The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution calling on Vice-President Mike Pence to help oust President Donald Trump using the 25th Amendment.
The resolution passed with 223-205 votes, with some members of the Republican Party breaking ranks and supporting the Democrat-led initiative.
But earlier in the day, Pence had already rejected the Democrats’ resolution which urged him to invoke Section 4 of the amendment. That provision would allow the cabinet to remove the president if he is deemed unable to discharge his duties.
According to the vice president, using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump would “set a terrible precedent”.
“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 to Pelosi released Tuesday night.
“Last week, I did not yield to pressure to exert beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and 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.
“Under our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation.”
Pence, instead, argued that the 25th Amendment should only be used in instances where the president is incapacitated or has a disability that prevents them from carrying out the duties of the office.
“I urge you and every member of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame passions of the moment.
“Work with us to lower the temperature and unite our country as we prepare to inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. I pledge to you that I will continue to do my part to work in good faith with the incoming administration to ensure an orderly transition of power. So help me God,” the letter read.
Pence’s refusal to go along means that Democrat-led House will proceed to an impeachment vote.
The House plans to vote on Wednesday to charge Trump with inciting insurrection, which would make him the first US president ever to be impeached twice.
They could also use an impeachment trial to hold a vote blocking President Trump from ever running for office again. The president has indicated he plans to campaign in 2024.
If President Trump is impeached by the House, he would have a trial in the Senate to determine his guilt.
The House of Representatives’ third most senior Republican, Liz Cheney, said she would vote to impeach Mr Trump over last week’s US Capitol riot.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, vowed to back impeachment, the first time a leader of the president’s own party has done so since Richard Nixon’s time in office.
She said in a statement: “There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
The Wyoming representative added that Mr Trump had “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, lit the flame of this attack”.
Two other Republican House members, John Katko and Adam Kinzinger, said they would also vote for impeachment.
House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally who has said he opposes impeachment, has reportedly decided not to ask rank-and-file members of the party to vote against the measure.
On Tuesday evening, a House Republican, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, introduced a resolution to censure Mr Trump – a congressional rebuke less severe than impeachment.
The measure accuses Mr Trump of “trying to unlawfully overturn” the results of November’s presidential election and of having “imperiled a coequal branch of Government”.
If President Trump is impeached by the House, he would have a trial in the Senate to determine his guilt.
The New York Times also reported on Tuesday that as many as 20 Senate Republicans were open to convicting the president.
A two-thirds majority of the upper chamber would be needed to convict President Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to vote for conviction.
According to the New York Times, Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, has told confidants he is pleased Democrats want to impeach the president because he believes it will help rid the Republican party of President Trump.
McConnell has also told associates he believes the president committed impeachable offences, reports the Washington Post.
In his first public appearance since last Wednesday’s riot, Mr Trump showed no contrition for remarks he made to supporters at a rally before a mob stormed the halls of Congress.
“What I said was totally appropriate,” Mr Trump said ahead of a trip to the US-Mexico border wall in Texas. “I want no violence.”
He also told reporters: “This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you’re doing it, and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing.”
Speaking later at the border, the US President said the 25th Amendment was of “zero risk” to him.
Additional reporting from BBC and The Hill
Discussion about this post