- Vice President Mike Pence is refusing to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove U.S. President Donald Trump from office, following the deadly Capitol attack
- Democrats have been pushing for Trump be to be removed as President for his role in inciting the insurrection, threatening impeachment action as well
- However, Pence has accused the party of playing “political games” during a fragile time in U.S. history
- House Democrats are expected to move forward with their plan to impeach Trump and have begun trying to recruit Republicans to support the move
Vice President Mike Pence is refusing to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove U.S. President Donald Trump from office, following the deadly Capital Building insurrection.
Democrats have been pressuring Pence to invoke the Amendment — which allows a Vice President to take over if the President is medically or mentally incapacitated.
Trump is widely blamed for inciting his extremist followers in the lead-up to the attack last Wednesday, by continually claiming without evidence that the Presidential election was stolen from him.
The Dems, Joe Biden’s own party, have also threatened to impeach Donald Trump for a second time if the VP fails to act and take over as leader.
But, Pence is remaining firm on his stance that Trump should not be removed as President ahead of Biden’s looming January 20 inauguration.
“Now with just eight days left in the President’s term, you and the Democratic Caucus are demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment. I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence said in a letter to House Leader Nancy 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,” the VP concluded.
Pence’s refusal to invoke the 25th Amendment means Democrats will push ahead with impeachment proceedings.
The party is canvassing Republican Senators to see who will support them motion in the U.S. Senate — Democrats already have enough support to get the impeachment through the House of Reps.
The third-highest ranking Republican leader in the House, Liz Cheney, has vowed to impeach Trump and urged her colleagues in the Senate to do the same.
“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President,” she said on last week’s attacks.
“The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she added.
If the impeachment action passes the House of Reps, it will likely head to the Senate on January 19 — one day before Biden’s inauguration.