The 25th Amendment Won’t Fix Our Biden Problem
It is not and was never meant to be an alternative to impeachment.
by David Catron
April 24, 2022, 11:24 PM
espite widespread concern about his cognitive health, President Biden won’t be removed from office pursuant to the 25th Amendment. It would require an unlikely display of integrity from his Vice President and Cabinet, plus an implausible level of bipartisanship in Congress. Moreover, the claims of politicians and pundits aside, the involuntary ouster of an unfit president isn’t the purpose of the amendment. Its principal function is to guarantee that the executive branch of the government is at all times led by an official who is conscious and able to communicate. Thus, the first 3 of its 4 sections focus on keeping the presidency continuously occupied.
Section 1:
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2:
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3:
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4 does provide for the removal of a disabled president who has not voluntarily invoked Section 3. However, it prescribes a politically untenable process doomed to failure if the chief executive is conscious and committed to remaining in office. The invocation of Section 4 doesn’t even remove the President from office. Instead, it provisionally transfers his powers to the Vice President, who becomes “Acting President.” But it also allows the suspended chief executive to reclaim his powers by advising Congress that “no inability exists.” To remove the President, his handpicked Vice President and a majority of his Cabinet must declare political war on him — and battlefield conditions would heavily favor the Commander in Chief.
more
https://spectator.org/the-25th-amendment-wont-fix-our-biden-problem/
