Donald Trump Suddenly faced with growing calls for the 25th Amendment, even one of his former cabinet members expressed concerns about the 79-year-old’s behavior and health. Just a day earlier, rumors about the president’s health began to surface on social media, including a visit from Walter Reed. The White House almost immediately dismissed the reports.
Trump’s health update
When the White House called for a media blackout on Saturday, some social media users noted that Trump was avoiding public appearances. Some even claim he was at Walter Reed University.
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The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account fact-checked the reports, tweeting: “While @POTUS wouldn’t talk to the media for 12 hours, unhinged liberals concocted crazy conspiracy theories.”
“There has never been a president who has worked harder for the American people than President Trump. He has been working non-stop at the White House and the Oval Office this Easter weekend. God bless him,” White House Communications Director Amy Chang said.
However, the president made a brief appearance on Easter Sunday. Before playing golf, he toured Washington, D.C.
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Trump’s message to Iran
However, it was only after Trump issued threats against Iran that the 25th Amendment became a focus of discussion. He used expletives in his “Truth Society” post.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day in Iran. It will be unique!!! Open the damn strait, you crazy bastards, or you will live in hell – look! Praise be to Allah,” he wrote.
25th Amendment Call
Some commentators blasted Trump for posting an expletive-laden message on Easter Sunday calling for his impeachment. Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s first White House communications director for 11 days, wrote: “It was at this point that our Founding Fathers decided the best thing to do was to remove a lunatic from the executive office. The practice became more formal with the advent of the 25th Amendment, but now there should be more calls for this man’s removal.”
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U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who sits on the Armed Services Committee, urged Trump to “please take it back.” Kaine told “Meet the Press” that Trump’s language was “embarrassing and childish” and increased the risk for U.S. service members.
“Every professing Christian in his administration needs to get down on their knees and ask God for forgiveness, stop worshiping the president and intervene in Trump’s insanity,” former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who was one of Trump’s most outspoken defenders before her recent resignation, said online of the president’s comments.
What is Section 4 of the 25th Amendment?
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the mechanism for the Vice President and a majority of the principal officials of the executive branch (Cabinet) to declare that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Full text of section 4
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other agency as Congress may by law provide shall submit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall forthwith assume the powers and duties of the Acting President.”
how it works
The Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet (or such other authority as Congress designates) provide Congress with a written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the duties of his office.
The Vice President immediately becomes Acting President and assumes full presidential powers.
The president can challenge this by sending his own statement to Congress stating that he can be reinstated.
If the president objects, Congress must make a decision within 21 days. A two-thirds vote of the House and Senate is required for the vice president to continue serving as acting president. If Congress does not reach a two-thirds majority, the president will remain in office.
