The Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, still does not rule out the possibility of invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to dismiss the US president, Donald Trump, if he perceives that the leader’s behavior becomes even “more unstable”, as reported by sources close to Pence on CNN.
These sources confirm that the option, which Pence initially contemplated after Trump’s supporters’ assault on Capitol Hill last Wednesday, has yet to be ruled out. However, the vice president has privately expressed his suspicion that such a statement could further inflame the tension in the country.
In any case, sources have assured that, at least until Saturday night, Pence has not spoken to Trump since the assault on the Capitol, where several of the assailants called for the summary execution of the vice president for refusing to support the president’s demands. to revoke the result of the elections.
The assault resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol Police officer.
For now, the source close to the vice president said that Pence and his advisers hope to provide a bridge to the next administration and do whatever they can to help President-elect Joe Biden’s team prepare to face the coronavirus pandemic.
Invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment would require Pence and a majority of the Cabinet to vote to remove Trump from office because of his inability to “fulfill the powers and duties of his office,” an unprecedented step.
The problem of deadlines remains. Trump would be disbarred, but he could dispute the measure with a letter to Congress. Pence and the Cabinet would have four days to contest the lawsuit before an additional vote that would require an absolute majority of two-thirds, usually 67 senators and 290 members of the House, who would have to vote in favor of his permanent removal.
The president has ten days left in his term, until Biden’s inauguration on January 20, and the result of the impeachment request that the Democrats will present this Monday is pending, which will accuse the president of encouraging the insurrection.
