Congressional Democrats have proposed setting up a potential commission that would examine President Donald Trump’s mental and physical ability to be commander in chief through a bill introduced on Tuesday, despite the likelihood it would fail.
The 10-page legislation was introduced by House Judiciary Committee ranking member and Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin and has the backing of 50 co-sponsors. It is unlikely that anything will come of the bill because the House and Senate are Republican-dominated and Trump could veto it; still, the Democrats are using recent actions by Trump to argue for a potential invocation of the 25th Amendment.
“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,” Raskin said in a press release.
After Trump’s post last week warning that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” adding that he doesn’t “want that to happen, but it probably will,” if the leadership of Iran did not open the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a ceasefire deal before his deadline, unlikely bedfellows such as conspiracy theorist Candace Owens and progressive Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for Trump’s removal.
What the commission would do if enacted
The 25th Amendment allows “the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet or such other body” to remove the sitting president if deemed unfit for office. Raskin’s bill would establish a commission under the “other body” of Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.
Under the bill, a 17-member commission would be created, including physicians and former high-ranking officials. If requested by Congress, “The Commission shall carry out a medical examination of the President to determine whether the President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office,” per the bill.
Congressional leadership from both parties would each elect four physicians and four psychiatrists. Those 16 members will then select a 17th to act as chair of the commission. They would then have 72 hours to conduct an exam and another 72 hours to carry out a report.
The White House called out congressional Democrats for political hypocrisy, having not done this when former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline was exposed after being covered up by his inner circle.
“Lightweight Jamie Raskin is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration, when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.”