The House of Representatives of the United States is all set to issue a final proposal to the US Vice President Mike Pence to remove President Donald Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. House Republicans obstructed the resolution on Monday that urged Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment in order to summon the cabinet and announce the incapability of Trump to be in power after he stirred up a mob that marched the US Capitol. The House with Democratic majority is going to vote on the resolution which in turn will create pressure for the vice president.
What is the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution about?
The Congress first advanced the Amendment in the aftershock of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and later sanctioned by the states on 10 February 1967. It consists of four sections that talk about the provisions for presidential succession.
The first section mentions that the Vice President takes over the position of the President if he or she dies or lives through medical treatment. The second section states the vacancies in the Vice President’s office. The third section lay down the provisions for the president to declare himself or herself unfit and resign from the office.
These procedures were put into action in the 1970s when Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew as the Vice President, and then he further replaced Richard Nixon as President, and when Nelson Rockefeller filled the resulting vacancy to become the Vice President.
Currently, Congressional Democrats want Pence to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment which states removal of the president from the office if he or she is considered impotent to “discharge the powers and duties” and power shifts to the vice president as an acting president. In the history of the United States, the fourth section has never been invoked before.
Will it be invoked soon?
Pence has not shown any intent to act on the resolution to be invoked regarding the 25th Amendment which is to be passed in a Democrat-controlled house. This resolution is basically a signal by Democrats to show that they have tried all alternatives before moving to the impeachment proceedings.