Vice President Mike Pence signaled he’ll spurn demands to straight away oust Donald Trump more than a deadly riot by the president’s supporters as the two met and agreed to work collectively for the remainder of the term, according to a senior administration official.
The discussion adds to indications that Trump has no plans to resign just before Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
It was the initially time Trump and Pence have spoken given that the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol even though Pence was presiding more than formal affirmation of his re-election defeat, according to two folks familiar with the matter.
The two males, meeting in the Oval Office, agreed that folks who broke into the Capitol do not represent Trump’s “America First” movement and pledged to continue their work on behalf of the nation for the remainder of their term, the official stated. It was a great conversation in which Trump and Pence discussed the week ahead and reflected on the final 4 years of the administration’s work, the official added.
House Democrats are looking for to hold Trump accountable for the riot if Pence fails to act against the president. Lawmakers pushed forward on Monday with their plans to impeach Trump for a second time, introducing a resolution accusing Trump of “incitement of an insurrection”
Pence was initially furious at Trump soon after hundreds of the president’s supporters breached the Capitol final Wednesday, disrupting the count of Electoral College votes and causing the vice president and lawmakers to flee the House and Senate chambers.
The episode raised the prospect that Pence may possibly act to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which enables the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to get rid of the president from workplace — a move encouraged by Democratic members of Congress. But Pence has privately dismissed the concept as not feasible, according to 1 individual familiar with the matter.
The senior administration official’s account of their meeting appeared to place the matter to rest, and also rule out a presidential resignation.
The vice president’s workplace and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’s group coordinated on the official’s account, according to folks familiar with the matter.
The official and the folks familiar with the matter asked not to be identified due to the fact the meeting among Trump and Pence wasn’t announced.
House Democrats have introduced a resolution that sets up a vote more than impeachment later this week — unless Pence alterations his position and ousts Trump.
Impeachment Moves Forward
The chamber will take into account the measure Wednesday, according to a schedule released from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat.
A majority of House lawmakers have signed onto the resolution, led by Democratic Representatives David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Ted Lieu of California, charging Trump with inciting the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
It seeks to each get rid of Trump from the presidency and stop him from ever holding workplace once more. Cicilline stated the resolution has sufficient assistance for passage, like some Republicans.
The 4-web page measure contains an post accusing Trump of higher crimes and misdemeanors for “Incitement of Insurrection,” and says that he “willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged – and foreseeably resulted in – lawless action at the Capitol” as lawmakers have been certifying the Electoral College.
The measure also cites Trump’s telephone get in touch with to Georgia’s secretary of state, urging him to “find” sufficient votes to overturn Biden’s win there.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday told colleagues that he opposes Trump’s impeachment.
“Personally, I continue to believe that an impeachment at this time would have the opposite effect of bringing our country together when we need to get America back on a path towards unity and civility,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to rank and file House Republicans.
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