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WASHINGTON – House Democrats took their first big step forward in an attempt to remove President Trump from office on Tuesday, voting to call on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to remove the presidency from Trump’s hands. Only one Republican, Republican Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted with the Democrats.
The vote comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued an ultimatum to Pence earlier this week in response to the violent insurgency attack that left five people dead, including a Capitol Hill police officer. Pelosi told Pence to invoke Section Four of the 25th Amendment or else the House would go ahead with impeaching Trump a second time. This section, which has never been invoked in the history of the United States, allows the vice president and a Cabinet majority to remove a president from office if they believe he is no longer fit to serve. to serve; the president can then appeal this decision to Congress.
“The impeachment of the president is unprecedented action but it is absolutely necessary because of the unprecedented dangers he poses,” Pelosi said. “Who knows what he might do next?”
The resolution, which passed House 223-205, is a request and is not binding. Before the vote, however, Pence announced that he would not be invoking the 25th Amendment.
Pence dismissed the resolution as “political games” and said the 25th Amendment provisions were only designed for cases where the president was found to be mentally incompetent. “Under our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation. To invoke the 25th Amendment in this way would set a terrible precedent, ”Pence wrote in a letter to Pelosi.
Pelosi’s next step will be to initiate impeachment proceedings; she has named the leaders who will press charges against Trump in a Senate trial on Tuesday night. There is enough support in the House to impeach the president due to overwhelming support from Democrats. Republicans from four houses – Reps John Katko, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton – have already said they will vote for impeachment.
But that’s only the first half of the process. Two-thirds of the Senate must vote to condemn Trump for his removal from office or face consequences such as being banned from serving again as president. The conviction would require the support of about a third of Republican senators. A year ago, the House voted to impeach Trump but the Senate acquitted him. Senator Mitt Romney was the only Republican who voted to condemn. No president has ever been deposed twice.
But there are signs this time could be different. Republicans have expressed unprecedented levels of anger against Trump over the Capitol siege. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had privately said Trump had committed impenetrable offenses.
A Senate impeachment trial is unlikely to be completed before Trump steps down, meaning it would take place in the early days of Joe Biden’s presidential term.
Several Republicans spoke out against the resolution, claiming Democrats perverted the Constitution and divided the country. Rep. Tom McClintock called it “a grotesque abuse of the 25th Amendment” while wearing a mask emblazoned with the words “This mask is unnecessary.”
Democrats argued that Trump is a clear and present danger that could encourage and incite further uprisings against his electoral loss. “He lives in an alternate reality. He is a permanent threat to America,” said Representative Zoe Lofgren.
The House resolution that passed Tuesday reads in part: “[T]The insurgent mob threatened the safety and lives of the Vice President, Speaker of the House and Speaker pro tempore of the Senate, the first three individuals in line to succeed the President, as rioters were recorded chanting ‘Hang Mike Pence’ and ‘Where’s Nancy’ when President Donald J. Trump tweeted to supporters that ‘Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country’ after the Capitol was invaded and the vice president went into hiding. “
The resolution goes on to say that Trump has “repeatedly, continuously and dramatically demonstrated his utter inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office,” including respect for election results and a peaceful transfer of power, the duty to protect legislators and their constituents, and “generally the duty to ensure that laws are faithfully carried out”.
He calls on Pence and the Cabinet “to declare what is obvious to a horrified nation: that the President is incapable of successfully discharging the duties and powers of his office.”
The resolution was drafted by Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland and went to a plenary vote on Tuesday after Republicans opposed its passage through what’s known as “unanimous consent” – meaning that it passes without a full vote if no member objects – the day before.
Republican Alex Mooney of West Virginia opposed Monday, forcing the floor vote on Tuesday. Mooney said in a statement: “The United States House should never pass a resolution requiring the removal of a duly elected president without a hearing, debate or recorded vote.”
In a statement Sunday, Pelosi said she would give Pence 24 hours to invoke the 25th Amendment after the resolution is passed, or the House would move forward with Trump’s impeachment. House Democrats have previously circulated an impeachment article accusing Trump of “inciting insurgency” and won votes to impeach the president for the second time.
Pelosi announced on Tuesday that Representative Jamie Raskin would be the main impeachment official to plead against Trump in a Senate trial. The others responsible for the indictment will be: Representatives Diana DeGette, David Cicilline, Joaquin Castro, Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, Stacey Plaskett, Joe Neguse and Madeleine Dean.
Trump was first impeached by the House in 2019 and charged with two counts, abuse of power and obstructing Congress, after seeking interference in the 2020 election from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky . Trump was the third president in U.S. history to be impeached and is expected to be the first to be impeached twice.
The impeachment vote is slated for Wednesday, as Pence did not indicate he plans to invoke the 25th Amendment.
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