Pence Will Not Use 25th Amendment

The President of the United States gets a lot of attention, both good and bad during the span of their presidency.  This seems beyond true for President Trump, who only has about a week left in office.  Many on the left, and even a few on the right, are hoping President Trump either gets removed or impeached during his final days in office.

Since last week, many have been calling for the use of the 25th Amendment, which removes a president from office for being unfit. VP Mike Pence has always been unlikely to do this, however.  On Tuesday, VP Pence officially denied the request to enact the 25th Amendment.   

“I do not believe such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with the Constitution,” Pence wrote in a letter. 

He also made it clear that the use of this power is more for health-related instances (Samuels).  

Tuesday’s decision now opens the door for Democrats to impeach President Trump, for the second time.  This major effort has been brought about due to last week’s events at the Capitol in Washington, D.C (Olson).  

The article of impeachment alleges that “President Trump endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government. He therefore betrayed his trust as president, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States” (Fox).

There is a lot of confusion as to what would happen if President Trump were to be impeached again.  He could get removed from office, but that’s already happening with his term being up.  The most important outcome that a second impeachment would have is that he could also be prohibited from running from office in the future (NY Post).  

A vote is set to be held on Wednesday to deal with impeachment.  According to CNN, “there are predictions ranging anywhere from as many as 10 to even 20 or more Republicans who could vote to impeach, according to Republican sources.”

The logistics of an impeachment are not in the favor of the Democrats.  According to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, January 20th, the day of Biden’s inauguration is the first chance the Senate would have to begin a trial (Olson).  

Herb, Jeremy, et al. “Impeachment a ‘Vote of Conscience’ for GOP.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Jan. 2021, http://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/politics/republican-reaction-impeach-vote/index.html.

Linge, Mary Kay, and Jon Levine. “Here’s What Could Happen If Trump Is Impeached Again.” New York Post, New York Post, 9 Jan. 2021, nypost.com/2021/01/09/heres-what-could-happen-if-donald-trump-is-impeached-again/.

Olson, Tyler. “House Barrels toward New Trump Impeachment, Will Vote on Resolution Calling for Use of 25th Amendment Tuesday.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 12 Jan. 2021, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-barrels-toward-new-trump-impeachment-will-vote-resolution-25th-amendment.

Samuels, Brett. “Pence Rejects Calls to Invoke 25th Amendment to Remove Trump.” TheHill, The Hill, 13 Jan. 2021, thehill.com/homenews/administration/533957-pence-rejects-calls-to-invoke-25th-amendment.