Trump acknowledges loss; Devos, Chao, others depart
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump released a brief Twitter video on Thursday, pledging to focus on “a smooth, orderly, seamless transition of power” when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.
But Trump’s conciliatory tone came too late to stop two members of his Cabinet from tendering their resignations, alongside a number of other White House staffers and one key adviser.
In the video, Trump condemns the protesters who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, promising that those who broke the law will be punished. He avoided calling into question the results of the 2020 election, saying only that he fought in
court to challenge election results in order to defend democracy.
At the end, he told his supporters their journey was only beginning.
On Thursday, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced her resignation — which followed a raft of staffers bailing out of the White House.
Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, tweeted that she found Trump supporters’ storming of the Capitol “traumatic and entirely avoidable” and offered, “it has deeply troubled me in a way I cannot set aside.”
Also Thursday, Education Secretary Betsy Devos also quit, citing the rioting in her resignation letter, which was obtained by The New York Times.
“We should be highlighting and celebrating your administration’s many accomplishments on behalf of the American people,” she wrote in the letter. “Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protesters overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people’s business.”
“That behavior was unconscionable for our country,” she added. “There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”
Impeachment or removal
Meanwhile, members of Congress in both parties called for invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution or impeachment to cut short Trump’s remaining 13 days in office.
“It’s certainly a conversation that needs to be had,” Republican consultant and CNN contributor Alice Stewart said of the 25th Amendment, “given the mass exodus” of trusted advisers.
Looking at the international stage, Stewart told the Review-journal, “It’s of great concern to have a president who orchestrated an insurrection and an act of domestic terrorism, but it’s even more concerning at the appearance of vulnerability this creates among our foreign adversaries” who could see an opportunity for mischief.
“Other countries that look to America as a unified show of force are looking at America as a divided country of instability. That creates opportunity for our adversaries.”
Brad Blakeman, a former attorney in President George W. Bush’s administration, likened Trump’s speech to supporters Wednesday to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. But Blakeman argued the wise course is to wait out the 13 days until Trump’s tenure ends.
“Look what we did yesterday. We were attacked in our Capitol, and a few hours later, we were back in business,” Blakeman said. The business of certifying the electoral vote was “delayed but not denied.”
University of California, Berkeley law professor John Yoo warned it is “crazy” to oust Trump via the 25th Amendment.
“You may disagree with Trump. He might have made a bad choice,” Yoo said. “But those are bad decisions at worse; they don’t show disability.”
“It’s a dangerous thing to turn the 25th Amendment into a roving mandate for a president you think made a bad decision,” Yoo added.
Impeachment, Yoo argued, is the more appropriate remedy for those who believe Trump abused the oath of office, if it were possible to muster the two-thirds majority vote in the Senate needed to remove a president.
On another note, Yoo asked, “Do Democrats want the 25th Amendment to have a broader meaning,” when a 78-year-old Biden is about to be inaugurated?
Biden declined to address the 25th Amendment at an event Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware. He told reporters he preferred to address the “unprecedented assault on our democracy” and the rule of law.
Other resignations
Along with Chao and Devos, former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney resigned as special envoy to Ireland on Wednesday night. Stephanie Grisham, the former press secretary and chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump; Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger and Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews also resigned.
After Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf tweeted that he found it “unacceptable” that Trump supporters tried to use violence to achieve political ends, the White House withdrew Wolf’s nomination to become permanent secretary.
Former aides participated in their own stampede away from the 45th president. Former Attorney General Bill Barr released a statement to The Associated Press in which he railed that “orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable.”
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook and Instagram would suspend Trump’s account “indefinitely and at least through the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”
Twitter removed three Trump tweets Wednesday and suspended his account with the warning that future violations could result in permanent suspension.
Behind closed doors, Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to golfers Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player and posthumously to Olympic athlete Babe Zaharias, press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany later disclosed.
In the afternoon, Mcenany read a statement in the briefing room. She asserted that the White House condemned “violent rioters” and called for their prosecution. Mcenany also said, “Those who are working in this building are working to ensure an orderly transition of power.”
Like Biden in Wilmington, Mcenany did not take questions.
Press guidance for Thursday offered, “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings.”