Citing 25th Amendment, Pelosi, Raskin move to create panel that could rule on president's fitness for office
Category: News & Politics
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 4 years ago • 30 commentsBy: Felicia Sonmez 5 hrs ago (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Citing 25th Amendment, Pelosi, Raskin move to create panel that could rule on president's fitness for office
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) plan to introduce legislation Friday that would create a commission to "help ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership" in the presidency.
The panel would be called the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, "the body and process called for in the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," the offices of Pelosi and Raskin said in a statement announcing the move.
The 25th Amendment formalizes that the vice president takes over the duties of the presidency in the event of a president's death, inability to perform his duties or resignation from office. It also lays out a process by which a sitting president may be removed from office. Congress's role in this, however, is limited.
President Trump's four-day hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after contracting the novel coronavirus forced the administration to answer questions about the 25th Amendment and succession.
Administration officials said Trump remained on the job despite his hospitalization for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, and there were no plans for Vice President Pence to assume even temporary authority as president. Trump returned to the White House on Monday evening.
[As Trump battles coronavirus, no plans for Pence to assume temporary authority, say administration officials]
Pelosi, who as speaker is second in line to the presidency, previewed the move on Thursday, telling reporters that she would discuss the 25th Amendment on Friday. She did not elaborate.
"Tomorrow, by the way, tomorrow, come here tomorrow," Pelosi abruptly told reporters at her weekly news conference, during which she mainly spoke about the need for a new round of coronavirus economic relief. "We're going to be talking about the 25th Amendment."
Asked toward the end of her news conference whether she could give more details, Pelosi only reiterated her call for reporters to return Friday.
Raskin introduced a similar measure in 2017 that would establish a congressionally appointed commission of physicians and top leaders who could evaluate the president's health — both mental and physical — and work with the vice president on a transfer of power.
At the time, the Maryland Democrat said the move was necessary because Trump had "thrown our country into chaos at every turn" since his inauguration that January.
"For the security of our people and the safety of the Republic, we need to set up the 'body' called for in the 25th Amendment," Raskin said in 2017. "The president can fire his entire Cabinet for asking the same question tens of millions of Americans are asking at their dinner tables, but he cannot fire Congress or the expert body we set up under the Constitution."
Since Trump's discharge Monday, some Democrats have voiced concern about the potential side effects of his medical treatment.
During an interview Wednesday on ABC News's "The View," Pelosi suggested that Trump's covid-19 medications, which include steroids, may be having an effect on his mental capabilities.
"I said yesterday to my colleagues, I said there are those who say that the steroids had an impact on people's thinking. I don't know, but there are those health-care providers who say that," Pelosi said. "Also, if you have the coronavirus, it has an impact, as well."
Under the 25th Amendment, a president could be declared "disabled" and involuntarily removed from office by joint agreement of the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet, something that has never happened.
In an event with the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday, Pelosi dismissed any suggestion of the 25th Amendment being used against Trump before the election.
"I don't think it would work for this president — this presidency," she said.
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Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, have canceled plans to visit Indianapolis on Friday and vote in early balloting at the City-County Building, according to the Marion County Clerk’s Office. There were also other events that were cancelled or postponed.
An adviser to Pence said the reason was not health-related. source
since Indiana is a mostly rural state, pence needs to wait till after the first cold snap when all the flies have died.
Actually it's kind of mean to deprive all those flies....
Poor guy! And I'm talking about the original fly. The other flies are trying to steal his act. @FlyOnMikePence.
They should wait their turn for a chance in the spotlight. That's just good manners, dammit.
It will be interesting to see what she is up to. The House doesn't really have a lot to say about the 25th Amendment. It's more in the hands of the VP, Cabinet, and Senate.
This is just the Democrats again proving they are unfit to lead at any level.
Can't let the election decide things- they don't want to risk it in case their slanted polls are wrong again. So they are still trying to remove Trump by any means necessary.
If the Republicans retain the Senate they should demand demented Joe be bounced (if he wins the election). Then demand the House start impeachment proceeding against Harris for sleeping her way to the top. Doesn't matter if either is completely true. The Democrats are proving that removing a sitting president doesn't have to be based in reality at all.
also, this is kind of funny.
some people will think this even has a chance of happening... LOL
"pelosi will save us"
simply too funny
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It may be a rehearsal for what they might just have in mind for their very own president Biden.
they can rehearse all day long.... this will never be passed into law under this admin.
but yepp, I'm sure the plan is to replace biden with harris if joe were to win.
making their problem the simple fact - joe aint gonna win
and the fact, they can't change the constitution with mere law.
they need an amendment.
this is a dog and pony show.... nothing more.
Did you hear any of the phone interviews Trump did with Fox yesterday? His current state of mind must be addressed. Go ahead and call me names and tell me I have TDwhatever and say crappy things about Hillary, Obama and Joe Biden, but those calls were not examples of Trump's standard blow-hard style. There is something seriously wrong. Whether it's Covid-related or meds-related or perhaps signs of a more serious health issue, it must be addressed.
I blame the media and national business leaders. They should have come together years ago and concluded that they were not going to enable this fool. But both put profit ahead of the national interest.
But John, something is clearly medically wrong. What's happening with him now supersedes what has happened during the last 4 years.
Either something is medically wrong or he is desperate realizing he is most likely going to lose the election in 3 1/2 weeks. His loss of status and the legal fate awaiting him is also driving him to the brink.
But you are right, he may be being effected by the steroids and the other drugs and the illness itself.
I know from experience that 'Covid Fog' is similar to 'chemo-brain', which is a common side-effect experienced by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The horrible thing is that one doesn't always realize how others are perceiving their actions or dialogue. You rely on others to help protect you to a certain degree. The way his inner circle, friends, family, etc.. seem to be handling Trump's medical issues with a seemingly high degree of nonchalance, borders on abusive.
It seems to me she is trying to create a way to basically neuter the power of a sitting President. If she managed to create what she's currently proposing two years ago and the Dems held the Senate, it would create a handle on the presidency she could use in order to either force the President to do her will or be ousted. Then, should the VP not heel, she could do it all over again, putting herself there. It would be a continual sword of Damocles hanging over presidents.
I don't know if this is where she is going, but just about anything she does that would be an attempt to seize power via the 25th Amendment would actually violate that amendment.
When Donald Trump says “everything she said is a lie!” when speaking about Senator Harris, it is clear that his mind is now completely gone. He is arguably the most prolific liar in the history of this country, documented tens of thousands of times. Forget about him calling her a monster and a communist, that’s just typical juvenile Trump behavior - he’s in his own lonely little world.
I agree. I truly think that his current mindset is more health-related and less typical Trump-related. Nancy Pelosi might not be the best person to be addressing the new issues. She is qualified to address the issue, but too many people will chalk it up to partisan nonsense.
Frankly I am tired of commissions and investigations, which haven’t had the impact that is needed to actually protect our country and the world from this mad man. From the very beginning our government set itself up for what we are experiencing, because true democracy can result in a wide range of possibilities. As Trump would say, it is what it is. VOTE THE CANCER OUT OF GOVERNMENT.
Although I am in complete agreement, Trump will have access to all kinds of things, even after he loses the election. I think Nancy Pelosi is going by the book, so to speak. There are steps to take to remove him in a timely manner, and deviation from protocol could mean a federal prison sentence.
Dump Trump 2020, but sooner might be safer for us all.
This all strikes me kinda strange. The 25th amendment is harder to pull off than impeachment, imo. So they are forming a committee to prepare a system, but not for this presidency. Does that mean preparation for future presidents? I'm surprised the republicans haven't picked that up.
Question: One of the side effects of Dexamethasone is behaving irrational. If a person is already irrational and takes Dexamethasone... do they become rational? lol
They become irrationally irrational.
Maybe they are doing this with Biden in mind? I don't know what the concern is, but if Biden becomes incompetent or wants to step down, we already have a pretty efficient system in place for that.
There are some scenarios that fall within the possibility of the 25th amendment. While that amendment is specific, there are time constraints that require a prompt response from Congress. I suspect there is no system in either house to facilitate an orderly response, based on those constraints. We have never seen the 25th amendment, section 4, invoked. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.