On April 7, the NAACP called for the invoking of the 25th amendment against U.S. President Donald Trump. The NAACP is not alone in this regard as Democrats and a few notable Republicans have also argued in favor of invoking the amendment in response to policies and conduct. The specific clause that would be most applicable to this would be Section 4, which is used when the president is deemed unfit for office, but they believe they are fit for office.
Before discussing whether or not it should be invoked, it is important to understand the amendment and the plausibility of it being enforced.
“The 25th amendment is primarily about succession,” government teacher Mr. Cordell said. “If something happens to the president, [such as] the president becomes incapacitated, dies, or is removed from office, then there’s an articulated order in which the position will be filled until the next election.”
From now on, when “invoking the 25th” is used in this article, it is referring to Section 4 of the 25th amendment.
The first requirement for invoking the 25th Amendment is that the Vice President and a majority of the presidential Cabinet must make a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate that the commander in chief is unfit to serve.
After that step, if the President believes that they are able to serve, then they will write a written declaration to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
If the Vice President and a majority of the presidential cabinet reinsists that the President is unfit for office, then Congress will take a vote on whether the President is fit to serve. If a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate declare that the president is unfit for office, then the Vice President will be the Acting President until the President is deemed fit to serve again.
Cole Miller, President of Democratic club, thinks that the likelihood of invoking the 25th is low.
“Trump’s just going to fire people who he thinks are not loyal, and then he’s going to replace them with people who are more loyal. And that’s going to bring down the chance of the cabinet saying he’s unfit to serve,” Miller said. “[And] I think there’s a 30% chance that Vance will flip for power.”
Vice President J.D. Vance has notably flipped opinions in the past, originally calling Trump “America’s Hitler.” He has since recanted these statements.
Cordell also thinks that the Cabinet is the bottleneck.
“It seems doubtful that this cabinet would do that. By all appearances, the cabinet really ingratiates themselves to the executive rather than act as any sort of check. They’re hand-picked,” Cordell said. “This executive famously demands a loyalty oath from people.”
Apoorv Pandey, President of Model U.N. and self-described moderate, also finds the probability of success low, but thinks the later requirements are where the difficulty of invoking the amendment are.
“I think it’s never going to happen as long as Republicans have this majority they have in both the House and the Senate. I don’t think it’ll happen,” Pandey said.
Regardless of the low likelihood of the 25th Amendment being invoked, discussion regarding whether or not now is an appropriate time to invoke it is being raised.
Following the generally unpopular decision to go to war with Iran without consulting Congress, President Trump’s approval ratings have continued to fall. Miller thinks this is largely the reason for the discussion regarding invoking the 25th Amendment.
“He’s insane, he’s nuts. Why are we in a war with Iran? And then he’s upset because Iran is using what they have to fight back against us,” Miller said. “He’s upset because someone is retaliating against him. He’s not getting what he wants, and he’s throwing a fit and there’s still people supporting him.”
Pandey argues it has more to do with the way Trump has communicated to the public regarding the war, but says that this strategy has proven effective in the past.
“I do think the lack of professionalism and decorum the President presents himself with is partially the reason for these 25th Amendment claims being evoked” Pandey said. “It undeniably has led to major breakthroughs. He brokered Pakistan and India’s ceasefire after some tense periods in Kashmir and Jammu.”
Discussions primarily sparked after several notable Republicans spoke in favor of invoking the amendment, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson.
“It’s no secret. Donald Trump is losing his MAGA base,” Pandey said. “Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Green, but even the ones who are aligning with him are getting booed. JD Vance went out to a Turning Point USA event in the University of Georgia, and he got jeered at by young conservatives.”
On the other hand, Miller does not think Carlson’s change in opinion will do much to slow down the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
“I mean, he can convince voters, but at the end of the day, all these Republican people in MAGA, they listen to Trump,” Miller said. “If Trump says they’re bad, they’re bad.”
Regardless of support, the argument in favor of invoking the 25th has never been seen before.
“The 25th has never been invoked as a result of a President’s incoherence,” Pandey said. “It’s been invoked several times in the past due to a President’s assassination or a President’s resignation, but never for incoherence.”
Pandey believes that what the president has done so far does not constitute incoherence.
“Disagreements with the president and his political views does not mean incoherence. Disagreement with how he treats fellow world leaders isn’t incoherent,” Pandey said. “What is incoherent? Is the president able to address the American people? Is the president able to sign actions into law? Is the president able to effectively run a Congress?
The 25th Amendment remains a hotly debated topic, regardless of the low likelihood of it being invoked.
Pandey believes there’s one takeaway: “The 21st century is the most divided century politically in America.”
