Some lawmakers float invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Some members of Congress are calling on the President’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
This would give presidential powers to Vice President Mike Pence.
The 25th Amendment has been used before when presidents underwent medical procedures and was also used when President Nixon resigned.
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But it’s never been used before by a vice president to permanently remove the President from office. A Vanderbilt history professor says it could set a dangerous precedent.
“This is an extraordinary use of an amendment that was not designed for this purpose,” Dr. Tom Schwartz said.
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He said lawmakers are pushing for it because getting a majority of Cabinet members may take faster than impeachment proceedings.
“It could set a precedent in the future in a case where a president had a conflict with his vice president or Cabinet,” Schwartz said.
Others disagree, like Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois).
Pelosi said she’s worried about what may happen at inauguration if Trump isn’t removed.
“I think he’s a very dangerous man, so, again, we’ll review what our options are terms of the 25th Amendment,” Pelosi said. “If he wants to be unique and be doubly impeached, that’s kind of up to him and his Cabinet as to whether he should stay in office.”
Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee) was the only Tennessee lawmaker to answer questions about Congress members’ calls for the Cabinet and vice president to invoke the 25th Amendment.
He wrote in an tweet, “The fastest way to remove the dangerous president would be for @VP to #InvokeThe25th.”
Schwartz said he’s skeptical Pence would make that move.
“I don’t know whether he’d be willing to do this, but he is also a constitutionalist,” Schwartz said. “I think he was deeply offended by what happened yesterday.”
