College. Sen. Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr: Republican election struggles intensify seven races in Senate to see 2022 Lara Trump leading Republican 2022 Senate poll in North Carolina MORE (RN.C.) said in a statement that Trump “takes responsibility for today’s events by promoting the unfounded conspiracy theories that have led to this point.”
CBS News first reported that there were talks about using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Axios later reported that senior State Department officials were encouraging talks on the measure.
Debates over how to handle Trump’s last two weeks in office, or whether he should be fired sooner, have heated up in response to the violence that ravaged the Capitol building on Wednesday.
Trump, in a rally at the White House ellipse, further ignited the flames of the conspiracy by once again falsely insisting that he had won the 2020 presidential election. He urged his supporters to march on the Capitol and do hear his voice.
Shortly afterwards, Trump supporters overwhelmed law enforcement outside the Capitol and broke into the building. Lawmakers, staff, the press and Pence were evacuated or ordered to take refuge in their place. A woman was shot dead because of the chaos.
In later statements, Trump called for peace, but at no time condemned the violence initiated by his supporters. Instead, he appeared to approve it and called his sponsors “big patriots” who were responding to the election and told riot police to “remember that day forever.”
Three White House aides later resigned Wednesday, with additional exit forecasts in the coming days.