Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson dismissed calls to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office in the wake of the riot that ensued at the U.S. Capitol.
“As a Nation we need to heal. I have not talked to anyone about invoking the 25th Amendment, and I am focused on finishing what I started in uplifting the forgotten women and men of America,” Carson tweeted on Friday.
“It’s time to move toward peace. We are not each other’s enemies!”
The comment comes as Democrats and some GOP officials call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump out of concern that he would incite more violence in the final 12 days of his presidency.
CNBC reported on Thursday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly held informal conversations within their agencies about invoking the process, but there was no formal effort to advance.
A spokesperson for the State Department denied that the meeting happened to The Hill.
Under section 4 of the 25th Amendment, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare a president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
A sitting president could challenge this by telling congressional leaders he is able to carry out his duties, and the Cabinet would have to declare him unfit again and get the two-thirds of both chambers of Congress to agree.
However, Pence is reportedly against the move, which would elevate him to president, and several House Democrats have threatened another impeachment if Pence did not invoke the amendment.
Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said on CNN Friday that articles of impeachment could make it to the House floor for a vote “as early as mid-next week.”