Mnuchin and Pompeo discussed Trump’s departure after the Capitol attack, according to the book | Donald Trump

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Donald Trump’s secretary of state and treasury secretary discussed removing him from power after the deadly attack on the Capitol by using the 25th amendment, according to a new book.

The amendment, which was added to the constitution after the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963, provides for the removal of an incapacitated president, possibly based on mental and physical fitness. It has not been used yet.

According to Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, by ABC Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with other cabinet members about using the amendment on the night of Jan. 6, the day of the attack, and the next day.

Removing Trump by amendment would require a majority vote in the cabinet. Karl reported that Mnuchin spoke with Mike Pompeo, Trump’s secretary of state and a loyal loyalist.

Mnuchin did not comment for Karl’s book, which was published on Tuesday. Karl wrote that Pompeo only responded after Karl told Trump that the former secretary of state had not done so.

“Pompeo through a spokesman denied that there had been any conversations about calling the 25th amendment,” Karl wrote. “The speaker refused to put his name on the statement.”

Karl also reported that Pompeo sought a legal review of the process for the 25th amendment appeal.

“The review determined that it would take too much time,” Karl wrote, “considering that Trump has only 14 days left in office and any attempt to forcibly remove him will be subject to legal challenge.”

Karl said Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, and Elaine Chao, the transportation, could have supported the use of the 25th amendment but both resigned after the attack on the Capitol.

Chao is married to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell – who broke up with Trump because of unrest in the Capitol.

Karl also said that “as the discussions unfolded, the idea that Trump’s cabinet voted to remove him was, in fact, ridiculous”.

Pompeo is among Republicans vying for the position before the 2024 presidential primary but that is a process that requires showing loyalty to Trump, who continues to dominate the party in part by playing in another White House run.

Trump is free to do so because he was acquitted in his second Senate impeachment trial, in the case of inciting the Capitol insurrection.

At a rally near the White House on Jan. 6, Trump told supporters to “fight like hell” to overthrow his defeat of Joe Biden, by blocking certification of electoral college results. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, eventually refused to use his oversight role on the vote count, as Trump had requested he should do.

Karl reported that after the riot at the Capitol, in which five people were killed, “at least two cabinet secretaries” asked Pence, who was confined to the Capitol as rioters shouted for his execution, to call a meeting. of the cabinet.

Pence did not, Karl wrote, adding that there was no evidence to suggest that Pence was involved in discussions on the 25th amendment.

On Jan. 7, Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, formally asked Pence to invoke the 25th amendment. Pence waited five days, then refused.

Pence is a potential candidate for the Republican nomination in 2024.

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