25th Amendment explained as lawmakers call for it be used on Donald Trump
Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, Joe Biden, JD Vance
Alice Wade
Featured Image Credit: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Iran, Joe Biden, JD Vance
Lawmakers have been calling for Donald Trump to be removed from office after he wrote an 'unhinged' post on Truth Social about Iran - but how would the process actually work?
Over the Easter weekend, Trump threatened to bomb Tehran's power plants and bridges, writing on Truth Social: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.
"There will be nothing like it!!! ‘Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."
Following that post, some politicians are now calling on the 25th Amendment to be invoked, which would remove Trump from the Oval Office.
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Among those calling for this is Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, who shared a social media post over the weekend, encouraging those in Trump's cabinet to call constitutional lawyers about enacting the 25th Amendment.
"If I were in Trump's Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He's already killed thousands. He's going to kill thousands more," he said.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Democrat, also called Trump’s Truth Social post ‘the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual’.
This has had many pondering what exactly the 25th Amendment is. Well, we're here to explain.
The law is divided into four sections. The first states that if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president - currently JD Vance - will assume the presidency.
According to section two, if the VP is unable to perform their duties, the president can nominate a replacement who will assume power only after being approved by Congress.
The third section also states that the president can temporarily allow their VP to sit in the Oval Office to act as leader if they themselves are not fit for work.
Most are familiar with the 25th Amendment for its fourth section, though, which allows an acting president to be legally removed from office.
Declaring the amendment isn't as easy as it sounds.
The process requires the vice president and the cabinet to declare that their leader is ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office’.
Should officials do so, Trump would immediately be stripped of his powers. He could then send a letter to the White House in an attempt to convince him of his ability to lead, to which Vance would have four days to send a declaration to congressional leaders saying otherwise.
A congressional vote would then be held within 21 days, and if two-thirds of the House and the Senate agree that he is an unfit leader, he would be permanently removed. In the case the vote falls below this, he would resume his duties.