Pence says he won't invoke 25th Amendment to remove Trump

In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday night, Vice President Mike Pence rejected calls to remove President Trump from office via the 25th Amendment.

Leading up to the certification of the Electoral College votes, Trump pressured Pence to overturn the results. Pence wrote in the letter that he did not "exert power beyond my constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election, and I will not now yield to efforts in the House of Representatives to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our nation."

Pence said removing Trump would set "a terrible precedent," and he urged Pelosi "and every member of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment." While Pence might not be interested in removing Trump from office, the House will still go ahead and vote on an article of impeachment Wednesday, accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection. Three Republicans — Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), John Katko (N.Y.), and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) — said on Tuesday they will vote to impeach.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.