U.S. media reported on the 6th that after U.S. President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed Congress, Trump’s cabinet members discussed the possibility of using the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to prematurely step down.
President-elect Joseph Biden is scheduled to be sworn in on January 20, and Trump will serve less than two weeks for the remainder of his term.
To use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Vice President and most cabinet members need to declare that the President is unable to perform his duties, and Vice President Mike Pence will act as president at that time.
Trump can claim that he can perform his duties normally. If Pence and most cabinet members do not object, Trump can regain power; if Pence and most cabinet members object, it will be left to Congress to judge.
CNN reports from multiple top Republicans who declined to be named, who discussed the possibility of using the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution to remove President Trump from office, saying Trump was “out of control”.
CBS reporter Margaret Brennan said that no official documents were submitted to Pence at present.
ABC reporter Katherine Folds said that “multiple” sources told her that there had been discussions to get Trump out of office early.
Trump pressured Pence on the 5th to overturn the presidential election when he presided over a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the 6th, but Pence did not respond.
Several Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Pence urging him to take action to remove Trump, saying that Trump “attempted to undermine our democracy”.
Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice said on social media Twitter that Trump poses an “imminent threat” to democracy and must “go immediately”.
In addition to using the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution, members of Congress can recall Trump early through impeachment.
Democratic Congressman Ilhan Omar confirmed on the 6th that she was drafting a document to impeach Trump.
However, in the view of Paul Campos, a professor of constitutional science at the University of Colorado, it is more appropriate to use the Twenty-fifth Amendment to remove Trump from office early. “Pence can act as president immediately, and impeachment convictions may take at least a few days.”
