Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, led by Rhode Island Congressmaen David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and Ted Lieu (CA-33), tonight called on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office after he instigated the storming of the United States Capitol by his supporters.

“Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the Vice President and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries with the authority to determine a president as unfit if he ‘is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,’” the members wrote. “Even in his video announcement this afternoon, President Trump revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election. President Trump’s willingness to incite violence and social unrest to overturn the election results by force clearly meet this standard. So too are his recent Tweets, which Twitter has since deleted, saying the election was ‘stolen’ and that today’s riots ‘are the things and events that happen.’”

The full text of the letter sent to Vice President Pence, and a list of signers, is embedded below.

January 6, 2021
Vice President Michael Pence
Office of the Vice President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Vice President Pence:

It is with great sadness that we write to you following the incidents that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol today. As you presided over the U.S. Senate, angry supporters of President Trump attempted an insurrection, illegally storming and breaching the U.S. Capitol building to stop the certification of President-elect Biden’s victory.

The world watched aghast as insurrectionists, who had been egged on by the President, threatened the safety of elected officials and staff and destroyed public property as they stormed and occupied both the House and Senate chambers bringing our democracy to a halt. At one point, the insurrectionists even removed an American flag flying at the Capitol and replaced it with a Trump flag.

Meanwhile, President Trump remained silent even as insurrections broke windows, threatened U.S. Capitol Police, and scaled the walls of the Capitol. Earlier in the morning, President Trump held a rally at the White House and told protestors “I’ll be with you” and encouraged them to march to the Capitol to protest the certification of the electoral college votes.

Last Saturday, President Trump sought to undermine our democracy by encouraging election officials in Georgia to find more votes to overturn the election results. Even before the election, President Trump refused to commit to the peaceful transition of power. We have seen the fruit of the President’s remarks in the violence and chaos unleashed today.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the Vice President and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries with the authority to determine a president as unfit if he “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Even in his video announcement this afternoon, President Trump revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election. President Trump’s willingness to incite violence and social unrest to overturn the election results by force clearly meet this standard. So too are his recent Tweets, which Twitter has since deleted, saying the election was “stolen” and that today’s riots “are the things and events that happen.”

For the sake of our democracy, we emphatically urge you to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process of removing President Trump from power. President Trump has shown time and again that he is unwilling to protect our Democracy and carry out the duties of the office.

Sincerely,

David N. Cicilline
Member of Congress

Ted Lieu
Member of Congress

Jerrold Nadler
Member of Congress

Sheila Jackson Lee
Member of Congress

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

Hank Johnson
Member of Congress

Ted Deutch
Member of Congress

Lucy McBath
Member of Congress

Pramila Jayapal
Member of Congress

Jamie Raskin
Member of Congress

Joe Neguse
Member of Congress

Veronica Escobar
Member of Congress

Mary Gay Scanlon
Member of Congress

Madeleine Dean
Member of Congress

Sylvia Garcia
Member of Congress

Mondaire Jones
Member of Congress

Cori Bush
Member of Congress

Eric Swalwell
Member of Congress

Greg Stanton
Member of Congress