CHARLESTON — Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked the first attempt to move a resolution calling for the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from power after proactive statements last week leading to the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
A House resolution called for Vice President Mike Pence to organize a majority of Trump’s cabinet and declare the president is unable to serve using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. The resolution gave Pence 24 hours from passage to remove Trump or the House would move on an article of impeachment.
U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., was among Republicans who objected to the motion to pass the resolution by unanimous consent. In a statement, the 2nd District congressman said the resolution should get a full debate before a vote.
“Speaker Pelosi should not attempt to adopt a resolution of this magnitude without any debate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mooney said. “It is wrong to have sent members of Congress home and then try to adopt without any debate a precedent-setting resolution that could imperil our Republic. The U.S. House must never adopt a resolution that demands the removal of a duly elected president, without any hearings, debate or recorded votes.”
A spokesperson for 1st District Rep. David McKinley said he would be withholding comment until there is a vote on the resolution. Samantha Cantrell, press secretary for 3rd District Rep. Carol Miller said “At the moment, Congresswoman Miller feels that the nation needs more healing, and not further division.”
Another vote on the resolution could come later today, with the House voting on the four-page article of impeachment as soon as Wednesday. The impeachment article charges Trump with incitement of insurrection for his part in a Stop the Steal rally last Wednesday in front of the White House, the same day Congress met to count the Electoral College ballots and name former vice president Joe Biden as president-elect.
During Wednesday’s rally, Trump told thousands of supporters in the crowd that “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” Others, such as Donald Trump Jr. and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also used violent rhetoric to fire up the crowd. Many of those rally attendees marched their way to the U.S. Capitol, storming barricades, attacking Capitol Police officers and fighting their way into the historic building.
As a result of last week’s mob action, five people have died, including two U.S. Capitol Police officers: one was beaten to death by the mob and the other committed suicide over the weekend. An undetermined amount of damage and vandalism occurred in the Capitol, with doors, windows and offices broken into.
More than 60 people have been charged by federal authorities in the Capitol breach, including Derrick Evans. The former Wayne County lawmaker resigned his seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Saturday after being arraigned when he livestreamed himself joining a crowd to enter the Capitol.
A request for comment from U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was not immediately returned.