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The amendment also specified what to do if the president was "unable to fulfill the powers and duties of his office". After suffering a serious stroke, President Woodrow Wilson was virtually incapacitated. attack and two other major diseases. The nightmare situation was a president who was in a coma, but who could not be removed from office because there was no provision in this regard. In the nuclear age, when a commander-in-chief might have to make decisions that would change the world in minutes, it was no longer considered tolerable.
The amendment has since been relied on to temporarily transfer power to the vice president for short periods of medical procedures, such as when President George W. Bush twice underwent a colonoscopy. But only once before, a member of the White House staff was known to seriously consider invoking the amendment in order to permanently replace the president.
When President Ronald Reagan appointed ex-Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. to the position of Chief of Staff after the Iran-Against scandal, the new team arriving in the West Wing learned that the aging president was more and more inattentive. by Baker's help put it on. White House officials have signed Mr. Reagan's initials to provide him with documents.
But after Mr. Baker ordered the assistants to closely observe the president to see if it would be necessary to invoke the 25th amendment, he came to the conclusion that Mr. Reagan, although older, was still in form. "A few days after our arrival, we had lunch and Senator Baker said," You know, boys, I have no doubt this president is fully capable of serving as President of the United States, "said Tom Griscom. . one of Mr. Baker's aides.
In practice, the idea that Mr. Trump would be removed through the twenty-fifth amendment is more of a fantasy of opposition than a plausible result, in the absence of a significant change in circumstances. The amendment does not define "unable to acquit" and was designed primarily for a situation where a president had a serious health problem, not for a president whose behavior seems erratic and who would fight against the problem. 39; removal.
The amendment can only be used if the vice president is in agreement, and few people can imagine that Mr. Pence, who has released his business card to Mr. Trump, continues without a situation. more extreme. The amendment then requires the support of a majority of the cabinet or other body appointed by the Congress. The Congress never appointed such a body, leaving the matter to the cabinet.
Even if the vice-chair and the majority of the cabinet decided to invoke the amendment, there is an appeal process. The ousted president could inform Congress that he is in fact able to accomplish his tasks, and it would require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to reject that decision and eliminate it – a burden even higher than dismissal. , which only requires a majority in the House and a two-thirds vote of the Senate for conviction and revocation.
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