West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney Objects To Effort To Remove Trump From Office

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District objected Monday to an effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to remove President Donald Trump from office.

The House was set to consider a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to gather members of the cabinet and invoke the 25th Amendment. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland requested unanimous consent to consider the resolution, but that request was blocked by Mooney’s objection.

“Speaker Pelosi should not attempt to adopt a resolution of this magnitude without any debate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mooney said in a statement. “It is wrong to have sent members of Congress home and then try to adopt without any debate a precedent-setting resolution that could imperil our Republic. The U.S. House must never adopt a resolution that demands the removal of a duly elected president, without any hearings, debate or recorded votes.”

Efforts to remove Trump from office have gained momentum since hundreds of pro-Trump extremists mounted an insurrection last week on the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

As Congress considered certifying each state’s results, Mooney voted to object to results from Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District, voted to object to results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania.

With Democrats holding a narrow majority in the House, an effort to impeach Trump for his role in the insurrection was introduced on Monday.

A single article of impeachment, accusing Trump of “inciting violence against the government of the United States,” is expected to see a vote this week.