Is It Time to Invoke the 25th Amendment?

The invasion of the U.S. Capitol has revived the question, and from some unexpected sources

Ben Jacobs
GEN

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President Donald Trump arrives at the “Stop The Steal” Rally on January 6, 2020. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

So this is what it takes to make all the resistance fantasies come true. With 14 days left in his term, there are starting to be real rumblings about the 25th Amendment being invoked to remove President Donald Trump from office. The provision, which allows for the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to declare the chief executive unable to discharge his duties, has been the subject of liberal fantasies since before Trump took office.

But the invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a mob has done what four years of turmoil, upheaval, and scandal couldn’t: Revived serious talk about enacting the rarely used constitutional provision to sideline Trump. The most stunning salvo came from the National Association of Manufacturers, a major business lobby. In a statement released while the Capitol was still overrun by the Trump-backing mob, Jay Timmons, the head of the manufacturing lobby, suggested Trump be removed from office. “The outgoing president incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy. Anyone indulging conspiracy theories is complicit. Vice President Pence, who was…

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Ben Jacobs
GEN
Writer for

Ben Jacobs is a politics reporter based in Washington. Follow him on Twitter at @bencjacobs.