By Earl Blumenauer
Last Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which allows for the replacement of the president of the United States in the event of his (or her!) incapacity. Not since the 1997 blockbuster “Air Force One” has the 25th Amendment received as much attention as it has in the weeks following the inauguration of Donald Trump.
Under this provision of the Constitution, a president can temporarily relinquish and reclaim the powers of the office. It also provides that the vice president, together with the majority of the cabinet or with some “other body” approved by Congress, may determine if the president is incapable of fulfilling his or her responsibilities and remove them.
Throughout American history there have been numerous examples of presidents who were rendered incapable of performing their responsibilities, notably President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 after suffering a stroke and President James A. Garfield in 1881 during his lingering 78-day struggle after he was shot by a disgruntled office seeker.
More recently, staff in the Reagan White House considered whether to invoke these provisions, expressing concerns with the President’s mental capability – perhaps recognizing the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. There has also been temporary application, for example, in the case of a minor medical procedure that rendered President George W. Bush unconscious.
The erratic behavior of Donald Trump has raised new questions about his mental and emotional capacity to discharge the tremendous burdens of the most powerful position in the world. It is the president who has the ability to launch nuclear weapons, unleashing untold devastation on the world. Presidents can create diplomatic chaos or move markets with the most carefully crafted declarations, let alone late-night tweets with the grammar and misspellings of a fifth-grader and decidedly unpresidential tone.
Share your opinion Submit your essay of 500 words or less to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification.
Regardless of what happens with Donald Trump, this issue will arise again. Presidents are subject to illness, accident, or–God forbid–physical attack. Americans are living longer. The current occupant of the White House assumed office at the age of 70. While the president of the United States has access to the best health care in the world, there is no guarantee of successful medical intervention or that he or she would be fully functional during the course of treatment and recovery.
There is no better time for Americans to acquaint (or reacquaint) themselves with the provisions of the 25th Amendment, its history, application, and potential problems and to consider solutions.
And it has inherent flaws that need to be addressed. The amendment’s default decision-makers– the vice president and the cabinet — have a natural bias toward the existing officeholder that would make them reluctant to acknowledge the president’s inability to serve. Additionally, in the case of a president who is suffering from mental illness and is emotionally unstable or irrational, there is no fail safe to prevent him or her from simply firing the entire cabinet to prevent the application of the amendment.
The alternative process spelled out by the amendment leaves the decision to the vice president and a so-far-undefined body created by Congress. This body needs to be determined. I’m exploring legislation that would designate that “other body” to be composed of a majority of former presidents and vice presidents to be a part of that deliberation. This group of people understands the pressures of the office and what’s necessary to discharge the responsibilities. Further, they all won national elections and were tested by actually discharging the responsibilities.
Regardless of what recommendations people may have to clarify and improve the process, it’s appropriate that we revisit it now. The most important position in the world needs to perform seamlessly. When there are serious questions about the ability of the president to fulfill his or her constitutional responsibilities, there should be a clear path forward for an orderly transition of power.
Let’s mark the anniversary of the 25th Amendment and do our duty to the American people by bringing it up to date.
Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat, represents Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
