Mnuchin testifies he discussed 25th Amendment with Pompeo, contradicting his denial

"I mean, I do recall speaking to Secretary Pompeo about the 25th Amendment."

By Ben Whedon

Published: December 27, 2022 7:02pm

Updated: December 27, 2022 7:44pm

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testified before the House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that he had discussed invoking the 25th Amendment with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, contradicting the nation's former top diplomat.

"Do you recall talking to Secretary Pompeo in General Milley's presence about the 25th Amendment?" the committee asked him, per the Washington Examiner. The line of inquiry became public when the committee released the transcripts of 34 of its interviews earlier this month.

"I mean, I do recall speaking to Secretary Pompeo about the 25th Amendment," was Mnuchin's reply. "I don't recall it being in that circumstance, and I surely don't recall that I stopped the conversation when General Milley came up... [the amendment] came up very briefly in our conversation." Pompeo has denied discussing the 25th Amendment, per the outlet.

"[We] both believed that the best outcome was a normal transition of power, which was working, and neither one of us contemplated in any serious format the 25th Amendment," he continued.

Section Four of the 25th Amendment allows for the cabinet to remove the president from office should the vice president and a majority of its members deem him unfit to serve. Mnuchin was one of the few original Trump cabinet members to serve throughout his entire term.

The Jan. 6 committee released its final report in December after spending more than one year conducting high-profile public hearings and numerous interviews into the events of that day. The report heavily criticized former President Donald Trump for allegedly calling for a violent insurrection to keep himself in power. Its members unanimously voted to issue criminal referrals to the Department of Justice against the former president earlier this month.

The committee faces certain dissolution in January when Republicans take control of the House. The party has largely condemned the committee as a partisan farce.