On Thursday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for President Donald Trump to be immediately removed from office as pressure mounted on Republicans to support invoking the 25th Amendment.
Schumer said in a statement that the president “should not hold office one day longer,” adding, “The quickest and most effective way — it can be done today — to remove this president from office would be for [Vice President Mike Pence] to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment. If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.” Pelosi joined Schumer’s call for invocation of the 25th Amendment, saying, “If the vice president and Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment. That is the overwhelming sentiment of my caucus.” Pelosi blamed Trump for inciting the violence which “will forever stain our nation’s history.”
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment has never been invoked. It states the president can be removed from power if the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members find him “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued a joint statement calling on Pence and Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the amendment.
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