25th Amendment: Section 4 - Removal of a President Who is Unable or Unwilling to Perform His Duties!

[jgarden]

25th Amendment: Section 4 Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
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Section 4: Vice Presidential–Cabinet declaration
Section 4 is the only part of the amendment that has never been invoked. It allows the Vice President, together with a "majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide", to declare the President disabled by submitting a written declaration to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. As with Section 3, the Vice President would become Acting President.

Section 4 is meant to be invoked should the President's incapacitation prevent him from discharging his duties, but he is unable or unwilling to provide the written declaration called for by Section 3. The President may resume exercising the Presidential duties by sending a written declaration to the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House.

Should the Vice President and Cabinet believe the President is still disabled, they may within four days of the President's declaration submit another declaration that the President is incapacitated.

If not already in session, the Congress must then assemble within 48 hours. The Congress has 21 days to decide the issue.

If within the 21 days two-thirds of each house of Congress vote that the President is incapacitated, the Vice President would "continue" to be Acting President.

Should the Congress resolve the issue in favor of the President, or make no decision within the 21 days allotted, then the President would "resume" discharging the powers and duties of his office. The use of the words "continue" and "resume" imply that the Vice President remains Acting President while Congress deliberates.

However, the President may again submit a written declaration of recovery to the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House.

That declaration could be responded to by the Acting President and the Cabinet in the same way as stated earlier.

The specified 21-day Congressional procedure would start again.

Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia
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The 25th Amendment Section 4 allows for the Vice President to replacement of the President who is incapacitated but is either "unable or unwilling" to provide a written declaration

If the first month of the Trump Administration is any indicator, we are all going to become much more aware of the 25th Amendment and the means by which Mike Pence could be elevated to the Presidency.

 

[redleghunter]

Last time this was discussed was during the Clinton presidency. Some moderate pundants mentioned the president was compromised with his Monica Lewinsky scandal.

There was talk under the radar he would get counseling and be temporarily incapacitated while attending sessions to control his sexual behavior.

However, all was chalked up to opponents just trying to make hay out of nothing. Kind of like the leaked material coming out of the WH these days, it was probably a disgruntled employee.

 

[redleghunter]

25th Amendment: Section 4

[/QUOTE]
Oh I forgot...Why would this apply to a president only serving a month in office? What hasn't he done and what would constitute action?

 

[faroukfarouk]

Oh I forgot...Why would this apply to a president only serving a month in office? What hasn't he done and what would constitute action?[/QUOTE]
I was just going to ask a similar question...

 

[jgarden]

Oh I forgot...Why would this apply to a president only serving a month in office? What hasn't he done and what would constitute action?

The 25th Amendment has become the most "googled" search for the Constitution and its Amendments on the web.

VP Pence, the Secretary of Defense and Senator John McCain have spent the last few days reassuring NATO allies that America doesn't consider the alliance obsolete - a complete repudiation of Trump's stated position!

The Secretary of Defense has reassure the Iraqis that, despite Trump's repeated threats, America will not take their oil as the spoils of war - an act which could be considered a "war crime" under the Geneva Convention!

How long will Republican politicians and appointees be content to clean up the daily "droppings" left by the Elephant in the White House, and finally come to the conclusion that he is no longer serving the best interests of the country?

 

[SeventyOne]

His opposition has been angry, screaming, whining, complaining, gossiping and backstabbing ever since election night. This is just another of their irrational dreams right up there with when they were threatening the Republican delegates with bodily harm if they didn't change their votes, or all this among the unhinged who were hoping he'd end up assassinated.

 

[faroukfarouk]

What needs to be understood, I guess, is that NATO was begun in the Cold War in 1949.

While some of the underlying geopolitical tensions still exist, the Cold War is over; thus President Trump's strong implication that the US needs to move forward with a new emphasis, makes sense.

Canada was actually very active at NATO's inception. While it was indeed a military alliance during the Cold War, yet right from the start also there was a political aspect to it also: the Atlanticists were understood to hold to shared values about the sort of life that NATO was defending. Senator McCain is also right.
(But please, NATO allies - whatever their positions - are not going to pay much attention to figures of speech about elephant excrement.)

 

[redleghunter]

The 25th Amendment has become the most "googled" search for the Constitution and its Amendments on the web.

VP Pence, the Secretary of Defense and Senator John McCain have spent the last few days reassuring NATO allies that America doesn't consider the alliance obsolete - a complete repudiation of Trump's stated position!

The Secretary of Defense has reassure the Iraqis that, despite Trump's repeated threats, America will not take their oil as the spoils of war - an act which could be considered a "war crime" under the Geneva Convention!

How long will Republican politicians and appointees be content to clean up the daily "droppings" left by the Elephant in the White House, and finally come to the conclusion that he is no longer serving the best interests of the country?

None of the above falls under the 25th amendment. It may just be we have a president now who does not ascribe to the neo-con and liberal warmongering we have seen since 1989.

Just because there is hysteria on Google search engines does not create a Constitutional crisis. Trump won and some need to get used to it instead of trying to find loop holes where there are none.

Maybe it was easier for an old Soldier to accept an unvetted community organizer as commander in chief. He raised his right hand and immediately became my boss. Which means I continued to serve proudly under Obama. Did so for the previous three presidents.

Sometimes when things don't go the way we want them we should remember the Serenity Prayer:

Serenity Prayer
- Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.

Serenity Prayer

I know some who post here are skeptics on God so I leave them with Seinfeld :

 

[grandvizier1006]

"Unable"
Being unable to do something and doing it badly are too different things. Someone doing things you don't like also doesn't make them unable.
"Unwilling"
Trump looks pretty willing to stay in office to me.

 

[Redac]

"I don't like him!" isn't a legitimate reason to remove the President.

 

[redleghunter]

"I don't like him!" isn't a legitimate reason to remove the President.

Oh but there are efforts to do just that.

Flynn and the Russians---fail

 

[Nithavela]

Last time this was discussed was during the Clinton presidency. Some moderate pundants mentioned the president was compromised with his Monica Lewinsky scandal.

There was talk under the radar he would get counseling and be temporarily incapacitated while attending sessions to control his sexual behavior.

However, all was chalked up to opponents just trying to make hay out of nothing. Kind of like the leaked material coming out of the WH these days, it was probably a disgruntled employee.

Good to hear that all ended well for Bill.

 

[Uncle Siggy]

Let me guess if the President isn't doing what the Progressives want then he is unfit to hold the office of POTUS, right??? Considering over 1300 Progressive politicians have been voted out of office the last 6 years I don't think this little idea will gain much traction...

Its all just a

...

 

[TLK Valentine]

His opposition has been angry, screaming, whining, complaining, gossiping and backstabbing ever since election night.

He hasn't been much better. The leader of the formerly free world should rise above his critics -- not sink beneath them.

 

[SeventyOne]

He hasn't been much better. The leader of the formerly free world should rise above his critics -- not sink beneath them.

The so-called self-proclaimed tolerant left will never be able to hold that title again. They are the one's rioting, causing violence, faking racial acts against themselves and blaming others, threatening and actually harming others, destroying property, and attempting to destroy the nation by threatening succession because they didn't get their way. Even members of Congress went on record for wanting to start impeachment proceedings even before he ever took the oath of office.

They have been a total global embarrassment to this nation and they show no signs of stopping. He doesn't have any real critics to rise above. All he has is a bunch of spoiled media brats who try to twist and spin every move he makes into some point to cast blame and millions of lapdogs believing everything they are being told to believe and thinking everything they are being told to think.

 

[TLK Valentine]

The so-called self-proclaimed tolerant left will never be able to hold that title again.

They never did -- the "title" was foisted upon them by the right -- ironically, of course.

Perhaps the left has finally bought what the right's been selling all these years?

 

[KCfromNC]

His opposition has been angry, screaming, whining, complaining, gossiping and backstabbing ever since election night.

That's no way to talk about the president's cabinet and his vice president.

 

[Gadarene]

How long will Republican politicians and appointees be content to clean up the daily "droppings" left by the Elephant in the White House, and finally come to the conclusion that he is no longer serving the best interests of the country?

Sadly, I think it's prudent not to underestimate the extent to which the right will sell out. I suspect things will have to get really quite bad before the 25th amendment is exercised.

 

[Tallguy88]

He hasn't been much better. The leader of the formerly free world should rise above his critics -- not sink beneath them.

"Formerly free"? Are we now unfree since Trump took office?

 

[TLK Valentine]

"Formerly free"? Are we now unfree since Trump took office?

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