Latest in 25th Amendment
The aftermath of the attack on the Capitol exposed challenges of using the 25th Amendment. In its upcoming report, the Jan. 6 committee should clearly explain how the amendment works and propose legislative reforms to close gaps in its implementation.
President Trump’s incitement of insurrection stands out as the worst presidential behavior in America’s two-century history. How can he be kept from doing more damage with only two weeks left in his term?
Public discussion of the 25th Amendment—Section 4 of which provides for transferring an incapacitated president’s powers—has been simmering throughout the Trump administration.
On Monday, the Congressional Research Service published the following report on the 25th Amendment and the many controversies around its treatment of presidential disability.
The New York Times has reported that, in May 2017, shortly after the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein floated the idea of removing President Trump from office under the 25th Amendment. The story is explosive.
The New York Times story will assist Trump’s “Witch Hunt” and “Deep State” narrative, and deepen worries about the stability of our government.
After John Hinckley, Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan and three others outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in 1981, confusion reigned. Reagan was rushed to emergency surgery and Vice President George H.W. Bush was difficult to reach aboard Air Force Two. A Soviet nuclear submarine was moving closer to the United States, but senior officials in the Situation Room quibbled over who was in command of the military. Secretary of State Alexander Haig announced to the press that he was “in charge,” even though he was not next in the line of succession.
Vanity Fair recently reported that White House sources believe the president is “unraveling.” As politicos across a widening swath of the ideological spectrum grow concerned with the president’s conduct, temperament and basic competence, references to the 25th Amendment have proliferated.