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


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

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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The 25th Amendment spells out how a majority of Cabinet secretaries can oust a president they deem unfit to serve. Several former Trump staffers — namely short-lived aide Omarosa Manigault Newman — have said it was a constant topic of discussion and jokes within the White House. Yet judging by what Baker heard, some of Trump's top officials took the amendment's powers very seriously.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Quiz of The Week: 6 – 12 September
Quiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The week’s best photos
In Pictures A palace on fire, a shopping cart protest, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is horse-racing going on strike?
Podcast Plus, will the South Korean women who worked in state-run brothels set up for US soldiers succeed? And what’s behind a surge in leg-lengthening surgery?
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants