United States of America Vice President Mike Pence told US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday that he will not invoke the 25th Amendment against outgoing President Donald Trump.
In a letter to Pelosi, Pence said that he will not invoke the 25th Amendment, which will give him constitutional authority to remove Trump from office. “I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or consistent with our Constitution,” he said in the letter to Pelosi. “I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our nation,” Pence added.
The US House of Representatives had passed a resolution calling on Pence and other cabinet members to constitutionally strip Trump of his presidential duties. The final vote on the resolution was 223 to 205. Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin led the resolution in the US House. “It is critical for us to make it clear that this was an absolute dereliction of Presidential duties. We are trying to tell the Vice President that the time of a 25th Amendment emergency has arrived,” Raskin said.
Representative Adam Kinzinger was the only Republican lawmaker to vote along with the Democrats. Some Republican lawmakers denounced Trump’s actions while others called it harmless. Republican, Representative Tom Cole said the decision of removing Trump from office falls outside of the Congress’ powers.
The Democrats will be meeting on Wednesday to vote on a single impeachment article against Trump for “inciting violence against the government of the United States". On January 6, a group of Trump supporters stormed and ransacked the US Capitol building during the proceedings to certify Joe Biden as the winner of 2020 elections.
Meanwhile, in a surprising move, Republican leader Senator Mitch McConnell is said to be okay with the House proceeding to impeach Trump. According to sources, McConnell feels that the Republican Party can get rid of Trump through impeachment.
McConnell is not the only Republican who is okay with the impeachment. Representative Liz Cheney, daughter of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, has said that she would vote to impeach Trump. Reportedly four other Republicans are likely to vote for Trump’s impeachment. It seems that more and more Republicans are turning on Trump.
Meanwhile, following the US Capitol attack, Trump seems to be digging his own grave. Ahead of his visit to Texas, Trump said that he takes no responsibility for the attack. “What I said (to supporters before the attack) was totally appropriate,” Trump said. However, the outgoing US President contradicted himself by adding, “I want non-violence.”
The US Capitol attack is hurting Trump more than ever. Firstly, YouTube joined Facebook in suspending Trump’s account for seven days or longer after his channel earned a strike under YouTube’s policies. Secondly, Deutsche Bank joined other corporate companies in cutting ties with Trump. The Bank has given loans which were used for funding Trump’s golf courses. Thirdly, Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) has terminated an agreement to host next year’s PGA Championship tournament at Trump’s New Jersey Golf Course.
