What Is The 25th Amendment And How Could It Be Used To Remove The President From Office?
Calls to impeach Donald Trump seem to gather steam on a daily basis. With each new potential scandal that breaks, it is becoming harder to not see that a case is starting to be made that could lead to articles of impeachment being drawn up against President Trump. The impeachment process, however, can be an extremely long one which is why some politicians are looking at other options which could be used to remove Donald Trump from office. One of these options is outlined in the 25th amendment of the Constitution.
According to Cornell Law School, the 25th amendment was put in place after President Kennedy was assassinated. The amendment discusses the process needed to be done to replace the president or vice president due to the person’s death, removal from office, resignation, or due to mental incapacitation. The incapacitation clause, which is laid out in section four of the 25th amendment, lays out the procedure that would need to happen that would force the president out of office.
The incapacitation clause, which is laid out in section four of the 25th amendment, lays out the procedure that would need to happen that would force the president out of office. Section four states that when the vice president and the majority of the cabinet must declare in writing that they feel the president is not able to do the job due to some sort of mental incapacitation. This written declaration is sent to the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate. At this point, the vice president would immediately become the President of the United States.
This action does not leave the former president powerless. The president can send a written declaration to the same two people stating that no issues exist and that they can perform their duties. Within four days of this action, the vice president and the majority of the cabinet can once again state that they do not think the president can perform the duties of the office and this would cause Congress to decide the issue. If two-thirds of Congress believe that the President cannot perform the duties of the office, the vice president is installed as the new President of the United States.
This is why Charles Krauthammer says it’s ‘dangerous’ to consider invoking 25th Amendment – TheBlaze – https://t.co/FeSWlcs1fY pic.twitter.com/SJTUOkyp7O
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 17, 2017
Can an argument be made against the mental capacity of Donald Trump to invoke the 25th amendment?
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According to the Washington Post, Representative Jamie Raskin claims President Trump is mentally unfit for the office. Raskin has introduced legislation called the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity Act. Raskin was a constitutional law professor before winning his election last November. He believes that the fourth section of the 25th amendment needs to be used due to Trump’s mental capacity.
“This is a president who has insisted that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy and that Barack Obama was born in Indonesia, and he has uttered blatant lies and never retracted them and that is a sign of a serious mental disturbance.”
Section four of the 25th amendment is a portion of the amendment that has never been used. Other portions of the amendment have been invoked in the past for both Ronald Regan and George W. Bush. In both of theses instances, the 25th amendment was invoked during surgical procedures that they were having. Being under anesthesia qualifies as being incapacitated and for a brief period during those surgical procedures, their vice president was acting president.
The #25thAmendment Solution to Remove #Trump – The New York Timeshttps://t.co/LAHy9uQxve pic.twitter.com/ZMvIRPEbw0
— Gregory Grushko (@ggrushko) May 17, 2017
Would Vice President Pence and a majority of Trump’s cabinet ever consider taking this course of action? Do you think President Trump will end up being removed from office before his term comes to completion?
[Featured Image By Andrew Harnik/AP Photo]
