How can we trigger protections if we don’t know when they should be triggered?
By Jessica Levinson
As Robert Mueller’s investigators begin to hand down indictments and President Donald Trump’s tweets grow ever-more frustrated, the 25th Amendment has once again become a topic of much speculation. But it will take more than a few viral thought pieces — or outspoken Congressional appeals —
to make this liberal pipe dream a reality. This is because, like so
many other Constitutional provisions, it is vague and broad.
Presidential watchdogs can bark all they way, but without clarity, their
bark will always be worse than their bite.
It doesn’t have to be this way, however: This is the moment to give the 25th Amendment teeth.
Briefly, the 25th Amendment allows
the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to tell the President
pro tempore of the Senate (Orrin Hatch) and the Speaker of the House
(Paul Ryan) in writing that the President is “unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office.” If the President doesn’t agree, he has
the option of telling the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House, “not so fast, I’m fine.”
At
that point, Congress acts as a tie-breaker and determines within 21
days whether or not the President is indeed unfit. If the President
loses this review, he can continue to appeal the decision, forcing
Congress to make the same determination over and over again. If this
process sounds messy, that’s because it is.
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Source: NBC News
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