25th Amendment

Neither Impeachment Nor 25th Amendment Required

... vulnerability to their publication long ago, psyops expert Vladimir Putin certainly did long before that. Criminal enterprises can hack the IRS computers, so how hard would it be for Russian software engineers? Trump’s accountants would be an even easier target. If Putin has his taxes, he is unlikely to want to trigger Trump’s resignation—he is, after all, his boy—and thus will allow him some leeway to appear tough toward Russia. But, Putin will use the leverage his has to its maximum advantage without tripping Trump into impeachment or resignation. So-called President Trump is becoming increasingly at odds with Senators John Mc Cain (R-AZ) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC). They could be deciding votes as to whether to subpoena his tax records in conjunction with investigating Russian collusion with Trump. The so-called President has said both that he knows Putin well—to the point where Putin supposedly confided in him years ago his lack of respect for Obama—and that he had never met or spoken to him. His son, Don, Jr., claimed a lot of Russian money in ...

America's Best Hope May Be Section 4

... 3. That’s the part where the president himself can dash off a note to Congress saying he no longer feels up to the task of throwing a blanket of silence over executive agencies and humiliating Mexican officials. That seems … unlikely. Then there’s Section 4. That’s the part where the vice president, along with a majority of cabinet officials, can hand the president a time out and everyone slides over one chair. The option has been there ever since the 25 th Amendment ticked over the magic number of states in 1967, but it’s never been invoked. Mike Pence pulling that string might also seem rather a low odds event, but there’s another complication—what exactly would be considered a majority of Trump’s cabinet? With only three candidates having cleared the Senate and such critical posts as State, Treasury, and Interior still void for the moment, is there anyone who could pull the switch if Donald ...

The 25th Amendment At 50 And What Happens If The President Can't Do His Job

... was incapacitated but not dead. Following a run of other officials who had suggested the same, he called for a Constitutional amendment that would address the matter. " On at least two occasions in our history, and perhaps others, American presidents—James Garfield and Woodrow Wilson—have for prolonged periods been rendered incapable of discharging their Presidential duties," he wrote. "On sixteen occasions in our thirty-six Administrations, the Office of Vice President has been vacant—and over the two perilous decades since the end of the Second World War, that vital office has been vacant the equivalent of one year out of four." (He also noted that the Constitution did not provide for the possibility of subversion of the Electoral College as a possible problem with Presidential succession.). Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter. As TIME noted , the amendment came amidst a flurry of tweaks to the Constitution, during which residents of Washington, D. C., ...

25th Amendment Could Be Alternative To Impeachment

... indicative of a dictator. Yes, every president in my lifetime has issued executive orders. The Constitution allows for executive orders, but it doesn’t mandate them. Trump also is trying to control the news media, another sign of a dictator. EDITORIAL: Will lies take their toll. There is an alternative way to oust Trump that is more feasible than impeachment. Yes, there are legal grounds for impeachment, especially his refusal to give up his businesses or turn them over to a blind trust. But the alternative is Section 4 of the 25 th Amendment, which deals with the contingency of a disabled president. Section 4 of the amendment, which was ratified in 1967, has never been applied, but it was considered toward the end of the Reagan administration, when Ronald Reagan had the early signs of Alzheimer’s. Trump’s mental stability is very much a concern. His impulsiveness could lead to a war. Yes, Vice President Mike Pence would take over, and he too is right wing ...

The Fatal Flaw Of The 25th Amendment Opinion

... best health care in the world, there is no guarantee of successful medical intervention or that he or she would be fully functional during the course of treatment and recovery. There is no better time for Americans to acquaint (or reacquaint) themselves with the provisions of the 25 th Amendment, its history, application, and potential problems and to consider solutions. And it has inherent flaws that need to be addressed. The amendment's default decision-makers- the vice president and the cabinet - have a natural bias toward the existing officeholder that would make them reluctant to acknowledge the president's inability to serve. Additionally, in the case of a president who is suffering from mental illness and is emotionally unstable or irrational, there is no fail safe to prevent him or her from simply firing the entire cabinet to prevent the ...

Will It Soon Be Donald Trump Vs. Mike Pence

... those on Capitol Hill, he's exceptionally popular. If you gave 52 GOP senators a secret ballot and asked if they would prefer Pence or Trump, would Trump get more than a handful of votes? I doubt it. And that, if the facts get dicey and Trump's behavior gets wackier, will be a big problem for Trump. Democrats, as much as they dislike Pence's conservative ideology, would no doubt jump for joy if they got Pence instead of Trump. Republicans would rejoice at the prospect of a "normal' president who might help accomplish their aims. In other words, if down the road the president continues to unravel, there may be a very big bipartisan consensus to show Trump the door. It's not like they'd be getting Clinton; they'd be getting the not erratic, not flashy, not crazy Mike Pence. We are along way from any of that, but Trump's barking up the wrong tree if he thinks the ghost of Hillary Clinton will keep his approval rating high. The American people have moved on from the election. Now the question is whether at some point they'll move beyond him — into Pence's waiting arms. Washington Post. Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a ...

Increasing Talk Of Using 25th Amendment To Strip Trump Of Power

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

Happy 50th Birthday To The 25th Amendment To The Constitution

... address in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 ― but after many decades of experience, lawmakers came to believe that something more specific was necessary. For example, history buffs might remember how Edith Wilson kind of took over the presidency for a time after President Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke. And “Drunk History” buffs might remember Courteney Cox playing Edith Wilson. I mean, can a woman even be president? It still seems uncertain to this day, sometimes! But this is precisely why more guidance was needed. And in the aftermath of the John F. Kennedy assassination, Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) took up the task of creating a Constitutional amendment that would finally spell out the succession process and how a president could be deemed incapacitated. Of all the things Birch Bayh fathered, the 25 th Amendment was definitely not the worst. Here is the text of the 25 th Amendment, in all its glory. Section 1. ...

Democrats Invoke 25th Amendment, Question Trump's Mental Health

... personal physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, told the New York Times that he would not test his mental state if he was appointed as the White House doctor. Some medical experts say allegations about President Trump’s mental health from lawmakers and mental health experts are both baseless, and have a tainted political agenda at their core. “You cannot diagnose someone in the public eye based solely on their TV interviews,” Los Angeles-based cardiologist and internist Dr. Afshine Emrani told Breitbart News. “A lot of these things are politically motivated and it irks me. That’s like me saying someone has heart problems by just seeing them on a TV show. You need to see the patient, examine them, take blood and perform an ECG. You can’t diagnose a heart attack by someone saying they have chest pain on TV. Psychiatry is the same.”. Dr. Emrani said he does not want people to “belittle mental illness because they have a political agenda,” adding, “psychiatric name-calling and bullying is against their professional code. They should be exposed for what they are.” He added, “I can guarantee an overwhelming ...

No, Trump Won’t Be Removed From Office With The 25th Amendment

... to discharge the powers and duties of his office". So what does the 25 th Amendment actually say? The relevant portion, as Olbermann notes, is Section 4, which outlines procedures for the removal of a president deemed “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Once the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet decide that a president is no longer fit, and once the House and Senate have been notified, the vice president can simply take office as acting president. If the president protests to the House and Senate, he is reinstated absent another vote declaring him unfit by the vice president and the Cabinet. If another vote finding the president unfit is taken, Congress is responsible for determining whether to remove the president permanently—throwing one out for good requires a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate. As Olbermann correctly notes, the 25 th Amendment offers no specifics on exactly what kind of inability would warrant removal. Although the amendment is typically referred to as a way to replace deeply infirm or perhaps insane presidents, a president could presumably be removed for any reason relevant to their ability to ...

How Donald Trump Can Be Removed From Power Without Being Impeached

... among Republican senators as to  the Commander-in-Chief's mental state. Mr Pence's public style contrasts with that of Mr Trump, whose all-caps "SEE YOU IN COURT" Twitter outburst on 9 February made headlines, at around the same time the Vice President was tweeting : "Productive listening session w/ bipartisan group of senators. Our Constitution & country will be stronger with Judge Gorsuch on the #SCOTUS". The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued. 9/10 Trump and the media. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing. Getty Images. 10/10 Trump and the Mexico wall. A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near Mc Allen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Getty Images. A deployment of the 25 th Amendment to oust Mr Trump would require a number of variables to fall into place: Mr Pence and ...