A Democratic Congresswoman wants to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office for his alleged “mental instability.” The constitutional device was created in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination and allows Congress to replace a president for “incapacity.” Two-thirds of both the House and Senate must agree.
Jackie Speier tweeted late Tuesday night: “POTUS is showing signs of erratic behavior and mental instability that place the country in grave danger. Time to invoke the 25th Amendment.”
The California representative insists the “erratic behavior and mental instability” is due to Trump’s contention that two sides of political extremism were responsible for the violence at Charlottesville last weekend.
Speier, who has never wasted an opportunity to attack the president, has joined the chorus of critics who say Trump should focus all his criticism of the Charlottesville riot on the white supremacists who began the protest but not the left-wing counter-protesters who joined in.
“Mr. President, no ‘good people’ march with torches chanting ‘Jews will not replace us,’ Speier Tweeted in another post.
The 25th amendment has only been invoked twice: when former President Ronald Reagan underwent emergency surgery following the assassination attempt on his life and when former President George W. Bush required a medical operation.
The amendment does not mention the removal of a president either because of “mental instability” or because of policy differences with the members of Congress. The required two-thirds majority vote would also make its implementation highly unlikely in a Republican-controlled Congress.
