'Democracy Is Fragile': Congressman Joe Neguse Leads The Call To Invoke The 25th Amendment
DENVER (CBS4)- A Colorado Congressman is one of those leading the call to have President Trump removed from office in his final days. Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse is among 17 members of the House Judiciary Committee to send a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking him to invoke the 25th amendment.
A majority of the president's cabinet would have to agree that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. If the president objects, two thirds of both chambers of Congress would also have to agree.
Neguse says, after being locked in the House chamber as insurrections raided it, doing nothing isn't an option. He was tapped to lead the floor debate for Democrats, the very debate rioters tried to stop.
"We heard very loud noises, sounded like gun shots… rioters banging down the door," Neguse told CBS4 24 hours after the melee.
As anarchists tried to breach the chamber, Neguse says he texted his wife that he loved her. If he feared for his life then, he now fears for our country.
"Democracy is fragile, it always has been. It takes hard work, it takes good faith of Americans to make it work and we need that now."
Which is why, he says, Trump cannot stay in office, "We obviously have a very tenuous 10 days to live through here over the course of the next week and a half and it is clear that the current president cannot discharge his oath and in many respects poses a threat. Clearly something has to be done to make clear to the rest of the country and the rest of the world that our constitutional republic will endure. It's time now to choose country over party, to do the right thing, to step back from the brink. Benjamin Franklin when he exited constitutional convention, he was asked, 'What kind of government have you all created?' His response was, 'A republic if you can keep it' and that is an admonition to each American and one we should take seriously."
Only two Republicans have said publicly they would support or, at least, invoking the 25th Amendment. Neguse indicated that, privately, there is more support.
He reflected not only on what had happened but how it had happened, saying there were serious lapses in the Capitol's security protocol. He says Congress needs make sure it never happens again. But he also praised the actions of some Capitol police officers who he says risk their lives to protect him and others.
