use the 25th amendment to remove president trump from office for his actions during last week's attack on the u.s. capitol. as members were considering the resolution, vice president pence informed speaker pelosi and a letter he has no intention of using the 25th amendment as requested. it is one of several measures the house is considering this week in response to the deadly riot on capitol hill. morrow, the house takes up a resolution to impeach the president for inciting an insurrection against the u.s. government. if passed, it would make donald trump the first u.s. president to be impeached twice. you can follow the house when it returns and :00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. up next, we will show you the floor debate from earlier this evening on the 25th amendment starting with maryland representative jamie raskin who introduced the resolution. >> we have experienced trauma of a violent attack on this house of representatives on this

chamber, and on all of the people who work here. an armed, lawless and enraged mob smashed windows, beat up and crashed -- and crushed capitol hill police officers who cried out in agony, overcame and subdued law enforcement, killed or caused the deaths of at least five american citizens including a heroic capitol hill police officer and four other . serious injuries on dozens of police officers an other people including 15 officers who had to be hospitalized. chanting "stop the steal" and "hang mike pence" they threatened the lives and safety of the three individuals in line of succession to the president of the united states. they built a gallows right outside the capitol. they screamed "where's nancy," they stormed the speaker's office and occupied it, stole government property, they

trashed the place. they terrorized officers, staff, and member they brandished the confederate battle flag in the capitol of the united states, something that didn't even happen in the civil war. they allowed hundred or thousands of people to enter the capitol without metal detectors or any kind of security screening at all. not only to desecrate the temple of democracy and spit in the face of congress but actually to interfere with the counting of electoral college votes in the 2020 presidential election. they may have been looking for vice president pence and speaker pelosi but every person in this room could have died. as a shaken senator lindsey graham said, the mob could have blown the building up, they could have killed us all. mr. speaker, whether or not you believe the president's course of conduct in encouraging, build, sull monoing, assembling, and inflaming the mob, lighting the flame, as congresswoman liz

chaney put it in a very powerful and cogent statement this evening, whether you believe that was a high crime and misdemeanor, an offense against the republic, that's the question for another time and to put my cards on the table, i think it was a crime against the republic. but leaving that aside, i think every member in this body should be able to agree that this president is not meeting the most minimal duties of office. he is not meeting the oath he swore to uphold and defend the constitution. against all enemies foreign and domestic. he is not protecting and defending the democracy itself, the process of electing the president. he is not respecting the peaceful transfer of power. he is not taking care that the laws are faithfully executed. he is not protecting the republic against mob insurrection, invasion and hostility. he's not protecting the republican form of government to

the people of the united states when he allow this is to happen. this resolution is simply asking vice president pence to exercise his powers under article 25 -- the 25th amendment, i grant myself 30 seconds more. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is granted 30 additional seconds. mr. raskin: we are simply asking vice president pence to exercise his power under the 25th amendment of the constitution, section 4, to convene the cabinet and to mobilize the cabinet to state and articulate what is obvious to the american people this president is not meeting the duties of office and is clearly not capable of it. and to transfer the powers to the vice president under the 25th amendment. with thattering i yield now for one minute -- i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio is

recognized. mr. jordan: i yield to the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, for 2 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two and a half minutes. mr. mcclintock: what a sad and ominous way to begin the 117th congress. hasn't this body done enough in the last session to divide our country and abuse our constitution without carrying that damage into the new session? the 25th amendment specifically addresses the incapacity of the president to discharge the duties of his office. it was never intended as a political weapon when congress doesn't like the way he discharges those duties. i've read this speech. he never suggested rampaging the capitol and disrupting the congress. he urged them to, and this is an exact quote, peacefully and patriotcally make their voices heard. many of us republicans joined a

bipartisan vote to respect the electoral college votes despite our suspicions and our misgivings and our desires. we did this because the constitution commanded it and our institutions depend on it. today those same principles should compel a bipartisan vote to oppose this grotesque abuse of the 25th amendment. last week, the majority argued that the president tried to misuse the constitution to overturn the votes of the electoral college. he asserted no direct power, rather, he urged the vice president and congress to do so. many of us declined his bad advice. yet this week the majority directly is asserting power to misuse the 25th amendment in a manner that does overturn the votes of the previous electoral college. don't they see that they are

committing directly the same offense they accuse the president of committing indirectly. every act we take builds a precedent for future acts. once congress assert this is new role as arm chire psychiatrists and a new power to equate intemperate speech with functional disability, the most important pillars of our government, stability, the rule of law, and the separation of powers will fracture. it won't affect this president. but it will stop future presidents from this day forward. for their sake, please don't do this. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to speaker nancy pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker of the house, ms. pelosi of california smbing recognized.

the speaker: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and applaud him and salute him as a constitutional scholar, an intellectual resource, and the force of justice he has been as he advanced this resolution. i thank the entire house, the democratic caucus for love of country, determination to protect our democracy and loyalty to our oath that has been so beautifully manifested in this dark past week. mr. speaker, a dark week it has been indeed. on wednesday, the president of the united states incited a deadly insurrection against america that targeted the very heart of our democracy this temple of democracy, the united states capitol. defiling the genius of the constitution, separate but equal, attacking the first branch of government. trying to prevent us from

ascertaining our constitutional duty to ascertain that joe biden and kamala harris will be president and vice president of the united states. the gleeful desecration they have -- gleeful desecration of the capitol and violence against the congress, our staff, and our workers are horrors that will forever stain our nation's history. five americans have died following the violent attack. more than 50 police officers were seriously injured including 15 officers who were hospitalized. on behalf of the house, i salute and express deepestest gratitude to the u.s. capitol police for the valor they showed in protecting the lives of members, especially protecting our staff and those who make congress function. mr. speaker, this is a sad day for our country, that we have to

come to the floor in a way to defend the constitution of the united states at this time. the facts are very clear. the president called for this seditious attack. for days he urged supporters to come to washington for the insurrection. wednesday morning he participated in a rally to encourage the rioters to march on the capitol and fight. and not only did he urge people to march on the capitol and fight, he further fanned the flames and he and his family cheered and celebrated the desecration of the capitol. later that day as the dangers escalated, he ignore and flat out rejected the pleas of congress, including those of his own party, to call off his supporters, the rioters, the terrorists, as they engaged in vandalism and violence. later that -- and now the

president is saying that he is not responsible and that his incitement to violence was totally appropriate. the president's actions demonstrate his absolute inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental duties of his office, therefore the president must be removed from office immediately. this is a decision we make with the utmost solemnnyity and prayerfulness which this crisis requires. removal of the president is an unprecedented action but it is required because he is an -- because it is an unprecedented moment in history because of the danger he poses. i heard the previous speaker say that we are objecting to the president because we don't like the way he executes the duties. we don't like it at all. incitement to insurrection. treasonous activity. and if you are associating

yourself with that as the proper execution of the president's duties, you are associating yourself with sedition and treason. yesterday, in a pro forma session, we introduced a unanimous consent request to take up congressman raskin's legislation which calls on the vice president to mobilize the cabinet to activate the 25th amendment to remove the president from office. again, to prevent him from cause manager damage to our country. who knows what he might do next. house republicans rejected this legislation. and so the president's unhinged, unstable, deranged acts of sedition may continue, endangering america and undermining our democracy. now we are taking up this legislation in regular session. after passage we are calling on the vice president to respond within 24 hours of passage. this resolution gives a clear choice to honor the oath of

office, to defend our democracy and uphold the sacred trust given to us by the constitution and by those whom we represent. mr. speaker, during the president trump presidency, these four years, and especially during this sad time, i recall the words of the great israeli power, he said when he said, i can't keep silence in light of how my country has changed. went quit trying to remind her in her ears, i'll sing my pride until she opens her eyes. i can't keep silent of how my country has changed. i urge my republican colleagues to open their eyes and to finally hold this president accountable. the security of our country and the future of our very democracy are at stake.

when we pray god bless america, let us hope that blessing comes down strongly on us the next few days. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and again applaud the great leadership of mr. raskin. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker pro tempore: the speaker yields back. does the gentleman from maryland reserve? mr. raskin: i reserve, yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. jordan: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. cline. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. cline: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in opposition to house resolution 21, calling on vice president pence to invoke section 4 of the 25th amendment. like all of us, i condemn in the strongest possible terments the violence that owe -- terms the violence that occurred here in our nation's capitol last week. political violence is never the answer, regardless of which side of the political spectrum it occurs. and that's a strongly held position on which i've been clear since well before my time in congress. let's be clear about a few things. the adoption of this political

resolution would be divisive rather than unifying. the vice president has said he has no intention of taking action under the amendment. so this process is pure political theater on the part of the majority. in addition, no due process has been provided. as a form prosecutor of law enforcement --, if law enforcement brought evidence of a crime to me and said, take this to the jury tomorrow, there would be no time for the defendant to prepare a defense, i would be violating rules and procedure. in the more than 50 years since the 25th amendment was ratified, section 4 has never been invoked. as such, there are no judicial or authoritative opinions that would evaluate its implementation and absent this we must look to the legislative intent of the congress that passed its language and nowhere in the legislative intent is the current situation envisioned. it's meant to be used for incapacity, not for political ends with eight days remaining in a president's term. last week vice president pence was lauded by the majority for not yielding to pressure to exert power beyond his constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the

election. yet the majority today is attempting to pressure him to exert power beyond the intention of his constitutional role in section 4 of the 25th amendment. this action will only further fuel the political divide among our citizens and will be detrimental to the long-term efforts to unify our country. mr. speaker, both president trump and president-elect biden have called for a peaceful transition of power. i would encourage members of both parties to work toward this end and vote against this rushed, misguided politically motivated resolution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. jordan: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i now yield one minute to ms. lofgren. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california, ms. lofgren, the chairman of the house administration committee, is recognized. ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, last week, as we counted electoral college votes, i said, this day marks a crossroad for our american -- crossroads for our american democracy. we didn't know then what an ominous statement that was. we do know. congress was attacked by a

violent mob incited by the president to stop us from doing our constitutional job. the president not only encouraged the mob, he said he loved them and made no serious effort to stop them. lives were lost and put in danger. constitutional government was urgently threatened. the president's actions were not only wrong, they were dangerous. he lives in an alternate reality. he's a continuing threat to america. vice president pence should invoke the 25th amendment, assume presidential duties until the inauguration next week, and save us from a president who is unable to function, unable to protect our country. i urge all, including my republican colleagues, to put politics aside. act to secure the safety of our country. we truly are at a crossroads for our american democracy. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. jordan: mr. speaker, i yield two -- i yield two minutes to the gentleman from arizona. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. biggs: thank you. the violence has been condemned. so i wonderer would why are the democrats stoking the fire instead of dousing the flames? this 25th amendment resolution is actually similar with some differences from the proposal filed in october of this year by the same representative and joined by 42 democrats. the problem that time is they were trying to get this commission together. this time they want the vice president to invoke the other portion of article 4. but the problem, of course, is the vice president said in a very lovely letter to them saying he's not going to do that. so our nation is divided. and while folks on the left are trying to lay this all on president trump, you should consider a few statements from

cliques across the aisle. one of our colleagues -- colleagues across the aisle. one of our colleagues at one point said, if you see anybody from that cabinet in a restaurant and department store, gas station, you get out and create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them, they're not welcome here. they're not welcome anymore anywhere. senator booker called for his supporters to go to the hill today, get up and please get up in the face of some congress people. i have dozens of more similar statements. but what we're talking about here today is a resolution asking the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment and get the cabinet together to remove this president. and what that does, it is basically doing what the democrats wrongfully claimed president trump did on january 6. it pours gas on the smoldering embers which consist of tens of millions who believe the integrity of the election was questionable. they feel disenfranchised.

and quite frankly, they are more angry than aggrieved. some believe that by doing this, it's going to be healing. i heard this gentleman say this in the rules committee. doing this today would be healing. and yet the vice president said he's not going to do that. and if this resolution is to ask the vice president to invoke this 25th amendment, -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has an additional 30 seconds. mr. biggs: thank you. if this is what the purpose of this is, to ask the vice president, then the purpose is now null. but i suggest to you, it looks like, it would appear like, if we're going to proceed on even after you received the answer you're seeking, and it's disapprobation of your idea, the only thing that could be left is to pour gas on a fire. i'm asking that cooler heads prevail here. this is not necessary. don't let this get in the way -- and just to parrot the last

speaker, i'm asking friends across the aisle, don't do this thing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio, you reserve? mr. jordan: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: mr. speaker, the gentleman reasonably poses the question, why are we doing this? we think that the president of the united states constitutes a clear and present danger to the republic. and to our people. for example, on the white supremacist websites that helped to build the president's mob, they are now calling for a return engagement on the days of january 19 and 20. they are calling again for an attack on the capitol and they're calling again for the state legislatures now in 50 states to be surrounded. what will the attitude be of the president of the united states? will he give them aid and comfort? will he wink at them? will he send them positive

tweets and messages calling them patriots? also on extreme right wing websites, they're calling for president to pardon the organizers of the armed violent insurrection that took place in this body not even a week ago. and what if the president decides to pardon them? we know this president is not living up to the most minimal duties of his office. that's why we are doing this. to protect the public. and by the way, we're not telling the vice president what he must do. we have no authority to do that. we're telling him what he thinks he should do and that the congress will be with him. because we know that he has come under extreme right wing pressure on everything from the counting of the electoral college votes to his positions on a whole range of things, to go along with donald trump. so we are trying to counter balance -- counterbalance that attack on him from the right to say, the people want to see a peaceful way through this. with that, i will recognize ms.

jackson lee for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: accountability comes before healing. but healing should come. if we look at the constitution, we will clearly see that mr. raskin's resolution fits the language, an inability to be able to discharge your duties, to exercise the laws carefully. do you consider these words from the president of the united states to insurrectionists and terrorists to walk down to the capitol, tells the president, telling them, if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. and that is the attack that the domestic terrorists made on this place. all we're asking the vice president through this resolution is to reflect on that and to call upon the 25th amendment to convene the cabinet, to begin the healing. because, the president of the united states is dangerous to the american people. that is why we're on the floor today. we hope that he will have an opportunity to reflect, because the constitution says in many

places that the ooks actions of this president -- that the actions of this president is dangerous. people have died. we have lost two police officers. others are in the hospital. and, yes, it was an insurrection. it is time to pass h.res. 21. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from maryland. do you reserve? mr. raskin: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentlelady from georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from georgia is recognized for one minute. ms. taylor greene: mr. speaker, i'd like to quote the president of the united states. i know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. go home with peace, with love and in peace, remember this day forever. president donald trump. i condemn this violence, republicans have condemned this violence, president trump has condemned this violence. but elected democrats over the past year have promoted violence, have supported it,

they fund it on their act blue fundraising platform, and there has been billions of damage caused over this past year, riots all over this country. you know how many companies have endured violence and destruction? i have 83 pages here of businesses that had property damage, were burned, through the minnesota riots. our vice president-elect kamala harris posted the minnesota freedom fund bail link, encouraging people to donate money to bail criminals out of jail. we shouldn't be hypocrites. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from ohio, do you reserve? mr. jordan: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: mr. speaker, i'm honored to yield two minutes to mr. katko of new york. mr. katko: i thank my colleague for yielding. i rise as a proud american who has a distinct honor of serving in this great body.

as a member of congress, we take an oath to defend the constitution. because at times it needs defending. on january 6, the nation watched as insurrectionists stormed the capitol, threatening the safety of countless individuals and successfully, albeit temporarily, disrupting our process. in the midst of the attack, hundreds of capitol police officers heroically upheld their duty to defend the united states and protect those who work here. many officers were severely injured and beaten. including one of my former interns. and trg -- tragically, one officer, officer brian sicknick, succumbed to the injuries he sustained. to officer sicknick's family, i extend my deepest condolences and know we are praying for you. to all capitol police officers, we're deeply thankful for your bravery. because of you thousands were lives were protected and the people's work was able to resume. now, just as the capitol police protected us, congress must match that courage and protect the constitution.

our democratic processes and this nation. the president's role in this insurrection is undeniable. both on social media on january 6 and in his speech that day. he deldel -- deliberately promoted baseless theories, creating a combustible environment of misinformation and division. to allow the president of the united states to incite this attack without consequences is a direct threat to the future of this democracy. for this reason, i will vote to impeach this president tomorrow. the bill before us tonight is a nonbinding resolution. which requests the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment, a step he's already said he will not take. it is merely a symbolic gesture. and i will oppose that resolution. after last week's attack on the capitol, it is clear our nation's more divided than ever in recent history. we began this great experiment over 240 years ago and to preserve it we must remember that our faith, race or political party is not what unites us. what unites us is that we are americans. i'd encourage members of this body and everyone at home to

remember that simple truth. and with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio, do you -- you reserve. mr. jordan: no, i will yield -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland reserves. mr. jordan: i will yield 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina, mr. bishop, is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. two two questions as we begin another 24 hours that will deepen the wounds of the country and the disaffection of americans. first, will you stop at nothing? second, is there any hypocrisy too far? let's call this what it is. an ultimatum. an attempt to intimidate and bully vice president pence. they're not seeking the same ends as mr. mcclintock of

california said, to employee the same means. they speak to bully the vice president to abuse power under the 25th amendment intended to provide for temporary or sudden incapacity of the president while they claim to be scandalized about the president bullying the vice president one week ago to abuse power under the 12th amendment. with all due respect to the gentleman from maryland, he has not answered, why are you doing this now? tonight, the vice president has clarified. in a letter sent to all of us at 7:34 p.m. that this resolution has absolutely no other purpose. here are three key thing he is said. i quote. i urge you and every member of congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment. work with us to lower the temperature and unite our country. quote, as you know full well,

the 25th amendment was designed to address presidential incapacity or disability. under our constitution, the 25th amendment is not a means of usurpation. quote, and listen to this one carefully, quote, last week, i did not yield to pressure to exert power beyond my constitutional authority and i will not now yield to efforts in the house to play political games at a time so serious in the life of our nation. the vice president has given you your answer before you ask the question. no legitimate purpose to this resolution remains. your ultimatum gos down to a core feature of the constitution. the framers were emphatic to avoid making the president a creature of congress. the 25th amendment was not ratified to change that, as you well know. please do not pervert this

important protection to undermine the constitution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are remined to direct their comments to the chair. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> last wednesday i came to these halllowed halls where i serve to watch the electoral college ratify and certify the election of joe biden in what was fair, transparent, election, that 61 courts looked into and all said it was fine. mr. cohen: i was sitting up there in the gallery when a capitol policeman came in and said we're locking the door. we are locking the doors. and with only minutes of that, i heard the rattle tissue the rabble knocking on the door trying to knock it down. we were then told to put on our gas masks and evacuate and we all did it. this was an assault on the

constitution, an assault on congress. it was a felonious assault. it was an attempt to murder the congress and our processes to elect our president of the united states. it is the political equivalent of shooting somebody on 5th avenue and getting away with it and somebody needs to stand up to that and the 25th amendment is one way to do it whether republicans can purge themselves of their own creation who has damaged this country. i ask us to pass this resolution. bring this country together an get rid of this cancer. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yealeds back. does the gentleman reserve? the gentleman from ohio. mr. yordan: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentleman from wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you. this is an absurd resolution, callously politicizing an unpredictable happening last week. we all know president trump called for a peaceful, patriotic march. i have attended multiple trump

rally, always peaceful events, tipical of thousands of the protesters last week. i never would have expected this in a million years. that is a horrible event but not like the black lives matter or antifa events that went on day after day in city after city with prominent democrats fanning the flames by mischaracterizing police shootings or encouraging bail for lawbreakers. less than two year ago, a member of this body encouraged harass. of trump officers at restaurants, gas stations and department stores. she was rewarded with the chairmanship of a committee. even last week's riots, the speaker tried to preposterously racialize them which can only lead to trouble, maybe violence. everybody back home says we ought to get along. is this the way to start things? it's time to get back to dealing with the people's business, dealing with the cancel culture. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. swrns: thank you, mr. speaker. for 244 years, america has stood as the bellwether of democracy. last week, the world saw america at perhaps her lowest moment. it was crazy. we all took the same oath when we swore to protect this country from enemies both foreign and domestic. and now with a domestic enemy having arisen, that is crazy, only the vice president has the power to invoke the 25th amendment and protect this country from this domestic enemy. the 25th amendment was written for this moment. and if not now, when would its use ever be appropriate?

vice president pence, you have an opportunity to put country before self by implementing the 25th amendment. please muster the courage to protect america from maniacal behavior that threatens the very foundations of our democracy. stop the violence, mr. vice president. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. chabot. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chabot: what happened last week wednesday at the capitol never should have happened. the actions of those who attempted to breach the capitol building and then ultimately did are inexcusable. lawlessness and violence are never acceptable, whichever side of the political divide one may fall on. those who broke the law should be and will be identified and prosecuted. in the aftermath of last week's tragic events, most americans continue to be saddened, angry, and wanting answers.

and they are looking to us to provide a positive example on thousand to bring our nation back together. unfortunately, if what we're doing this evening is any indication, congress might not be up to the task. the democrats' attempt to invoke the 25th amendment and to once again impeach president trump a week before he'll be leaving office anyway are in my opinion misguided. the push to encourage the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment is especially ill-advised. the constitution is clear that the role for congress to play under the 25th amendment is to the side if the powers provided there under have been properly invoked in the event of a dispute between the president and vice president or the majority of the cabinet. in other words, we are to serve as judges under the 25th amendment, not instigators. by encouraging the vice president to take action, supporters of this resolution are abandoning our constitutional role which could

have a significant legal consequence down the road. even more importantly, rather than help to heal a divided nation, the democrats' efforts will likely drive us even further apart. instead, mr. speaker, we should be turning our attention toward uniting the american people. it's time for us to tone down the political rhetoric, to work together, to solve the problems that face our nation. it's time for us to put aside our differences and find common ground. after all, we're all americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves. mr. raskin. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to mr. swalwell of california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized, how much time? one minute. mr. swalwell: on january 6, donald trump incited radicalized terrorists to attack the capitol and stop the counting of the electoral ballots.

donald trump won't protect our constitution so we must do so. it's time for the country to unite but unity starts with accountability, that starts in the people's house. let's start by uniting for the safety of all americans. let's unite against a president whose hate speech led to the defense of a law enforcement officer unite for the cops and military who bravely defended the capitol. let's unite against donald trump who condition spire -- terrorist teoscarry a confederate flag into this flag and display a noose, and let's unite for the janitorial staff who cleaned up after these white supremacists. the most essential function of the president is to protect live and defend liberty. donald trump has failed to do that and is failing to do that

so vice president pence must invoke the 25th amendment. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. mr. yordan: may i inquire how much time each side has. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio has 16 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from maryland has 16 3/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i would be remiss if i didn't address the atrocities occurring here on the house floor. a week ago the billing was attacked and instead of working with republicans to keep that from happening again, the speaker and her colleagues think the appropriate response is to prevent people exercising their second amendment rights. this attack didn't come from the inside it came from the outside. to respond by restricting member's second amendment rights in the institution that's supposed to uphold those rights is appalling.

take note, america. this is what you have to look forward to in a joe biden administration. if they can do it right here in the people's house they will attempt to do it across the country. the plain language of the 25th amendment is abundantly clear and although i am an attorney you don't have to be an attorney to understand that the vice president is the principal required to invoke the amendment. the beginning of section 4 states, whenever the v.p. and a majority of either executive body. you must have the vice president invoking this and you don't. the vice president has been leer. he is unwilling to invoke the 25th amendment. it's not congress' role to override him. it doesn't say that congress makes that determination. the vice president does. but my democrat ig colleagues will stop at nothing to remove this president even a week before his term expires. the plain reading of the 25th amendment demn straits this is the wrong approach. an understanding of last week's events demn strait this is a wrong approach.

and a look at the tactics we have seen tell us this is a disingenuous approach at best and politically moted. i was elected in 2018 my entire congressional career has been consumed by impeaching or removing president trump. after the russia collusion hoax and a phone call with the ukrainian president and a failed impeachment attempt that resulted in acquittal here we are, a little more than a week away from a new president being sworn in, attempting to travesty to the constitution and to america as a whole. this is dangerous, unconstitutional and does nothing to heal this country. and move this country forward. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to representative garcia of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. garcia: thank you, mr. speaker. i stand before the house floor today alarmed. alarmed that just days ago, a

sitting president stirred up a deadly attack on our u.s. capitol. i join my colleagues in calling on vice president pence to activate section 4 of the 25th amendment. it has become abundantly clear that this president has threatened our democratic system, has interfered with the peaceful transition of power and is -- and has endangered an equal branch of government. the president of the united states is unhinged, unfit, and unstable. or as we say in my district, [speaking spanish] . to the point where he's willing to tear our democracy down, unless he prepre-vails in his quest to overturn the election that he clearly lost. the actions taken by this president and those who enable him show that he is unfit to uphold the duties of his office. for the sake of our nation's

security, this president must be swiftly removed. mr. speaker, democracy is a gift one generation gives to the next. we must defend it. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from hi. mr. jordan: i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from colorado, mrs. boebert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one and a half minutes. mrs. boebert: i rise today to oppose yet another democrat witch hunt. we should take democrats at their word when they say never let a good crisis go to waste. section 4 of the 25th amendment has never been used, a plain reading of the text coupled with the context of its ratification contemplates a very different scenario from the one we're currently. in it envisions a president's disability, resulting in serious illness to injury. to suggest it should be used in a different context violates the very intent of the 25th amendment. to be clear, this resolution is

a divisive, political stunt which has -- which would have no force of law and is a waste of our time. mr. speaker, this resolution is a clear overreach of invoke -- as invoking 25th amendment is not something congress can initiate. it must be initiated by the executive branch. democrats talk about unity but clearly that's just talk as their actions only further divide us. their hypocrisy is on full display this week. with the 25th amendment stunt, articles of impeachment,sen sure bills and other efforts to try to punish republicans for false accusations of inciting the type of violence they have stoked frequently and transparently supported in the past, throughout 2020 we witnessed democrats welcome, encourage and even normalize violence. for th

violence riots were effective in advancing their agenda. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. jordan: yeah, we reserve. mr. raskin: mr. speaker, the gentlelady, whom i've not had the measure to meet yet, confuses the two things. franklin roosevelt had a disability. he was one of our greatest presidents. president lincoln suffered from depression but he was one of our greatest president is -- presidents. incapacity is something different. it's demonstrated by president trump's complete total inability to conform his conduct to the rule of law and the constitution. i yield one minute to representative mcbath. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from georgia is recognized for one minute. mrs. mcbath: thank you, mr. speaker. i came to congress to make sure that no parent ever experienced the pain that i have. i came to congress to fight for children who practice active shooter drills at the same time they're learning how to read. for families who have lost

loved ones to gun violence. and for communities that will never, ever be the same. last wednesday members of this body hid from insurrectionists behind barricades and locked doors. staffers of this hallowed institution texted to their loved ones, they're banging on the doors outside, i love you. and citizens of this nation watched in real-time as rioters stormed the capitol through shattered windows and broken glass. the result of the president's rhetoric has left five americans dead. our response to anyone who seeks to overthrow the will of the people must be unwavering and resolute. i didn't come to congress to do this. but president trump's actions warrant his immediate removal from office. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from maryland reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from texas, mr. fallon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. fallon: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today against -- to speak against this resolution. i'm at a loss. i can't believe the very first time that i have the honor and privilege to address this august chamber is to talk about removing the president of the united states because he held a permitted legal and peaceful rally. it's nothing but a wasteful political grandstand. let's make no mistake. january 6 was a dark day in our esteemed nation's history. it was a dark and sad day. on the afternoon of january 6, a mob breached our sing a red capitol -- our sacred capitol. donald trump did didn't -- donald trump didn't. a mob ran amok on these grounds but donald trump didn't. a mob committed despicable and evil acts of violence against

fellow americans. but donald trump didn't. in fact, donald trump urged, in fact he demanded peaceful dissent and nothing more. our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want us to unnecessarily remove a president when we're measuring the time he has left. not in years, months, weeks or days. he's got 182 hours left in office. you don't achieve unity by simply saying it. you achieve unity through actions. this resolution accomplishes not unity, but rather is a waste of time and fosters further divisiveness. and i'm going to vote no on this resolution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield to representative neguse for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. mr. neguse: mr. speaker, i had planned remarks here but i have to respond to my colleague, his words are simple too much to bear. he talks a lot about the mob and culpability. who summoned the mob?

who encouraged the mob? who incited the mob? you know as well as i do that the president did. i stood here six days ago in this exact same spot and i quoted lincoln's admonition that we should nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. and less than 10 minutes later, a violent mob breached the capitol, the first breach of this hallowed building, the citadel of liberty since the war of 1812. the congress must respond. our undertaking here is not about politics. it is a matter of conscience. i support the distinguished gentleman from maryland's resolution. i pray that the vice president will honor his oath, reconsider, and invoke the provisions of the 25th amendment. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio.

mr. jordan: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. gaetz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. gaetz, is recognized for three minutes. mr. gaetz: thank you, mr. speaker. they may be calling on the vice president, but based on his letter, he's not answering. everybody in this country knows that they want to do -- wanted to impeople president trump on his first day -- impeach president trump on his first day in office. all he did in the middle was rescue our economy, rebuild our military, reform the v.a. and reduce america's involvement in foreign wars. now, i join the bipartisan caucus condemning the violence that we saw at our capitol. but the hypocrisy is just down right disorienting. president trump called for protests that would be peaceful and patriotic. he got labeled a national security threat. yet the gentlelady from california can call on her supporters to get physical and in the faces of republicans and she gets the chairmanship of the financial services committee. republican members of congress utilize a process contemplated in the constitution to offer an

objection and we were labeled seditionists. democrat members of congress raised funds for groups attacking our police, burning our cities, destroying our businesses, establishing autonomous zones, and they were celebrated as justice warriors. wednesday they called for unity. democracy. and healing. now just days later, seeking power and political advantage, the democrats have reverted to the mean. they've gone back to their natural state. the party of impeachment, removal and division. they're about to have unified control of the government. maybe they'd use this time to preview an agenda for the american people. now, the last two times the 25th amendment was invoked, it was to facilitate a colonoscopy. now they're using it to facilitate a transition to joe biden. how weird. why? i'd call it virtue signaling but there's no virtue in it. this removal effort isn't for

america. it's for them. for their ability to showcase and wield power. and we see the power of cancellation and removal on full display in america today. "forbes" magazine has called for white house officials to be shamed and unemployable. abc news has called for the cleansing of the trump movement. i don't know what that means, but talking about cleansing our fellow human beings sure is scary. big tech has driven consumers and conservatives off of platforms and then when we created our own platform, it was nuked from the internet altogether. the gentlelady from new york was booted from a harvard advisory board because she took an adverse position on electors that had been taken by every single member of the congressional black caucus in 2001. cancellations for some, celebrations for others. for doing the exact same thing. the president of the united states can't tweet or post on

facebook, but we know from project that the principal counsel for pbs can call for the government to steal children from republicans and throw molotov cocktails at the white house. we should allow america to heal before america is lost, but that is not happening today. i'd request 30 more seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is given 30 additional seconds. mr. gaetz: the deal now is house democrats just want in on the act. that's the purpose of the resolution today. they want to show you that they can still tear things down. i guess over the next two years, we'll see if they're capable of building anything or anyone up. this is a deeply unpopular impeachment. the president wishes we were here dealing with coronavirus, not the virus of trump hatred that you seem to have found no vaccine for. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from maryland is now recognized.

mr. raskin: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i heard one of our colleagues say it was the fault of the mob, not donald trump. but who summoned the mob? who created the mob? who assembled it? you don't have to trust us if you don't like what you call democrat members -- we do prefer democratic members, for the new ones, but how about this. listen to the chair of your own conference. the chair of the republican conference, liz cheney, said, the president of the united states summoned this mob. assembled the mob. and lit the flame of this attack. everything that followed was his doing, none of this would have happened without the president. so, you can hate the democrat members all you want, that is the chair of the republican conference, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney, the chair of the government oversight committee, is recognized. mrs. maloney: thank you, mr. speaker. like all of us in this chamber, the vice president and the

cabinet swore in their oaths of office to protect and defend the constitution from enemies, foreign and domestic. now they must fulfill that oath by invoking the 25th amendment. donald trump's reckless actions on and leading to january 6 underscore that he's a clear and present danger to our democratic traditions. he repeatedly and blatantly lied, spouting baseless claims of a stolen election and fraud. he called on his supporters to come to d.c. on january 6, a day which he said, i quote, will be wild, end quote. and willfully incited an armed and deadly insurrection against another branch of our government. president trump must be held accountable and we must return to the peaceful transfer of power. i urge a yes vote and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from maryland reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: mr. speaker, we would reserve.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield to mr. clyburn for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the majority whip, is recognized. mr. clyburn: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise in support of this resolution. in recent days, it has become indisputable that this president is unable to uphold his oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. on the contrary. he seems only capable of attacking the constitution. never before has a president sought to overturn a fair and secure election, threatening state officials to manufacture fraudulent votes. never before has a president incited mob violence to block certification of his opponent's victory. never before has the president refused to condemn and demand

the cessation of an attack on our country. the devastating bruises on our nation's soul can only begin to heal by removing the weapon used to bludgeon us. the vice president must invoke the 25th amendment to immediately remove power from this dangerous president. and if he doesn't, we must vote to impeach. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio, mr. jordan. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. raskin, you may proceed. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to mr. krishnamoorthi from illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. krishnamoorthi: mr. speaker, i'm so glad our friends have changed their mantra from stop the steal to start to heal. but in order to heal, you have to take strong medicine, and that medicine happens to be the truth. my friends, the truth is, unfortunately this president is

no longer fit to serve. we cannot trust this president to protect american democracy after he encouraged his supporters to quote-unquote fight like hell in storming the capitol. we cannot trust them to protect american safety after he told these violent seditionists that, quote, we love you, you're very special, closed quote. we cannot trust this president to tell right from wrong, even today. when he said that his remarks on january 6 were, quote-unquote, totally appropriate. mr. speaker, we cannot trust this president to protect us when he instigated a mob that tried to kill us. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. jordan: reserve. we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield 45 seconds

to mr. soto from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 45 seconds. the gentleman is recognized. mr. soto: mr. speaker, i was in the gallery right behind us when the capitol was breached. then domestic terrorists breached the rotunda. i heard the loud sounds of gunshots through this sacred chamber and my last images were brave capitol police, guns drawn to protect us. this was the this was the first armed insurrection in 00 years. who incited this insurrection? donald j. trump. our resolution states these protests were encouraged by him. he urged millions of his followers to come and stop the steal, which is a lie, and let's say now for the record and for the ages, joe biden won. for this high crime, nearly ripping our country aback, we

should be removing him by the 25th amendment or he should be impeached. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield to the distinguished congress lady from california, ms. waters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. waters: -- the speaker pro tempore: how much time are you yielding? the gentleman yields to the gentlelady one minute. ms. waters: -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is now recognized for one minute. ms. waters: mr. speaker, on january 6, 2021, domestic terrorists the president has empowered for years stormed the capitol, desecrated the people's house, and threatened the lives of the speaker, vice president,

and countless other members and staff. none of us will ever forget that day, the invasion of the capitol was not only foreseeable, it was inevitable because of the many years the president has spent fanning the flames of hatred and racism in our country. the facts are clear. the president rally his supporters at the white house and then sent them to the capitol to disrupt our democracy and overturn an election. i won't spend another second explaining why donald trump should have long ago been removed from office. donald trump showed us who he was from the very beginning. too many people turned a blind eye. and last wednesday, our country paid the price. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. mr. raskin: how much time do both sides have remaining, please. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is

advised he has 7 3/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from ohio has eight minutes remaining. mr. raskin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. yordan: i yield myself such time as i might use. this past government -- past year government told americans you can't go to church, can't go to school. one hour ago, democrats told republicans, new rule, new rules for the house. today you can say anything you want about the president no rule of decorum, no rule about attacking personality, they can say neg they want and they've done that today on the floor, you've got to wear a mask. if your mask comes below the nose you'll be fined. in order to come in here and constitutionally represent your constituents, the 750,000 people we all get the prive lem of serving you had to walk through a metal detector. they did all these changes with less than 40 minutes of debate. tomorrow, they're going to impeach a president.

a president who is leaving office in eight days. eight days before there will be a peaceful transfer of power just like there has been every other time in american history. but they're going to do impeachment. they're going to do it. again. they've been obsessed with it. it is truly an obsession. people on the democrat side started calling for impeachment the day president trump was inaugurated that i -- they attacked him before he won the first election. before he won in 2016. they attacked him that summer when they started their investigation. this is scary where this goes because this is more than about impeaching the president of the united states. this is about canceling the president and canceling all the people you guys disagree with. that's what scares me more than anything. we have seen it play out over the past several days. i never thought i'd see the things we are now witnessing. i don't know where it ends but i tell you what, it should scare us all. i said this in the judiciary

committee, and the gentleman from maryland will remember this the cancel culture doesn't just go after conservatives and republicans. it won't just stop there. it'll come for us all. that's what's frightening. i hope, i hope, you all recognize that. and at some point, at some point, we can unite and actually do things that help those folks become home that we all get the privilege of representing. reserve our time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: thank you. the cancel culture of violent white supremacy tried to cancel all our lives last wednesday. i yield one minute to congressman -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> on january 7, i was outside those doors where 14 hours earlier a rioter was shot as she violently tried to enter this chamber. it was in that early morning that i had a brief conversation with vice president mike pence right after we finished

certifying the electoral college. i was proud that we did our job that morning despite the violence we experienceled earlier that day but i knew that was not enough. because of the seditious actions by president trump before that rye yet and his inaction during that riot. mr. panetta:: i said to the vice president, it's up to you to keep us safe. tonight with the president still in office, i'm beyond asking. i'm legislating to compel the vice president to convene the cabinet, to conclude that the president is not just unable, but clearly he is unwilling and unworthy to discharge his dews. through this legislation, i ask and i ask my colleagues, to call on the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment, yes to keep us safe and keep this nation secure. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: i yield to the gentlelady from new mexico for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to the

misuse of the 25th amendment. to preserve separation of power the authors of the 25th amendment correctly intended section 4 to be initiated by the vice president, not by the request of congress. process concerns aside the fact is removing the president from office will not heal our nation. it will not bridge our partisan divide to give americans hope or bring us together. it will only make things worse. we are just days away until president trump leaves the white house and just days into our new congress we have more important things to do we should be working to hold big tech accountable. we should be working to help families and small businesses get through the pandemic. we should be working on jobs, infrastructure, energy and all the other issues our constituents sent us here to address. i am appalled by the violence that took place here last week. those who assaulted police officers and forced thire way into that is halllowed halls are responsible for those in favor say aye criminal acts and must

be brought to justice. ms. herl: i cannot support the -- ms. herl: i cannot support this, i cannot -- we have got to stand for the constitution. this is our nehemiah moment and we better take advantage. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from ohio. the gentleman reserves. mr. raskin. mr. raskin: i yield to dr. bera 45 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 45 seconds. mr. bera: just over a week ago we all took the oath of office, all of us, democrats an republicans. part of that oath was to support and defend the constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. it's quite clear what happened last wednesday, a domestic attack on our government, a domestic attack on this body. republicans have already acknowledged who instigated the

atark, the lead instigator was the president of the united states. it is our solemn duty to uphold our oath to defend our constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic there is nothing more solemn than what we have to do. if my colleagues done want to instigate the 25th amendment, that's one mechanism, we'll give you an opportunity to impeach the president. that's our duty. that's what we have to do. let's uphold our oath. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from maryland. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: 45 seconds to mr. gomez. the speaker pro tempore: 45 seconds is yielded to mr. gomez. mr. gomez: thank you thank you, mr. speaker. we're here tonight because a violent mob incited by the president of the united states based on a lie lay siege to congress to overturn a presidential election. but we have to ask ourselves, what would have happened if that mob succeeded? why stop at one election? why not two?

why not make donald trump president for life? thank god that did not happen and they did not succeed. however, even after that terrible day of january 6, 2021, donald trump is still using the lie of a stolen election to turn american against american for his own selfish ends. i believe even with only a few days left in office, that donald trump is still a danger to our republic and must be removed immediately. as a fact and as an example, today the joint chiefs of staff issued a statement -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is granned 0 seconds. mr. gomez: today the joint chiefs of staff issued a statement reaffirming their devotion to the rule of law and affirming that joe biden will be the 46th president of the united states. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. raskin. reserves. the gentleman from ohio. the gentleman reserves. mr. raskin: i yield one minute

to ms. velazquez of new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york, chair of the committee on small business is recognized for one minute. ms. velazquez: i rise in strong support of this resolution. our children are watching all of this an learning from all of it. i believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment an model the behavior we hope they will emulate. i am sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that i simply cannot set aside. that was elaine chao. these were members of the president's own cabinet who bore the sacred responsible of taking

action when the president is clearly unfit for office. but they -- if they will not act, congress will. today we are giving the vice president 24 hours to do right by the american people. remove this president from office and if you do not, the house will impeach. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: mr. raskin. mr. raskin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. schiff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. schiff: six days ago i was standing right here, fulfilling my constitutional duties to certify the election, and six days ago donald trump was on the mall, whipping a mob into a frenzy with false claims of stolen elections and unconstitutional schemes. it was a big lie. the same big lie he has been

telling for weeks. he told the mob, we are going to the capitol and to fight like hell and they did. five died. many more were hurt. we were seconds away from something much worse. my colleagues upholding our oath to the constitution and our democracy means recognizing that every second that donald trump is president, the nation is at risk. we have the power to do something about it, mike pence must do his duty, invoke the 25th and if he won't we mill move -- we will move with urgency to do ours an impeach donald trump again. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from maryland is advise head has 2 3/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from ohio is advised that he has 4 3/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from highway. mr. where are dan: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from

ohio, mr. davidson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. davidson: i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, i can't say it better than the vice president said it himself. vice president mike pence said, last week i did not yield to pressure to 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. i ask unanimous consent to submit this to the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. davidson: i thank the vice president for his excellent leadership, his professionalism and for his faithfulness to our constitution. in the only would it be an abuse of the 25th amendment for mike pence to invoke it, to make a political statement, it's clearly not our role in congress to do what we're doing here tonight, or is proposed to do by the majority. speaker pelosi claims that president trump incited the mob,

that attacked the capitol at a rally. as mr. mcclintock spoke earlier, he read the president's statement. he encouraged people to come peacefully and patriotcally. "the washington post" is reporting something that i would hope our chairman of the intel committee would know about, the f.b.i. report warned of war at the capitol the day before the attack on our capitol. i'm curious how someone proposes that the president incited the mob at a rally the day before the rally. i ask unanimous con sent the article be submitted to the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. davids: others are -- david jacoby others are reporting a to imin-- mr. davidson: others are reporting a link as well. here's what we do know. no one has defended this attack on our capitol. on our -- contrary, we are

missing, willfully missing, in my opinion, a moment of extreme unity in our nation. just like was willfully done earlier this year. at a time of great political and partisan division, even seething anger, one thing all americans seem to agree on, these attacks were wrong. the president condemned them, he discouraged violence. not just on january 6, but on other days throughout the year, as he talked about law and order. as he talked about something that we finally seem to agree on, that there is a clear distinction between the constitution's first amendment protection of the right to assemble peaceably, and riots. criminal, unlawful riots. there's a distinction between rioters and protesters and frankly it took us months to agree on that as a body in congress. but the people of the united

states of america agreed to it. they understood it. so i encourage my colleagues across the political spectrum, the members of congress here gathered together, today and tomorrow, to stand united and move forward with the agreement our country has. this was wrong. and it was not -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. raskin: i yield 3/4 of a minute to mr. espaillat from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 45 seconds. mr. espaillat: thank you, mr. speaker. we've all known for a while now, but this past week it has become undeniably clear. donald j. trump is unfit. to the secretary of agriculture , defense, commerce and education and transportation, he is unfit. to the secretaries of human services, homeland security, housing, interior and labor, he

is unfit. to the attorney general, he is unfit. to the vice president of the united states, he summons his goons, they shut their hoods and came with their racist confederate flag to assassinate him. to assassinate the vice president. he is unfit. invoke the 25th amendment. if not, we will impeach him tomorrow. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. reserves. mr. raskin. mr. raskin: i'm yielding 45 seconds to mr. davis of illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois, mr. danny davis,s is -- is recognized for 45 seconds. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. after listening to all that i've heard this evening, i still have the faith and belief that we can come together as a unit. i was reading my bible the other day and saw that it said, come and let us reason together. otherwise we shall all be

destroyed by the edge of the sword. i say to my colleagues, let's reason together. you cannot erase truth with a lie. you cannot pretend that what has happened did not happen. yes, we ought to have a president, but it's time for this one to go. i urge passage of this resolution and agree wholeheartedly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: he reserves. mr. raskin. mr. raskin: i yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 45 seconds. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, the president of the united states incited an attack against our democracy. for months hinned up his

supporters with lies -- ginned up his supporters with lies about the election and incited them to violence. he unleashed a mob on the capitol. the president must be held accountable for this vial attack. he knew what he was doing and now five people are dead. congress will not be intimidated. america will not succumb to mob rule. the vice president can initiate removal of the president who's unfit for office and this president is unfit. we must -- he must be removed. i urge a yes vote on this resolution and i urge a yes vote on impeachment tomorrow. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland reserves. do you reserve? mr. raskin: we have one last speaker. is the gentleman prepared to close? mr. jordan: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. jordan: i thought he had one last speaker. mr. raskin: we'll go after you.

we'll close on my speaker. mr. jordan: ok, ok. thank you, mr. speaker. what happened at the capitol on january 6 was as wrong as wrong can be. it's not what america is about. and we condemned this violence. we commend the men and women of the capitol police for their bravery and we mourn the loss of those lives that were taken last week. republicans have been consistent. we condemned the violence last summer. we condemned the violence last week. democrats have been consistent about one thing. their endless quest to overturn the 2016 election. they're still trying to overturn the 2016 election after the 2020 election. this has been an obsession with you guys. and the first round, the first impeachment, based on the unanimous whistleblower that the country couldn't -- you tried to remove president trump from office based on a guy we weren't even allowed to see, know who he or she was,

couldn't cross examine. a whistleblower with no firsthand knowledge, who was biased against the president and who worked, interestingly enough, for joe biden. so continuing this quest is not , as has been said so many times on the floor tonight, not what the country needs. not what the country needs, particularly after the year the country has lived through. so i hope we will not vote for this. that this thing will go down and i urge my colleagues to vote against the resolution sponsored by the gentleman from maryland. with that, we yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. raskin. mr. raskin: mr. speaker, i yield the remainder of my time which i think is 47 seconds, to the distinguished chairman of the agriculture committee, mr. scott of georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is allowed 37 seconds -- 30 seconds to close. mr. scott: well thank you for that, mr. speaker. but this, what we're discussing tonight, isn't about us. it's about the will of the

american people. they're brokenhearted. they're crying. they're discouraged. and the overwhelming number of american people want this president out of office now. this is why we got to do it now . we got to heal the wounds. the longer that president is over there, the more we're tearing the heart and soul out of the american people. let us do it now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expir >> the house voted to 23-205 to approve the resolution, formally calling on vice president pence to invoke the 25th amendment to remove president from office. the congressman of illinois was the only republican to vote for

the resolution. the house considers articles of impeachment against president trump wednesday at 9:00 a.m. eastern. >> the house returns wednesday at nine :00 a.m. eastern to debate the impeachment resolution against president trump, following the january 6 attacks on the u.s. capitol. tuesday, members debated and approved a resolution urging mike pence to invoke the 25th amendment to remove president trump from office. the vice president has sent a letter to the speaker, asking that the house not go through with the resolution. when members return on wednesday they will consider the rules for debating the impeachment resolution. once those rules are passed, they will debate articles of impeachment and hold a final vote. live coverage of the u.s. house continues live at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> c-span's washington journal, every day we are taking your

calls live on the air on the news of the day. we will discuss policy issues that impact you. wednesday morning, a discussion about the house impeachment vote against president trump for his role in the attack on capitol hill, with democratic congressman al green in utah's republican congressman john curtis. watch washington journal live at 7:00 eastern wednesday morning and joined the discussion with phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. >> with the votes in the 2020 presidential election now counted and confirmed by congress, attention turns to the inauguration of the 46th

president of the united states. on january 20, joe biden and, kamala harris take the oath of office as president and vice president of the u.s. live coverage begins january 20 at 8:00 eastern. watch live on c-span and watch on demand at c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app. >> you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government. c-span was created by america's cable television company in 1979. today, it is brought to you by these television companies who provide c-span to viewers as a public service. >> tonight, the house rules committee debated a resolution to impeach president trump for his alleged role in the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. the resolution