Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How House Members Voted On 25th Amendment Resolution

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., talks with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., following a vote by the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., talks with Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., following a vote by the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

The Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution Tuesday night calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to assume the powers of the presidency.

The resolution, introduced by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, argues that President Trump has demonstrated an "inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office," including defending democracy, in the wake of a insurrection by pro-Trump extremists who breached the U.S. Capitol.

Ahead of the vote, Pence dismissed the idea that he would invoke the amendment, which would involve him convening the Cabinet and garnering a majority of its support to become acting president. His response prompts the House to continue with efforts to impeach the president for a second time on Wednesday.

Just one Republican broke rank to join Democrats in supporting the resolution, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Loading...

Dana Farrington is a digital editor coordinating online coverage on the Washington Desk — from daily stories to visual feature projects to the weekly newsletter. She has been with the NPR Politics team since President Trump's inauguration. Before that, she was among NPR's first engagement editors, managing the homepage for NPR.org and the main social accounts. Dana has also worked as a weekend web producer and editor, and has written on a wide range of topics for NPR, including tech and women's health.
Audrey Carlsen