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Increasing talk of using 25th Amendment to strip Trump of power

Since the Feb. 16, press conference, the president has been increasingly referred to as mentally ill, insane, barking mad described in other similar terms. Discussions have increased about using Article 4 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove Trump from office. Under that Amendment, a president’s powers and duties can be taken away if the president unable to carry out the duties of the office of president of the United States.

Article 4 to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution

Article 4 was

President John F. Kennedy  shown in an official portrait  was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 serving...

President John F. Kennedy, shown in an official portrait, was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 serving only three years of his Presidency during which time he was called a champion of labor.
wikimedia commons

passed and ratified by the states in 1967 in the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Although Kennedy died within an hour of being shot, he could have remained alive although incapacitated to the extent he could not perform his duties. Unlike when a president dies, there would be no orderly succession and no functioning president.
READ MORE: Check out Digital Journal’s satirical take on the Trumpweek that was
Article 4 provides if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet (or such other persons as Congress may designate) believe the president can no longer carry out the duties of the office of president, they can declare so in writing. Once this written declaration is forwarded to Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate, the vice president assumes the duties of the presidency.

Unlike impeachment, the president remains the president although without any powers and the vice president is given the title of “Acting president.’ And unlike impeachment, there are no hearings in Congress. Once the House and the Senate receive the written declaration, the vice president automatically assumes the duties of the office of the president.

This provision has never been used although it was discussed in the latter years of the Reagan administration.

Article 4 has a serious flaw

Article 4 envisages the situation where the president is obviously so incapacitated he cannot continue to function. But what if a president is conscious and disagrees with the decision of the vice president and the majority of the cabinet? Anyone who thinks Trump would go along with such a move is crazier than they think he is.

As Vox reported, Trump could then sign a declaration saying his is able to carry out his duties and send this to the House and the Senate. After he does this, he would get his powers back four days later unless, in the interim, the vice president and the cabinet sign another declaration saying once again he is unfit.

If this happens, the decision as to who holds the power of the presidency will be determined by Congress. Until Congress decides, the vice president would remain as the acting president. A two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate are required in order allow the vice president to remain as acting president. Short of that, the president would get all his duties and powers back.

With Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate, it is highly unlikely the vice president would remain acting president if the president was opposed to the idea.

Article 4 was clearly designed for the situation where a president has a serious illness or injuries, recovers, and then informs Congress he is well enough to resume his duties. It was never envisaged to be used in situations where a president is able function but is or thought to be mentally unstable.

Congressman wants Article 4 amended

Rep.

Rep. Earl Blumenaur (D-OR)

Rep. Earl Blumenaur (D-OR)
Official Congressional Portraits

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) wants what he calls the “fatal flaw” in the 25th Amendment to be corrected. He said the use of the Amendment would fail in the case of a president who is “mentally unstable, paranoid or delusional.”

Blumenauer would like to see a bipartisan panel of lawmakers and former presidents be able decide if the current holder of the office of the president is fit to continue to serve.

SEE ALSO: Trump vents, insists ‘zero chaos’ in White House

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