Mike Pence rejects invoking 25th Amendment as Democrats move to impeach Trump

US vice-president Mike Pence on Wednesday rejected calls to invoke the 25th Amendment process to remove President Trump.

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"With just eight days left in the President's term, you and the Democratic Caucus are demanding that the Cabinet and I invoke the 25th Amendment," Pence wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding, "I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or consistent with our Constitution."

Pence would have been installed as "acting president" if he had invoked the 25 Amendment declaring Trump unfit to perform his duties with just days left for his presidency as Joe Biden gets set to take the oath of office on January 20.

However, Democrats moved forward on the impeachment vote. The House passed a resolution formally calling on Pence to act with the final vote of 223-205 in favour.

Democrats are now set to follow the impeachment process in the House on Wednesday.

Trump said the impeachment process against him was a "witch hunt" while asserting that it is causing "tremendous anger". 

However, Congresswoman Liz Cheney had announced earlier that she planned to vote to impeach Trump. "There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," the Congresswoman said.

House Republican John Katko of New York had also committed to vote to impeach Trump, including Republican from Illinois Adam Kinzinger who is known to be a Trump critic.

During the December 2019 impeachment, no Republican House member had voted against Trump except Senator Mitt Romney. Reports said Senate majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell has privately conceded that Trump did commit impeachable offences.

The Republican-controlled Senate is in recess until January 19 which means Trump will not be forced out of office early.