Just missing 19 days for Donald Trump to officially leave the White House and start the term of Democrat Joe Biden, whose electoral victory was ratified by Congress of the United States this Thursday.
But after the violent assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters, prolonged for hours and that left four dead, the Democrats of the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives are calling that the powers of the president be removed.
They wrote a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging him to act and remove Trump from the presidency, alleging that he had committed an act of insurrection and “sought undermine ”democracy.
To remove the president of the United States there are two mechanisms: the so-called impeachment – impeachment – or amendment number 25 of the Constitution , experts say.
However, both routes may be difficult and unlikely to apply given the there is little time left for Trump in command.
“I think the best way out is for Trump to resign, for those from his own party to pressure him to resign. He will not do it, but he should ”, assured the political scientist of Harvard University, Steven Levitsky, interviewed by BBC Mundo.
After the violent episodes, Congress ratified this Thursday the victory of Joe Biden in the last presidential elections of 3 November. Following the violent events on Wednesday, Trump has ensured that the transition of power It will be carried out in an “orderly” manner, but which disagrees with the result of the presidential elections on November 3, which it describes as fraudulent despite the fact that the Department of Justice has ruled it out.
But, what are the two main ways in which Trump can be removed before 20 of January?
Amendment 20 Said amendment included in the Constitution allows the transfer of power from the presidency to the vice presidency, either temporarily or permanently.
Converts the vice president into president if he or she is unable to continue with your responsibilities, for example if you suffer from a physical or mental illness.
The assault on the Capitol and the intervention of the security forces have left at least four dead. Section number 4 of said amendment allows the vice president and the majority of the cabinet to declare the president incapable to perform their duty in office.
To do this they would need to sign and send a letter to the presidents of the House of Representatives and the Senate and declare the president as unfit to govern or incapable of exercising his powers and duties.
If so, Vice President Mike Pence would automatically assume power until next 20 January, when Biden’s term would begin.
The president has the opportunity to offer a written response, and if he challenges the finding, then he it is up to Congress to decide. Any vote in the Senate and House of Representatives that orders the removal of the president requires a two-thirds majority.
While the case is resolved, the vice president would act as president.
Recently, when Trump was diagnosed with covid – 13 last October, there were also discussions about invoking the amendment 25 with concerns that he may be too ill to rule the country.
The amendment 25 was ratified in 1967, four years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, with the aim of resolving presidential succession disputes in case of incapacity.
The amendment 25 was ratified in 1967, four years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For this reason, several presidents have used this amendment , specifically section 3, because it allows them temporarily transfer power to the vice-presidency.
In 2002 and 2007, President George W. Bush put his Vice President in charge by being sedated during routine colonoscopies.
President Ronald Reagan did the same in 1985, while he was admitted to the hospital for cancer surgery.
To date, no president has been removed from office of the charge using the amendment 25.
Political trial or ‘impeachment’ Impeachment, also known as impeachment, takes place in the US Congress with the objective of carrying out a possible impeachment of the president.
The US Constitution establishes that the president “must be removed from his charge if accused of and convicted of treason, bribery, or other crimes or serious crimes. ”
It is a political process, rather than a criminal one.
3 possible scenarios of the political crisis in the United States after the Trump supporters’ assault on the Capitol Trump supporters flocked and stormed the United States Capitol, claiming election fraud. This process takes place in two stages.
It would have to be initiated by the House of Representatives and only needs a simple majority to be activated.
Then the trial is held in the Senate, where it takes two-thirds of the votes to impeach the president , and this milestone has never been reached in the history of the United States.
“It is a fairly long process, unless we do it in the Peruvian style, of vacating the president overnight. It is unlikely that this will happen ”, Levitsky explained to BBC Mundo.
“This was a self-coup attempt incited by Trump” Donald Trump has already been impeachment once, and no president was impeachment twice during his term.
In December 2019, the House of Representatives, with a Democratic majority, approved two articles of impeachment after accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Democrats accused Trump of withholding $ 391 millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to pressure and force the European country to investigate current president-elect Joe Biden and his son.
What is an “impeachment” and what other US presidents have faced impeachment In February 2020, the Senate, with a Republican majority, voted in favor of acquitting Donald Trump at trial politician over said scandal.
If President Trump were removed through impeachment, Vice President Pence would take over the Oval Office.
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