Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were among the cabinet secretaries involved in discussions to remove the sitting president, Donald Trump.
CNBC is reporting both secretaries had “informal conversations within their agencies about the contours of the 25th Amendment, the invocation of which would begin a process to remove Trump from office, according to three sources familiar with the matter.”
According to the report, the rationale behind the determination not to start the process is three-fold.
First, the length of the process — a week — would dilute any effect it could have since Trump’s set to leave office just days later.
Second, it was unclear if “acting” secretaries, like Chad Wolf of the Department of Homeland Security, would be able to vote.
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Lastly, the report notes that both Pompeo and Mnuchin are concerned that invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump would further inflame his followers, “doing more bad in the long term than good in the short term.”
The consensus among Republicans appears to be to allow Trump to finish the last 12 days of his presidency.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters in Georgia he “had no contact with other Cabinet members in that area, nor do I expect to have any.” He mentioned that some have resigned, which he said “is their prerogative.”
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Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who is also the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell, resigned as of this coming Monday after being “deeply troubled” by President Trump’s rhetoric ahead of Wednesday’s deadly coup attempt in the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, another of the administration’s longest-serving officials, resigned Thursday.
On Twitter, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders remarked: “A number of Administration officials are resigning in protest to Trump’s horrific acts of sedition yesterday. Not good enough! The Vice President and cabinet members must invoke the 25th amendment NOW and remove Trump from office before he incites more violence and chaos.”
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Author-professor Jelani Cobb, a writer for The New Yorker, tweeted what is becoming a consistent thought about the true motivations of these cabinet resignations.
“Cabinet members resigning only compounds the cowardice that enabled Trump,
Cobb contended. “By leaving they avoid having to decide about the 25th Amendment.”
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