U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson paid no heed to calls to invoke the 25th Amendment in a bid to remove President Donald Trump from office. These calls come in the wake of pro-Trump protestors breaking into the U.S. Capitol to oppose the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's presidential election win.
Noting that America needs to heal, Carson tweeted Saturday that he did not discuss invoking the 25th Amendment with anyone. In his tweet, Carson said he focuses on finishing what he started in uplifting the country's overlooked women and men.
Furthermore, Carson wrote that it is time for America to move towards peace, adding that Americans are not each other's enemies. The tweet comes at a time when Democrats and a few GOP officials are pressing Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, raising concerns that he would spark more violence during his last few days in office, The Hill reported.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have already held informal conversations within their agencies regarding Trump's removal from office by invoking the process. Still, there was no formal effort to further push the process, according to CNBC.
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment authorizes the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet to declare a president unable to discharge the power and duties of his office. However, a sitting can challenge the move by informing congressional leaders that he is in a state to carry out his duties, and the Cabinet will be required to declare him unfit. Two-thirds of both chambers of Congress need to agree.
Pence is reportedly not supporting the move, which would make him the president. Several House Democrats have warned if Pence refuses to invoke the amendment, they will resort to using another impeachment.
Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark told CNN Friday that by mid-next week, articles of impeachment are expected to reach the House floor for a vote. Carson, the last remaining original cabinet member, might resign after being touted as the last one standing with Trump.
Following the protestors breaking into the Capitol, two of Trump's key administration officials, including a Cabinet member, resigned. The social media targeted Carson by calling him the last supporter of Trump.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was the second Cabinet member to hand over her resignation on Thursday in the wake of the riots in the Capitol and how the president handled the violent mob. DeVos, one of Trump's longtime Cabinet members, blamed Trump's rhetoric for the riot.