Trump aides plan to resist dangerous unlawful orders in last days of his Presidency

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Some top remaining administration officials are preparing to resist any unlawful or dangerous orders in the closing days of Trump's presidency, senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the sensitive conversations tell Axios.

After Trump incited protesters to storm the Capitol on Wednesday, there's a near universal view among top officials that he is unfit and unhinged, these sources said.

Multiple Cabinet officials and senators from both parties, including senior Senate Republicans, have privately urged National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone to stay in their jobs for the sake of the nation's security and continuity of government.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also intends to stay on, according to a source briefed on his thinking.

Two senior national security officials told Axios that they and their colleagues at the top level of government have decided to defy any requests they believe would put the nation at risk or break the law. They plan to force Trump to fire them.

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Some senior officials at the State Department and other agencies privately discussed the need to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. That idea is going nowhere.

Many view it as bad for the country and technically unworkable in such a short period of time.

Senior officials described an awkward and troubling alternative — the reality that they are staying away from the West Wing, avoiding Trump, and hoping to white-knuckle their way to Jan. 20 without having to engage much with him.

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