White House press secretary Sarah Sanders rejected allegations from an anonymous New York Times op-ed that said there is internal talk of using the 25th Amendment to get rid of President Trump, adding that kind of talk is “insulting” to the millions of people who voted for Trump.
“The fact that that’s actually being honestly discussed is ridiculous,” Sanders told reporters during Monday’s White House press briefing. “And frankly, it’s insulting to the nearly 62 million people that came out and overwhelmingly supported this president, voted for him, supported his agenda, and are watching and cheering on as he successfully implements that agenda every single day.”
Discussions about the 25th Amendment surfaced after the New York Times published an op-ed last week written by an unidentified senior official in the Trump administration.
“Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president,” the anonymous author wrote.
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment says the vice president and majority of the Cabinet can notify House and Senate leaders the “president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Once that occurs, the vice president assumes the role of “acting president,” but constitutional experts say it’s not clear whether the language could be used to settle a political dispute, even as some Democrats have argued it could be used to remove an “incompetent” president.
The op-ed from the Trump administration official has engrossed the Beltway, and more than a dozen top members of the administration have denied they’re behind the piece.
Sanders called the talk of the 25th Amendment “about as ridiculous as most of Bob Woodward’s book,” a reference to the forthcoming book, “Fear,” from the veteran journalist set to be released Tuesday.
Excerpts of the explosive book were published last week and paints the White House as an institution in a state of constant chaos.
