Pelosi: ‘I like the 25th Amendment’ because it ‘gets rid’ of Trump
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday night that she supports invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office before his term expires next week.
The House leader also told “60 Minutes” that there is “strong support” among the members of Congress to see Trump impeached and rendered unable to run for office again.
“He can only pardon himself from federal offenses. He cannot pardon himself from state offenses, and that’s where he’s being investigated in the state of New York,” Pelosi told CBS’s Leslie Stahl.
“There is a possibility that after all of this, there’s no punishment, no consequence, and he could run again for president,” Stahl countered.
“And that’s one of the motivations people have for advocating for impeachment,” the Speaker responded. “I like the 25th Amendment because it gets rid of him. He’s out of office. But there’s strong support in the Congress for impeaching the president a second time.”
The 25th Amendment has been invoked several times to temporarily transfer power to a vice president while a president undergoes a medical procedure such as surgery, but it has never been used to remove a president from office against his will. Some Republicans have joined the chorus of Democrats in calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove Trump after his supporters stormed the Capitol last week.
Pelosi moved Saturday to urge her fellow Democrats to be prepared to return to Congress as the body discusses the possibility of holding a second impeachment of the president in response to the violent riot. Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the building as lawmakers, who were gathered to certify the 2020 election’s results, were forced to flee and hide in fear for their lives in secure locations. Congress eventually certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“It is absolutely essential that those who perpetrated the assault on our democracy be held accountable. There must be a recognition that this desecration was instigated by the President,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues this weekend.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has indicated his own support for impeachment, while some Republicans, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Pat Toomey (Pa.), have demanded Trump’s resignation as well.
Source: John Bowden, thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/533544-pelosi-i-like-the-25th-amendment-because-it-gets-rid-of-him