The New York Times has a report following up on remarks by January 6 committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) describing discussions among Trump administration officials about potentially removing the then-president in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. Representative Cheney made the remarks in her summary narrative about what the committee plans to cover in a half-dozen or so hearings this month. The discussions among Trump officials she pointed to centered on the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
These discussions are said to have involved Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, Labor secretary Eugene Scalia, Education secretary Betsy DeVos, and Vice President Mike Pence, among others. Their relevance to the committee is that the Capitol riot, and the events leading up to it — the irresponsible “stop the steal” initiative, culminating in President Trump’s fiery speech on the Ellipse, the immediate prelude to the uprising — created such anxiety among top officials about the state of the administration and the manner in which Trump was wielding his powers that the specter of removing him was raised.
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