Washington – Amid calls for his impeachment and rumblings to invoke the 25th Amendment over the attack on the Capitol, President Trump plans to resume a number of official duties this week, including diplomatic outreach, transition activities and a planned trip to the border between the US and Mexico, a senior administrative official confirms to CBS News.
As of Saturday, the plan remained for the government to “ride out” the remaining 10 days of Mr Trump’s tumultuous presidency. Three sources from the administration tell CBS News that Mr. Trump does not intend to step downnor does he feel any pressure to do so. No plan to it 25th amendment has been formally presented by the cabinet to Vice President Mike Pence and has been removed by accusation is not considered a viable option.
However, the prospect of a second impeachment is frustrating for the president, who, according to sources, has spoken to allies outside the White House in recent days.
In the wake of the attack, Mr. Trump has given tacit treatment to his most venerable ally, Pence.
It’s been nearly four days since Pence fled to a Capitol bunker on Wednesday to protect him from a pro-Trump mob, some of whom chanted “ hang Mike Pence. ”
While Pence took refuge in that bunker, the president did not call the vice president to check the safety of his or his family, according to a source close to the vice president. The two have not spoken to each other since Wednesday. The president has not said anything in public to pull the target off Pence’s back, a silence that stung even Trump’s most loyal allies.
The president’s last public comment about his long-venerable vice president was a hate tweet posted during the attack on Wednesday, in which Mr. false idea that Pence could destroy the election results instead of certifying them.
Sources tell CBS News that Mr Trump has privately acknowledged that the vice president got a “ bad deal. ” Yet the president still does not accept any responsibility for the violence on January 6, nor the underlying fact that the election was legitimate, certification was inevitable and Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Peter Navarro, and others were downright wrong in telling him that Pence could take a different action.
A number of close Trump advisers are lobbying the president to make some public comments in the coming days. The content of what he might say is unclear.
The public will see the president for the first time since the uprising on Monday with comments on the big tech ‘canceling’ him after being permanent banned on Twitter and several other social media platforms. Trump will then appear at the Texas border on Tuesday, a senior administration official confirmed, and will resume some contact with cabinet secretaries. He plans to work with the Pentagon and acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller on unspecified “transition issues.”
Mr. Trump is also scheduled to complete a final “sequel to the Abraham Accords,” the September agreement formalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and two Gulf states. That diplomatic initiative likely involves son-in-law Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has just returned from Israel, and possibly some foreign leaders. The contact with Mnuchin is remarkable, especially as earlier this week he openly discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment earlier this week, as CBS News reported.
While Trump officials are largely silent this weekend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Vice President are expected to make public comments on Monday. White House officials are well aware that foreign opponents are exploiting US violence to use in their propaganda, and the national security team is monitoring potential threats. As CBS News reported Thursday, senior national security officials are not expected to resign.
CNN reported that White House adviser Pat Cipollone was considering stepping down. From Saturday he continued to work.
Arden Farhi of CBS News contributed to the reporting.