Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly supports the use of the 25th Amendment to remove the president

Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly supports the use of the 25th Amendment to remove the president

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“Yeah, I would do that,” Kelly told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘The Lead’ when asked if he would support the appeal for the amendment if he voted.

The comments of Kelly, who left the White House in January 2019 under controversial circumstances, come as a growing list of Democratic and Republican members of Congress and demand that Trump be removed from office, either by the indictment or by the 25th amendment to a violent crowd of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

They also represent one of Trump’s strongest reprimands of a former member of his White House amid the aftermath of Wednesday’s riot. To call for the 25th amendment, Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet will have to vote to remove Trump from office because of his inability to “fulfill the powers and duties of his office” – an unprecedented step .

“I think the cabinet should meet and discuss. I do not think it will happen, but I think the cabinet should meet and discuss it because the behavior yesterday and in the weeks and months before that was just outrageous.” Kelly said, which Trump has occasionally criticized since he left office.

“What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday is a direct result of the fact that he poisoned people’s minds with lies and deception,” he added.

Kelly, who has mostly maintained a low profile since leaving the White House, told Tapper he was “terrified” by the violent scene.

‘Just an amazing scene at the Capitol. ‘Honestly, the president’s actions and words did not surprise me at all, but I was very, very surprised that those people would assault the people’s house, do the damage and embarrass us all,’ ‘he said. referring to the pro-Trump mob.

Kelly also backed down on comments from his successor, Mick Mulvaney, who resigned Wednesday from a diplomatic post he held in government, saying Trump is not the same as a few months ago.

“I do not think he has changed a bit,” Kelly said when asked about the comments. “Of course he’s furious because he lost an election.

In addition to Mulvaney, several other administration officials resigned in protest of the riot Wednesday and Trump’s response to it, including Transport Secretary Elaine Chao, one of the longest-serving members of Trump’s cabinet who will officially leave her post on Monday.

Trump’s deputy national security adviser, Matt Pottinger, is also among the people who have left the government, as well as the chief of staff of the first lady, Stephanie Grisham, a press assistant and the social secretary of the White House.

This story has been updated with more from the interview.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.

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