Lawmakers have repeatedly floated the method for removing a president, as laid out in the Constitution, in recent years. And Donald Trump’s Cabinet apparently discussed the option more earnestly than many initially realized after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
To successfully remove Trump, a majority of his Cabinet and his vice president would have to be supportive. And there are no indications any Cabinet officials are considering it right now, or that Vice President JD Vance would be on board. But Trump’s comment Tuesday morning that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran makes a deal spurred increasing calls — among a somewhat odd amalgamation of voices — to invoke the amendment.
Less than two hours before his 8 p.m. deadline for Iran, Trump announced he’d agreed to a two-week ceasefire, conditional on Tehran opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Democratic lawmakers and right-wing voices had spent the previous 24 hours expressing concerns about just how far the president was willing to take things in the Iran war. His threats to strike power plants and other civilian infrastructure have been decried as war crimes, and some even said they feared the administration’s threats alluded to the potential use of nuclear weapons (which the White House has denied considering).
