WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08) joined House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08) in introducing legislation that would establish a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office. This legislation would create the body and process called for in Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. for the involuntary transfer of presidential authorities away from the sitting president.
“We cannot sit idly by while an unhinged, erratic President drags our nation deeper into wars and conflicts that endanger the interests and lives of the American people,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “Given the Cabinet’s failure to act, Congress must investigate the clear indications that the President should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment. We must act now to hold the Executive Branch accountable to the Constitution.”
“The Constitution explicitly vests Congress with the authority to create a body that will guarantee the successful continuity of government by responding to presidential incapacity to discharge the powers and duties of office. We have a solemn duty to play our defined role under the 25th Amendment by setting up this body to act alongside the Vice President and the Cabinet. This body should have been set up by Congress when the 25th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1967. We have 535 Members of Congress but just one President and this body is a necessary element of successful continuity of government. Congress should act now to establish a permanent and standing Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office.
“Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilizations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ. We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation,” said Ranking Member Raskin.
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment empowers Congress to establish a permanent “body” that, with the concurrence of the Vice President, can declare that the President is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Although the 25th Amendment was adopted more than 50 years ago, Congress never set up this body called for in Section 4. This bill establishes this independent nonpartisan body: The Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office.
In emergency situations, Congress could pass a concurrent resolution requiring the Commission to examine the President, determine his/her ability to execute the powers and duties of the office, and report its findings to Congress. If presidential incapacity exists according to the Vice President and a majority of the Commission, the Vice President would immediately assume the role of Acting President.
This legislation follows a series of increasingly volatile, incoherent, and alarming public statements by the President regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran, which have raised urgent concerns across the political spectrum about his cognitive fitness.
Congressman Rob Menendez immediately called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked following President Trump’s post on social media last week about eradicating a “whole civilization” in Iran amid the ongoing war.
To read the full text of the bill, please click here. An overview of the legislation and background on the 25th Amendment is available here. FAQs are available here.
