2 Cabinet members wanted to oust Trump with the 25th Amendment, former FBI counsel says

(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

last updated 10 April 2019

The 25th Amendment threats were coming from inside the White House.

Since the beginnings of President Trump's term, several reports have suggested a handful of administration officials have looked for ways to oust him. Those conversations often turned to the 25th Amendment — something even two Cabinet officials were apparently onboard with invoking, former FBI general counsel James Baker told members of Congress in a closed-door interview late last year.

In October, Baker sat down to discuss the FBI's investigation into 2016 election interference. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) released a transcript of that interview on Tuesday, revealing how Baker, in the interview, confirmed reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had discussed wearing a wire to record President Trump. That idea was "quickly dismissed," Baker said, before going to to say he heard from Rosenstein that "two members of the Cabinet" were "willing to" invoke the 25th Amendment.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox