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Democrats sparked an angry tirade from Donald Trump on Friday by proposing a Congressional commission to assess whether U.S. presidents are capable of or should be removed from office.
The tactic came a week after Trump was airlifted to a military hospital for coronavirus treatment and 25 days before the election. The president returned to the White House on Monday but has caused concern over his erratic behavior.
“This is not about President Trump. It will face the judgment of the voters, but it shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference in which she also attacked the British prime minister. minister, Boris Johnson.
But the timing was impossible to ignore, as Trump has continued to give rambling television interviews, tweeting false and contradictory statements, and potentially putting his own White House staff in danger by defying public health guidelines.
The president tweeted in response: “Crazy Nancy Pelosi is considering Amendment 25 to replace Joe Biden with Kamala Harris. Democrats want that to happen fast because Sleepy Joe is out of line! “
The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution establishes the procedure for the vice president to assume the functions of president if he dies or resigns or it is determined that he is unable to fulfill the functions of the office.
Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, introducing the legislation on Friday, said: “The 25th Amendment is about the stability of the presidency and the continuity of the office.
“Now, it has never been necessary, but the authors of the 25th Amendment thought it was essential in the nuclear age to have a safety valve option and, as they used to say, we have 535 members of Congress but we only have one president.”
He added: “In the era of Covid-19, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans and has now devastated White House staff, the wisdom of the 25th Amendment is clear. What if a president, any president, ends up in a coma or with a fan and has not made provisions for the temporary transfer of power? This situation is the one that demands action ”.
This panel would be known as the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Perform the Powers and Duties of the Office. Raskin, a professor of constitutional law, said it would be bipartisan with 17 members, including medical staff, and could only act in concert with the vice president.
When asked about the timing of the bill, Raskin explained that “this situation has focused everyone’s mind” on the 25th Amendment.
Pelosi repeated her insistence that it did not apply to Trump: “Again, this is not any judgment someone has about someone’s behavior. This is not about any of us making a decision on whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked. That’s not the point. That is not up to us. “
Invoking Amendment 25 would require the support of Vice President Mike Pence and members of Trump’s cabinet. There have been no indications that this is imminent.
A reporter asked Pelosi if Johnson was an example of someone whose ability to govern was reduced by the coronavirus. She replied, “I have no idea. Nor do I have from President Trump.
“I just clearly stated that he is on medication. Any of us on medication of that severity is in an altered state. He has bragged about the medication he has taken. And again, there are articles from medical professionals who say, as stated above, that this could have an impact on the trial. “
He then made a surprise attack on UK efforts to create a vaccine, outlining the US Food and Drug Administration’s “very strict” rules for clinical trials and approval. “My concern is that the UK system for that type of trial is not on par with ours in the US. So if Boris Johnson decides that he’s going to approve a drug and this president accepts it, that’s the concern I have about any similarity between the two. “
The 25th amendment initiative was not without political risks for Democrats, as Trump allies tried to portray it as a pre-election takeover. Josh Holmes, former chief of staff and campaign manager for Senate Majority Leader Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, tweeted: “Every time I think our goose is cooked, Nancy Pelosi grabs the mic and I say to myself, we still have a chance. “
Trump was airlifted to a military hospital on October 2 after testing positive for Covid-19. He spent three nights there receiving a menu of treatments before his doctors told him he was well enough to be discharged. He returned to the White House and immediately removed his mask, drawing criticism.
Since then, his conduct has raised concerns, even by the turbulent standards of the Trump presidency. He suddenly canceled negotiations with Congress on an economic stimulus package, catching his Republican allies by surprise, but then made an equally jarring U-turn. And he boasted of being a “perfect physical specimen” and “extremely young” in another Fox phone interview.
Both Trump’s doctors and White House officials still refuse to say when the president received his last negative test, raising questions about who he might have infected.
Trump raised the idea that he could travel to a rally Saturday in Florida, but the administration indicated Friday morning that it was unlikely.
