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Mike Pence says the decision is not in the country’s “best interest” to lead to Trump’s impeachment.
US Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday he did not support invoking the 25th Amendment to impeach President Donald Trump just a week before his term expires, saying such a move was not in ” the best interests ”of the country nor consistent with the constitution in a move that could result in Trump’s impeachment.
The vice president is crucial for the process because under the 25th Amendment, Pence and the majority of Trump’s cabinet would have to declare Trump unable to serve as president and install Pence as interim president.
“I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or in accordance with our Constitution,” Pence wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding that he did not would not join Democrats in “playing political games.”
Claire Finkelstein, director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, told Al Jazeera ahead of the letter’s publication that the 25th Amendment debate was largely symbolic and Pence’s opposition its use meant that Trump’s impeachment was “very likely.”
The House of Representatives is controlled by the Democrats.
“They have the votes to do it, they already have and now, at least, Donald Trump’s fervor and annoyance is much higher than it was over the Ukraine issue,” Finkelstein said.
“The real question is what will happen after the House impeaches him and what strategy the House should use on impeachment.”
A number of Republicans, including Liz Cheney, who chairs the party in the House, have broken ranks to say they would vote to impeach Trump after his supporters stormed Congress last week. Five people have died in the violence, including a police officer and a Trump supporter who was shot and killed.
The Senate trial could take place after Trump leaves office and Biden is in the White House, Finkelstein added, noting that a successful impeachment could ensure that Trump will never be allowed to hold office in the States again. United.
“It is essential that the process is not rushed,” she said. “That we can hear witnesses, who can come to the Senate and testify, which we were denied the last time.
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