Manufacturing group calls on Pence to ‘seriously consider’ invoking the 25th Amendment

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CEO Jay Timmons urged Vice President Pence to “seriously consider” working with President Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment in a statement on Wednesday.

Timmons released a statement calling on “armed thugs” to cease violence at the U.S. Capitol while Trump supporters swarmed the complex and forced a lockdown.

The 25^th Amendment delineates presidential succession. Pence on Wednesday condemned protests at the Capitol, which forced him to be evacuated from the Senate chamber.

He was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify Electoral College votes affirming Joe Biden as the next president after issuing a letter in which he outlined why he did not believe he had the authority to intervene in the electoral count. 

“Armed violent protestors who support the baseless claim by outgoing president Trump that he somehow won an election that he overwhelmingly lost have stormed the U.S. Capitol today, attacking police officers and first responders, because Trump refused to accept defeat in a free and fair election,” Timmons said. 

NAM on Monday criticized the Republican effort to overturn the election results and urged lawmakers to vote to certify Biden’s victory.

Timmons called the scene at the Capitol a “disgusting episode” and “chaos.”

“This is not the vision of America that manufacturers believe in and work so hard to defend,” he said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue also issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on the “attacks” on the Capitol building to end.

The head of the pro-business lobbying group said that Congress should meet again tonight.

“The Congress of the United States must gather again this evening to conclude their Constitutional responsibility to accept the report of the Electoral College. We extend our respect and appreciation to all of the law enforcement officials who are protecting our government, our elected officials and our fellow citizens,” Donohue said.