Pence refuses to invoke 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office

US Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday refused to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to oust Donald Trump, which paves the way for the launch, this week, of a historic second impeachment procedure against the outgoing president.

“I do not believe that such an act is in the best interest of our nation nor does it correspond to the Constitution,” Mike Pence wrote to Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi just before a vote in the lower house on a resolution requiring him to use this lever unheard of in American history.

His negative response guarantees that Democrats will submit to the House for consideration on Wednesday the act accusing Donald Trump of "inciting insurgency" during the violence against the Capitol on January 6, in a historic second procedure of "impeachment".

In his letter, Mike Pence recalls that there are only a few days left before Donald Trump's departure from the White House, scheduled for January 20.

"The 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation"

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare the president "unfit" to hold office.

"According to our Constitution, the 25th Amendment is not a means of punishment or usurpation," says Mike Pence.

"To apply it in this way would create a terrible case law".

"Every American was shocked and saddened by the attack on Capitol Hill last week," he said.

Gathered on January 6 in Washington by Donald Trump to demonstrate against Congress' certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory, pro-Trump supporters then burst onto Capitol Hill during the parliamentary session.