Members of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet should consider applying the 25th Amendment to remove the president, two US senators have suggested. They said Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump raised questions about his ability to perform his duties.
“We are definitely entering 25th Amendment territory,” wrote Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
“If you think Democrats in Washington and across the country aren’t talking about the 25th Amendment right now, you’re crazy,” wrote Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. “It’s not a question of whether he should be on the ballot. That ship has already sailed. It’s a question of whether he can serve as president now.”
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, establishes a process by which the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can notify the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that the President is unable to exercise the powers and duties of the office, allowing the Vice President to become acting President. Under the amendment, the president can submit a written declaration that there is no disability, at which point he will resume his role.
During the debate, Biden spoke with a hoarse voice and made several verbal errors, including moments of rambling.
If Vice President Kamala Harris and the cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment and Biden does not stop them, Harris would become acting president.
Harris dismissed concerns about Biden’s debate performance.
“A lot of people who are fans and supporters of President Biden or who are Democrats or who are just concerned about the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the presidency feel that this was not a strong performance tonight by President Biden,” said Rachel Maddow of MSNBC to Harris. “I want to hear your assessment and how you respond to these critics.”
“Well, it was a slow start, there’s no doubt about that, but I thought it was a strong finish,” replied the vice president. “What we know is that, when we look at both sides of the scale, what we have in Joe Biden is someone who wanted to have a debate based on facts, based on truth, and in Donald Trump we have what we are already used to expecting, who is someone who will push lies and deflect from the reality of the damage he has created and continues to create in our country.”
Harris said Biden did a “historic job” and did not mention the 25th Amendment.
Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri said Biden had failed to demonstrate he was up to the job.
“There was one thing Joe Biden needed to do tonight and he failed to do it,” McCaskill said. “He needed to accomplish one thing, and that was to reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed to do that tonight.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Biden “is not fit to be commander in chief.” He did not mention the 25th Amendment.
©2024 The Daily Signal. Published with permission. Original in English: “2 Senators Say Biden Debate Performance Raises 25th Amendment Concerns”.
#senators #Bidens #performance #raises #concerns #25th #Amendment