What is the 25th Amendment? GOP’s call to boot Biden has Kamala Harris as the key piece

Republican lawmakers have called for Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and rule Biden unable to serve as president in the aftermath of the special counsel report noting his “poor memory.” With calls of Biden being unfit for office growing, it is worth visiting how the 25th Amendment allows for a president to be removed and what part each affiliated party has to play. How does the 25th Amendment work? The 25th Amendment has four sections, each one detailing presidential succession and incapacity procedures. Section 1 confirms that the vice president is elevated to president if the presidency is vacant, while Section 2 explains how a vacancy in the vice presidency is filled, via appointment and confirmation by a majority of both chambers of Congress. Section 3 outlines when the president can temporarily give their power to the vice president, in the role of acting president, when the president is unable to perform their duties. The president must notify the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House when he is doing so and when he is again able to perform his duties. The category getting the most attention in the aftermath of the special counsel report is Section 4, which allows the vice president, with a majority of the Cabinet, to send a letter to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House declaring the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” at which point the vice president assumes the position of acting president. If the president contests the assessment from their vice president and Cabinet, they can resume their duties unless that same group reaffirms their stance to the Senate’s president pro tempore and the speaker of the House within four days. If the vice president and the majority of the Cabinet still declare the president unable to perform their duties, Congress would then have 48 hours, if not in session, to return to take up the matter. Congress then has 21 days after assembly to vote on whether the president is able to perform their duties. If two-thirds of both the Senate and the House of Representatives vote that the president is incapable, the vice president remains in place as acting president. If the vote falls short in either chamber, the president remains in place. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Has the amendment ever been used? Since the amendment was ratified in 1967, the first three sections have been used at least once. Section 1 was used in 1974 when Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency, and Section 2 was used once in 1973 and then again in 1974 to appoint and confirm Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller, respectively, as vice president. Section 3 has been used four times, giving the vice president the power of acting president for a temporary time. Each of the four times was done while the president was undergoing a medical procedure. Section 4 has never been used, but there was pressure for then-President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and then-Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the section after the aftermath of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. President Joe Biden holds hands with Vice President Kamala Harris as he speaks at a reception in recognition of Black History Month in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER What would invoking the 25th Amendment mean for Kamala Harris? Such a move appears extremely unlikely and would need to be with the support of most Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate to avoid embarrassment. If Harris and a majority of Biden’s Cabinet were to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, it would be a historic move and a massive risk to declare her current running mate for the 2024 election unable to perform his duties as president. If Section 4 were invoked and Biden was successfully ruled unable to perform his duties as president, Harris would not assume the presidency itself but would take on the duties of the presidency as acting president. TAGS25th AmendmentCabinetJoe BidenKamala HarrisNewsWashington D.C. Related Content Will Trump secure a 9-0 victory at the Supreme Court? February 9, 2024 6:30 am A container ship is unloaded at the Virginia International Gateway terminal in Norfolk, Va., Friday, May 10, 2019. 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