WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence said late Tuesday he will not remove President Donald Trump from office and would not discuss with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.
The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to call on the executive branch to push Mr. Trump out of office just a week ahead of his term ending after he helped foment the deadly attack on the Capitol last week.
“I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our Nation or consistent with our Constitution,” Pence wrote of the 25th Amendment in a letter to Pelosi.
Ms. Pelosi has previously said if the vice president did not act, the House would vote Wednesday to impeach the President, making Mr. Trump the first President ever to be impeached twice.
Mr. Pence said in the letter that impeaching the President would “set a terrible precedent” because the amendment as written applies to presidential incapacity or disability. The Vice President also added our Administration’s energy is directed to ensuring an orderly transition” to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
Monday saw the Democrats introduce an article of impeachment against Mr. Trump, saying they have enough votes to charge the president with high crimes and misdemeanors. As of this writing, at least five Republicans have said they will join the Democrats and vote to impeach Mr. Trump.
Those who support the decision to remove Mr. Trump say it is too dangerous to leave the President in office until Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Mr. Trump spoke in public for the first time since the Capitol riot on Tuesday. Stopping in Texas, he warned the Democrats to be careful what they wish for.
“The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration,” he said. “As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for.”
