Is there any reason to consider using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump in lieu of Impeachment? The only benefit I can see is outsourcing the first move to overcome inertia. If a panel decides the President is unfit, and Pence agrees, Pence becomes acting President. There’s more to it described below.
First consider the Impeachment process:
Article 1 Section 2, line 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Article 1, Section 3, line 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
The House needs a simple majority to impeach, then it goes to trial in the Senate, where a 2/3 vote is needed for conviction.
Political pressure will continue to mount as new stories about Trump surface. It’s possible Trump’s support in Congress will begin to crumble making Impeachment viable.
Now consider the 25th Amendment process:
Here is what both Trump and Pence swore to with a hand on the Bible.
Article 2, Section 1, line 8: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
One of the most important duties of the President is to be the Commander in Chief of our military.
Article 2, Section 2, line 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
To carry out such duties, the President must be briefed on the nation’s secrets. If the President is unable to be trusted with the nation’s secrets, one has to ask if he can fulfill the duties he swore to uphold. How can you be the Commander in Chief if you are kept in the dark on the most important secret information. An uniformed Commander in Chief cannot keep the nation safe and could endanger our troops. It’s not possible for Trump to fulfill his promise to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”.
25th Amendment, line 4: Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Congress could establish a “body as Congress may by law provide” with a simple majority. This panel of experts could be tasked with determining the President’s fitness for office. They could consider his mental health. While Trump appears mentally unfit, that’s a very difficult thing to prove.
Another route would be to consider his inability to handle classified information as discussed above. If this body determines Trump is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
The benefit of this approach is it takes the heat off Republicans in Congress. They just vote to establish a panel. If the panel (or a majority of the Cabinet) and Pence decide Trump is unfit for office, Pence becomes President. It would be Pence’s patriotic duty to take over for Trump right? Then the following plays out:
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
This part is a little confusing. But basically if Pence assumes power, based on his own and the panel’s findings, both chambers would need a 2/3 vote to keep Pence as President. Considering the alternative, that’s a likely outcome. If that vote fails, Trump returns to office, pissed off beyond belief.
No matter what the outcome, Republicans would be running for the hills to save their own skin. Pence as President is no comfort, but he is a little more sane, and he’d be in a weak position taking the office from Trump. The investigations will probably nail Pence and Ryan as well.