Trump opponents consider Amendment 25
Provides allows VP, Cabinet to declare president unable to serve
By: Mary Wairath-Holdridge
USA Today
..... Several lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump's Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance to boot him from office using a never-before-invoked provision of the constitution.
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Some Democrats, including Representative Yasamin Ansari, D-Arizona, Senator Ed Makey, D-Massachusetts and Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-California, called for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office following news that the president sent a text to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, saying the United States' plans to take control of Greenland stemmed from his not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
..... Trump sent the text on Janaury 18, [2026] saying in part, "considering Your Country decided not give me the Nobel Peace Prize for ah=having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace."
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The text has been described as a "last straw" for some Trump opponents, who called it an example of the president's ailing facilities.
..... The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lays out the rules of succession for the presidential office and those for presidential or removal.
..... The first two sections of the amendment clarify to take over it the president vacates office due to death, removal or resignation. It also details a means of filling the potion of vice president if it became vacant; previously no new vice president would be appointed until a new president took office. The amendment cerated a process sin which the president nominates a new vice president, who then has to be confirmed by a majority vote in Congress,
..... Section 3 allows the president to voluntarily transfer presidential power to the vice president temporarily through a written declaration of sang they are unable to fulfill the presidency's powers and duties. in this case, the vice president does not become the president - they serve as the acting president until the president declares in writing that ample of when the may be use dis the president planning to undergo a medical procedure.
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Section 4 concerns the removal of a president who is unable or unwilling to perform their duties. In the case the president is incapable of serving but does not voluntarily transfer power, they can be declared unable to hold the position by the vice president along with a "majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may be law provide."
..... If the vice president and Cabinet members issue a written declaration to Congress declaring the president incapable, the vice president immediately becomes the acting president does remain in office in this case, through the authority is temporarily stripped. A 2018 Congressional Research Service report said that in a modern scenario, the majority of current or acting head of 15 Cabinet positions would need to agree with the vice president to invoke 25th Amendment.
.... Legal scholars have citied impeachment, physical disability or "political emergencies" like kidnapping as potential scenarios for the use of Section 4.
..... Theoretically, the 25th Amendment can be invoked by or against any sitting president. However, the bar for clearing its use is much higher than for other actions like impeachment.
..... Modern interpretations form scholars at institutions like Cornell Law and the Congressional Research Service say the majority, if not all, of the acting cabinet heads would need to sign on with the vice president to put Section 4 into action.
..... Neither JD Vance and nor any of the relevant Cabinet members have express support for removing trump or taking punitive action against him.
...... What qualifies as being "unable' to serve as the president is a sticking point when speaking about Section 4. Yale Law School, for example, said traits like "inept," "Lazy," or "inattentive" aren't likely to be a basis alone.
..... Even if Vance and other Cabinet members were to sign a letter and send it to Congress, the president can take power back by declaring to Congress in writing that no inability exists. The vice president and Cabinet, or a special body formed by Congress, would then have to object.
..... Congress must convene within 48 hours of the 25th amendment being invoked and have 21 days to make a decision. If the president makes a declaration that they are fit to serve and it is not contested, they resume duties. If the president makes such a declaration but is contested, two-thirds of the House and Senate must agree to allow the vice president to act as president until the president is considered able to serve and can file another declaration after Congress votes on the question, according to the National Constitution Center.
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The 25th Amendment was proposed in 1965 and passed in 3967, driven largely by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. prior to its passage, nine presidents were at least temporarily incapacitated by health issues and six died, according to Britannica, crating questions around interim leadership and transfer of power.
..... Section 1 and 2 of the amendment activated during Richard Nixon's presidency in 1973 and 1974, when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned sand was preprepared by Gerald Ford., who then replaced Nixon upon his resignation over Watergate. Nelson Rockefeller then filled the empty position of vice president.
..... section 3 has been formally invoked twice and informally used a third time. President Ronald Reagen signed a letter mentioning that he was mindful of Section 3 before going under general anesthesia for a colonoscopy on July 12, 1985. and named vice President George H.W. Brush acting president from 11:28 AM. until 7:22 PM., he was ready to signed a letter saying he was ready to take back over.
..... President George W. Brush handed temporary presidential powers over the Vice President Dick Cheney before a colonoscopy on June 29, 2002, and again on July 21, 2007. Both times, Cheney was acting president for roughly two hours.
..... Biden also invoked Section 3 on November 19, 2021, making vice president Kamala Harris the first woman to hold the power and duties of the president in U.S. history for a little over an hour.
..... Section 4, the act of involuntary removal that Democratic leaders are likely referring, has never been invoked.