WASHINGTON – House Democrats took their first big step in trying to remove President Trump from office on Tuesday, voting to call on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to get the presidency out of Trump’s hands. Only one Republican, Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted with the Democrats.
The vote comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave Pence an ultimatum earlier this week in response to the violent insurrectionary attack that resulted in five deaths, including a Capitol police officer. Pelosi told Pence to invoke section four of the 25th Amendment or else the House would go ahead with Trump’s impeachment a second time. This section, which has never been invoked in the history of the United States, allows the vice president and the majority of the cabinet to remove a president from office if they believe that he is no longer fit to serve; the president can then appeal that decision to Congress.
“Removing the president is an unprecedented action, but it is absolutely necessary due to the unprecedented dangers he represents,” said Pelosi. “Who knows what he can do next?”
The resolution, which was passed by Chamber 223-205, is a request and is not binding. Before the vote, however, Pence announced that he will not invoke the 25th Amendment.
Pence considered the resolution “political games” and said that the provisions of the 25th Amendment were only designed for cases where the president was found to be mentally disabled. “According to our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation. Invoking the 25th Amendment in this way would set a terrible precedent, ”wrote Pence in a letter to Pelosi.
Pelosi’s next move will be to start the impeachment process; she named the managers who will make the case against Trump during a Senate trial Tuesday night. There is sufficient support in the House for impeachment of the president due to overwhelming support from the Democrats. Four House Republicans – deputies John Katko, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Fred Upton – have said they will vote for impeachment.
But this is only the first half of the process. Two-thirds of the Senate must vote to condemn Trump to be removed from office or face consequences, such as being prevented from serving as president again. 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 been impeached twice.
But there are signs that this time may be different. Republicans expressed unprecedented levels of anger at Trump over the siege of the Capitol. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said privately that Trump had committed impeachable crimes.
It is unlikely that an impeachment trial in the Senate would be completed before Trump stepped down, meaning it would unfold in the early days of Joe Biden’s presidential term.
Several Republicans spoke out against the resolution, saying the Democrats were perverting the constitution and dividing the country. Congressman Tom McClintock called this “a grotesque abuse of the 25th Amendment” while wearing a mask with the words “This mask is useless”.
Democrats argued that Trump is a clear and present danger that could encourage and incite further revolts against his electoral defeat. “He lives in an alternate reality. He is an ongoing threat to America,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren.
The House resolution passed on Tuesday says in part, “[T]The insurrectional crowd threatened the safety and life of the vice president, the mayor and the senate pro tempore, the first three individuals in the line of succession to the presidency, while the troublemakers sang ‘Hang Mike Pence’ and ‘Where’s Nancy ‘when President Donald J. Trump tweeted to his 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 was hidden. “
The resolution goes on to say that Trump “has repeatedly, continuously and spectacularly demonstrated his absolute inability to fulfill the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office”, including respect for electoral results and a peaceful transfer of power, the duty to protect lawmakers and their constituents and “generally the duty to ensure that laws are faithfully enforced”.
He urges Pence and the Cabinet “to declare what is obvious to a horrified nation: that the President is unable to successfully fulfill the duties and powers of his office”.
The resolution was drafted by Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and put to full vote in the House on Tuesday after Republicans objected to passing it through what is known as “unanimous consent” – which means it passes without a full vote if no member objects – the day before.
West Virginia Republican Representative Alex Mooney objected on Monday, forcing the vote in Tuesday’s plenary session. Mooney said in a statement: “The United States House should never adopt a resolution that requires the removal of a duly elected president, without any registered hearings, debates or votes.”
In a statement on Sunday, Pelosi said he would give Pence 24 hours to invoke the 25th Amendment after the resolution was passed or the House would go ahead with Trump’s impeachment. House Democrats have already released an impeachment article accusing Trump of “inciting insurrection” and securing votes for the president’s impeachment a second time.
Pelosi announced on Tuesday that Rep.Jamie Raskin will act as the principal impeachment manager to make the case against Trump during a Senate trial. The other impeachment managers will be: Reps. Diana DeGette, David Cicilline, Joaquin Castro, Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, Stacey Plaskett, Joe Neguse and Madeleine Dean.
Trump was first charged by the House in 2019 and charged with two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, after he requested interference in the 2020 election of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was the third president in the history of the United States to be impeached and should be the first to be impeached twice.
The impeachment vote is expected on Wednesday, as Pence has not indicated that he plans to invoke the 25th Amendment.