US riots: VP Mike Pence still considering invoking 25th Amendment to oust Donald Trump - report

Video has emerged showing rioters threatening the life of Vice President Mike Pence. Photo / Erin Schaff, The New York Times

Donald Trump's former ally and Vice President Mike Pence has not ruled out invoking the 25th Amendment in the last days of Trump's presidency, sources say.

The move would strip the President of his powers, transferring them to Pence, but CNN reports he is saving the option in case Trump "becomes more unstable".

The report comes as disturbing new details emerge about the apparent murderous intentions of some of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the US Capitol this week, including killing Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally hours before thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol. Photo / AP

A Reuters photographer recounted what rioters were discussing as they tore through the Capitol on January 6 – including hanging the Vice President from a tree for being a "traitor".

Despite being a Republican, Pence is now loathed by a number of Trump supporters after endorsing Joe Biden's electoral college victory.

Vice President Pence has not ruled out an effort to invoke the 25th amendment and wants to preserve it as an option in case Trump becomes more unstable, a source close to the VP says. @Acosta

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) January 10, 2021

Source close to the vice president tells me while the VP and his family were in a bunker in the Capitol, the President did not reach out to check on his safety or condemn those who said the VP should be executed.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 10, 2021

According to CNN, a terrified Pence and his family could hear the chants as they were evacuated from the building, fearing for their lives.

Trump's opponents in Congress are moving swiftly to impeach him, but they face a critical roadblock.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has sent a memo to his members explaining how a second Trump impeachment trial would work – and why it wouldn't be completed or even started until after the President leaves office on January 20.

Democrats in the House are expected to introduce and vote on at least one article of impeachment by mid-next week. After that happens, the next step is to hold an impeachment trial in the Senate.

Security fencing around the Capitol grounds in the wake of Thursday's riots. Photo / AP

The 25th Amendment - also referred to as the "Disability Clause" - is used to transfer powers from the president to the vice president in the event he/she is unable to perform their role.

If enacted, it would see Trump's presidential powers given to Pence until Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20.

It has never been used to remove a sitting president. In most recent times it was used temporarily by George W Bush in 2002 and 2007 while he was undergoing scheduled colonoscopy procedures.