President Donald Trump suggested Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to use the 25th Amendment against Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump made the comment on Twitter hours after Pelosi held a press conference announcing a bill that seeks to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office if his health cannot be verified. Trump instead suggested Pelosi plans to use the amendment as a tool to replace Biden with his running mate, Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris, if he wins the election.
Crazy Nancy Pelosi is looking at the 25th Amendment in order to replace Joe Biden with Kamala Harris. The Dems want that to happen fast because Sleepy Joe is out of it!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2020
“This is not about President Trump,” Pelosi asserted Friday. “He will face the judgment of the voters. But he shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents.” (RELATED: ‘Rebounding From A Terrible Mistake’: Pelosi Weighs In On Trump Reopening Stimulus Negotiations)
The 25th Amendment pertains to the presidential line of succession, specifically the circumstances under which the vice president could assume the office of president even when the elected president is still alive. To do so without the written consent of the sitting president requires a written letter from the vice president and a majority of “principal officers of the executive department” to be submitted to Congress saying the president is not fit to continue his role.
If the president then asserts in a written statement to Congress that he is in fact able and then the vice president and majority of executive officers again submit a written statement to the contrary, the final say on whether the president will resume or maintain his office goes to Congress.
The amendment also states that the vice president, if he is not able to secure a majority of principal executive officers, may instead secure a majority of some body previously designated by Congress for that purpose. Pelosi’s proposed legislation would create a commission to fulfill that role.
