This week in America has been nothing short of chaotic. President Donald Trump urged his mob followers (which included members of white supremacist groups) on Wednesday to protest Joe Biden’s electoral victory certification at Capitol Hill, which resulted in a deadly attack on the building, killing four and injuring many others. The violence has created political mayhem for Trump in the final days of his presidency, with numerous Cabinet members and White House aides resigning, and his own party members urging his removal.
Top Senate Democrat (and soon to be Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer urged the Cabinet on Thursday to remove Trump from office, arguing that he should not hold the position one day longer. “The quickest and most effective way – it can be done today – to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th amendment. If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” Schumer said.
Under the 25th Amendment, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can relieve the president of power if they determine he is unfit to carry out the duties of the office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that if the amendment is not invoked, Congress may move forward with impeachment.
However, both these options require strong support and cooperation from Republican leaders, and that currently appears unlikely. Though many GOP leaders expressed their dismay over Trump’s actions on Wednesday and called for him to step down, whether they would outwardly back measures aimed at his removal is doubtful. Experts suggest that Democrats could expedite Trump’s (second) impeachment process by doing so through a resolution, rather than by trial, which they did when investigating his abuse of power on Ukraine in 2019. However, actually removing him would take a two-thirds vote by the Senate, which is currently in recess until after President-elect Biden’s inauguration.
Furthermore, many Republican senators have expressed their opposition to impeachment, given that Trump’s term is almost up. “I think we’ve got to just hold our breath,” said Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who was the only Senate Republican to support the president’s impeachment the last time. GOP minority leader Kevin McCarthy of California also warned against impeachment saying that doing so with “just 12 days left in his term will only divide our country more.” McCarthy added that he has reached out to Biden to find ways to work together and “lower the temperature”.
As for invoking the 25th amendment, it would be VP Pence and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet who would have to make the call. Theoretically, it’s more advantageous than impeachment, given that it requires signoff from only a handful of people and goes into effect immediately. However, with two Cabinet officials already out (Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos), it is improbable that there will be enough support to initiate such a measure. Additionally, because it never has been invoked before, practical implementation could be very messy and could feel like a coup, creating more polarization.
However, if Trump escalates the situation further, both options could be on the table. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, addressed this issue on Thursday, saying, “I don’t support invoking the 25th Amendment now. If something else happens, all options would be on the table. I do not believe it’s appropriate at this point, we’re looking for a peaceful transfer of power. All of the president’s accomplishments were tarnished by yesterday… The president needs to understand his actions were the problem, not the solution.”
That being said, the divisions within the Trump administration are now clear to see. Alongside the many resignations, Trump has also angered VP Mike Pence by calling him a “coward” for not pushing to overturn the election results. Trump has also drawn Pence’s ire for barring the VP’s chief of staff, Marc Short, from entering the White House, and for essentially leading calls for a riot and then not condemning what took place after. Prior to the riots, Pence issued a statement saying that he could not block Biden’s path to the White House and on Thursday confirmed Biden as the winner. Sources close to Pence have said that they have “never seen Pence as angry” as he was on Wednesday, pointing to the fact that there exists a distinct possibility of the 25th Amendment being invoked.
The president, for his part, finally acknowledged the end of his presidency on Friday and said his focus would now be on a smooth transition of power. In a video statement on Twitter, he also denounced the “heinous” attack on the Capitol and said rioters had “defiled the seat of American democracy”. However, Trump has continued to stick to his baseless accusations of the 2020 election being “stolen” from him, and reportedly has no intention to resign, believing he did nothing wrong. Trump also announced on Friday that he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, breaking a long-held presidential tradition.
Trump Isolated as Congress Contemplates Ways to Remove Him From Office
The riot has created political mayhem for Trump in the final days of his presidency, with numerous Cabinet members and White House aides resigning, and his own party members urging his removal.
January 9, 2021
SOURCE: OLIVER CONTRERAS / BLOOMBERG / GETTY via NEW YORKER