President Donald Trump has less than two weeks in office. For some outspoken critics, that’s still too long.
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In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ victory in the 2020 election. The lawmakers’ work went hours into the night after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters besieged the US Capitol and brought the electoral vote count to a shocking halt.
After a day fraught with continued false claims of voter fraud from his supporters and the president himself, as well as lawmakers planning to air election objections during the count, Trump has agreed to an “orderly transition” of power. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino tweeted a statement from the president at 3:49 a.m. regarding the election certification.
The president could not tweet himself, after Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat temporarily blocked Trump’s social media accounts for spreading fraudulent claims about the integrity of the presidential election.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump’s statement said over two tweets. “I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our…
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
Despite Trump’s grudging acknowledgment of Biden’s lawful win, calls for the initiation of the 25th Amendment that began Wednesday continued in the aftermath of the Capitol Hill breach, which has been characterized by many as an insurrection. Hours after crowds surged into the US Capitol yesterday, some lawmakers, members of the cabinet and a US trade group called on their colleagues to initiate 25th Amendment proceedings over the role they say Trump played in inciting the illegal siege. As
Most recent calls for employing the 25th Amendment come from Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” Schumer said in an email shared on Twitter.
Rep. David Cicilline tweeted that he was drawing up Articles of Impeachment with Reps. Ted Lieu and Jamie Raskin.
Late Wednesday, the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee — led by Cicilline and Lieu — wrote a letter to Pence, urging him to invoke the amendment.
“For the sake of our democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing President Trump from office,” the letter read.
Since then, almost 100 Democratic members of Congress have voiced their support for Trump’s removal from office through the use of the 25th Amendment or by impeachment. The talks began early as Congress members were shuttled into the safety of an undisclosed location under the protection of Capitol police. If successful, the action would represent Trump’s second impeachment, this new effort arising just shy of two weeks ahead of the statutory end of his term. It would also be the second time lawmakers have discussed invoking the 25th Amendment.
Ahead of the impeachment talks, officials in the Trump administration said that Vice President Mike Pence had approved an order to deploy the Washington DC National Guard. This authority is traditionally reserved for the president.
A mob laid siege to the US Capitol on Wednesday.
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After a statement from Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller saying he spoke with Pence, multiple House Democrats began urging Pence toward action. If the 25th Amendment were enacted, Pence would assume the presidency.
So, what does the 25th Amendment say? Why is it so important, and how likely is it to be enacted? Here’s what you need to know.
Read more: Mob storms Capitol as Facebook, Twitter roles come under fire
What is the 25th Amendment?
The 25th Amendment contains four sections and pertains to the president’s ability to perform the duties of the presidency and what happens in the event that the commander in chief can no longer do his or her job. The amendment empowers the vice president to temporarily become president, enabling a smooth transition of power in an emergency.
The amendment also says the president can nominate a vice president if there’s a vacancy.
Read more: FBI posts on Twitter, Facebook seeking help IDing people involved in Capitol Hill violence
The part of the 25th Amendment now under discussion generally relates to Section 4, which would allow the vice president and a majority of either the president’s cabinet or the members of Congress to declare in writing to the Senate president pro tempore and House speaker that the sitting president is unable to perform the duties of the office. This immediately makes the vice president the acting president.
The president can push back on this effort by the vice president and Congress, however, declaring himself or herself fit for office in official writing. From there, the vice president and those supporting impeachment have four days to disagree, or the sitting president resumes the presidency. If they disagree, Congress can settle the matter with a vote.
In the final days of Trump’s presidency, talk has circulated about attempting to hold him accountable for Wednesday’s riot.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET
Why are lawmakers urging Pence to use the amendment?
As chaos and violence erupted on Capitol Hill, lawmakers, members of the business community and others began calling for the president’s removal from office. Earlier in the day, Trump had told supporters at a rally nearby that “we will never give up, we will never concede.” Trump’s tweets, some of which were deleted or blocked, continued to spur the crowd.
“We’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue … and we’re going to the Capitol,” Trump said at the rally. Afterward, supporters marched to the Capitol, where they later broke past barricades and entered the building. Hours passed as constituents and lawmakers urged Trump to call for the mob to stand down.
Trump eventually gave a brief taped statement telling the rioters to go home, calling them “special people,” adding, “we love you,” while continuing to circulate false claims of voter fraud, as he has done for months.
As night fell, social media cracked down on Trump, Twitter flagged and deleted multiple tweets and slapped Trump with a 12-hour suspension. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat followed suit.
This means that the account of @realDonaldTrump will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of these Tweets. If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021
“We’ve assessed two policy violations against President Trump’s Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time,” Facebook tweeted.
When else was the 25th Amendment discussed regarding Trump?
This isn’t the first time the 25th Amendment has been mentioned during Trump’s presidency. On Oct. 1, Trump announced on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Shortly after, he was hospitalized, given oxygen and treated with a powerful medication known to have “euphoric” side effects.
President Donald Trump made a speech Wednesday that many say incited the mob the stormed the US Capitol.
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Following his coronavirus diagnosis, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced legislation that would allow Congress to enact the 25th Amendment if Trump became incapacitated, although she insisted at the time that the legislation wasn’t specifically aimed at Trump.
When released from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump, while still under physician supervision and the steroid dexamethasone, abruptly stopped stimulus check negotiations, only to reinstate them hours later, and offer a stimulus package that ultimately fizzled out. At the time, congressional Democrats discussed invoking the 25th Amendment, but didn’t bring the matter to a vote.
How would the 25th Amendment be used?
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment says:
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
If the 25th Amendment is put into action, Vice President Mike Pence will take over as commander in chief.
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The “principal officers of the executive departments” refer to the 16 secretaries within the president’s cabinet. Pence would need to have eight or more to join with him in a written declaration regarding the president’s inability to complete his duties.
In the event that the 25th Amendment is used, it would mean Pence filling Trump’s vacated presidency and would also give Pence the ability to nominate a new vice president. Trump could declare to the House speaker and the pro tempore of the Senate that there is “no inability” for him to govern. At that point, it would be up to Congress to decide on the matter within 21 days, which would pass the Jan. 20 date when President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Has the 25th Amendment ever been used before?
Section 4, the portion largely referenced throughout the week, has never been enacted, only coming close once during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Congress approved the 25th Amendment in 1965. It was ratified and certified as an amendment the following year by President Lyndon Johnson.
The first use of the other sections of the 25th Amendment was in 1973 when President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had resigned. The amendment was used once more when Nixon resigned and Ford assumed the presidency and chose Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vice presidency.
Most recently, President George W. Bush twice invoked the 25th Amendment to temporarily transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney while Bush underwent colonoscopies under anesthesia, first in 2002 and then again in 2007. His father, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush, was the recipient of 25th Amendment authority from President Ronald Reagan in 1985.