If Trump is unfit, use constitutional powers to remove him: Senator
Washington, Sep 7 : A US Senator has said that it was time to use constitutional powers to remove President Donald Trump from office if top officials thought he was unfit for the job.
"If senior administration officials think the President of the US is not able to do his job, then they should invoke the 25th Amendment," Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren told CNN on Thursday.
"The Constitution provides for a procedure whenever the Vice President and senior officials think the President can't do his job. It does not provide that senior officials go around the President -- take documents off his desk, write anonymous op-eds... Everyone of these officials have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the US. It's time for them to do their job."
The hard-charging comments by Warren, a potential 2020 Democrat presidential candidate, comes in the wake of a shocking New York Times opinion piece where an anonymous official raises deep concerns about Trump and contends that there were some initial conversations to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the President from office.
The White House has aggressively slammed the piece, calling the author a traitor and a coward.
Warrren dismissed questions that invoking constitutional remedies would provoke a constitutional crisis.
"What kind of a crisis do we have if senior officials believe that the President can't do his job and then refuse to follow the rules that have been laid down in the Constitution?" Warren told CNN.
"They can't have it both ways. Either they think that the President is not capable of doing his job in which case they follow the rules in the Constitution, or they feel that the President is capable of doing his job, in which case they follow what the President tells them to do."
Warren, who is running for a second Senate term in Massachusetts this year, would not say when she would ultimately decide whether she will run for the White House.
"Right now I'm running for re-election in Massachusetts in 2018," Warren said. "I'm taking nothing for granted."
Warren is viewed as a likely presidential candidate against Trump, who rarely holds back when criticising Warren, derisively calling her "Pocahontas" because she had claimed a Native American heritage during her career as a law professor.
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Lok Sabha confirms imposition of President's rule in Manipur
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New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha early Thursday adopted a Statutory Resolution confirming the imposition of President's rule in Manipur with opposition supporting the decision but slamming the Centre for the situation in the state.
Replying to a short debate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government has taken all possible steps to bring back normalcy in the restive northeastern state.
He said there has been no violence in Manipur in the last four months, adding that talks were on with both Meitei and Kuki communities for a peaceful solution.
"By and large the situation is peaceful. As long as people are in camps, I would not say the situation is satisfactory. The government is taking all possible steps to restore peace in Manipur," he said.
The home minister said the ethnic violence in Manipur had started following an order of the state's high court.
"The day the order came, we sent the central forces by air. There was no delay on our part (in taking action)," he said.
He said, so far, 260 people have died in the violence that started in May 2023 and 80 per cent of them lost their lives within the first month.
Shah said he did not want to compare the violence that had taken place during the tenure of the previous governments but wanted to tell the House about the clashes between the Naga and Kuki communities that took place in the 1990s over five years.
"Sporadic violence continued for a decade where 750 people lost their lives. There were Kuki-Paite clashes in 1997-98 when 352 people were killed. In the Meitei-Pangal clashes in the 1990s, over 100 people died. Neither the then prime minister nor the then home minister visited Manipur," he said.
The home minister said an impression has been given that violence erupted only during the BJP rule, which is not correct.
Earlier, participating in the debate, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said his party supported the resolution but wanted the restoration of peace and stability in the state.
"End insurgency, restore peace and stability, promote dialogue with each other, promote inclusivity," he said.
Sayani Ghosh of the Trinamool Congress said her party too supports the resolution but favours early restoration of peace.
DMK's K Kanimozhi said "divisive" politics should come to an end in Manipur.
"We want normalcy to return, peace and harmony should be restored. We also want the formation of an elected government," she said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant expressed concern over the prevailing situation in Manipur and said peace must be restored.
NCP (SCP) member Supriya Sule said the President's Rule is not good for democracy and sought "strong intervention" of the home minister in bringing back normalcy.
The resolution 'Consideration on the Proclamation issued by the President on the 13th February 2025 under article 356 (1) of the Constitution in relation to the State of Manipur’ was adopted by the House by a voice vote.
The violence started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised against the high court order.
There have been many efforts from the central government to bring the warring communities to the negotiating table.
