Washington Post Editorial Board Calls For Trump’s
Cabinet To Remove Him
The newspaper, along with the Miami Herald, joined
Democrats in arguing the president’s Cabinet should remove him under the 25th
Amendment.
By Alanna
Vagianos
The
Washington Post’s editorial board took the extreme step on Wednesday of calling
for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to remove him from office after he
encouraged a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol building.
“The
president is unfit to remain in office for the next 14 days. Every second he
retains the vast powers of the presidency is a threat to public order and
national security,” reads the piece, published to the Post’s Opinion section
Wednesday night.
The
editorial board urged Vice President Mike Pence and the rest of Trump’s Cabinet
to meet immediately and invoke the 25th Amendment, a law that allows the vice
president to take over presidential duties if the president is no longer able
to do her or his job due to sickness or disability. Once a president is removed
under the 25th Amendment, the vice president and Cabinet members can decide if
the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the White
House.
“Americans
put on their seat belts, follow traffic laws, pay taxes and vote because of
faith in a system — and that faith makes it work,” the article continues. “The
highest voice in the land incited people to break that faith, not just in
tweets, but by inciting them to action. Mr. Trump is a menace, and as long as
he remains in the White House, the country will be in danger.”
The Miami
Herald editorial board also called for Trump to be removed from office in an
article published Wednesday night. The board called Trump “deranged, dangerous
and incapacitated,” and urged Trump’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.
“There can
be no doubt that the president is prepared to have his minions scorch the Earth
and blow up democracy itself in order to stay in power. He is that determined,
that desperate and that indifferent to anything other than staying in the Oval
Office,” the article reads. “America cannot wait, with fear and bated breath,
to see what abomination comes during the next 13 days.”
It would be
highly unusual for Trump’s own Cabinet to use the 25th Amendment to get him out
of office. The 25th Amendment has been invoked in the past, but never to remove
a sitting president. George W. Bush invoked it twice for himself during his
presidency, and Ronald Reagan invoked it once ― all to undergo medical
procedures.
But the
day’s events were also highly unusual. During a Wednesday morning rally, Trump
reiterated conspiracy theories that Democrats stole the election and urged his
supporters to go to the Capitol building and tell lawmakers how they felt. Just
a few hours later, hundreds of Trump supporters barged into the Capitol
building ― tearing down security barriers and violently clashing with police.
Although
the president eventually ordered the National Guard to the Capitol building, he
overall did very little to discourage the mob. At one point, he posted a video
to Twitter calling for peace but then reiterated that Democrats stole the
election. There were multiple reports of injuries, and the Associated Press
reported four people died as Trump’s supporters occupied the building. Trump
has been banned from posting on his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages
because his tweets incited violence.
Two weeks
before Trump leaves office, the president’s irrational and violent behavior may
have finally pushed some of his allies to turn against him. CBS News reported
on Wednesday night that some of Trump’s Cabinet members are discussing invoking
the 25th Amendment following his encouragement of violence in the Capitol. Two
White House aides, including first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff
Stephanie Grisham and White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, have
already resigned in the wake of the pro-Trump riots.
“The very
fact that the highest levels of the U.S. government and cabinet members are
discussing this is quite newsworthy, quite notable,” CBS News’ Margaret Brennan
said.
On the
left, more than 20 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to
Pence Wednesday night urging the vice president to invoke the amendment. “For
the sake of our democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25h Amendment
and begin the process of removing President Trump from power,” the letter
reads. “President Trump has shown time and again that he is unwilling to
protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office.”
“Dear @VP
@Mike_Pence: You need to start the 25th Amendment. @realDonaldTrump is detached
from reality,” tweeted California Congressman Ted Lieu, one of the Democrats
included in the House Judiciary Committee letter.
A few dozen
lawmakers also called for Trump to be impeached for the second time in his
presidency. While impeachment and invoking the 25th Amendment are logistically
different, most calling for either are looking for the same thing: to get Trump
out of office.
The
Republican governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, called for Trump to be removed from
office in a series of tweets Wednesday evening. “There is no doubt that the
President’s delusion, fabrication, self-interest, and ego have led us — step by
step — to this very low, and very dangerous, moment in American history,” Scott
tweeted.
In addition
to Scott, several Democrats called for Trump’s impeachment, including Reps.
Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley,
(D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), among many others.
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