A leading House Republican filed a resolution in Congress urging Vice President Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment in the wake of President Joe Biden’s performance Thursday night in the first debate with former President Donald Trump. Even Democrats and Biden supporters described the president’s performance as poor, though few have suggested a need to invoke the 25th Amendment.
“I intend to put forth a resolution calling upon the [vice president] to immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene & mobilize the principal officers of the Cabinet to declare the [president of the United States] is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X on Friday morning.
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, sets up 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 discharge the powers and duties of the office, enabling the vice president to become acting president. Under the amendment, the president can submit a written declaration that no inability exists, at which time he would resume his office.
Throughout the debate, Biden spoke with a raspy voice and made numerous verbal stumbles, including instances of rambling.
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The resolution directly calls upon Harris to take office as acting president.
“Whereas President Joseph R. Biden has repeatedly and publicly demonstrated his inability to discharge the powers and duties of the presidency, including, among others, the powers and duties of the commander-in-chief: Now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives calls upon Vice President Kamala D. Harris to immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare that President Joseph R. Biden is unable to discharge the duties and powers of the office; and to transmit to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives that she will be immediately assuming the powers and duties of the office as acting president.”
If Harris and the Cabinet invoked the 25th Amendment and Biden did not stop them, Harris would become acting president.
But Harris dismissed concerns about Biden’s performance in the debate.
“A lot of people who are fans and supporters of President Biden or who are Democrats or who are just worried about the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the presidency feel like this was not a strong performance tonight from President Biden,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow told Harris. “I want to hear your assessment and how you respond to those critics.”
“Well, it was a slow start, there’s no question about that, but I thought it was a strong finish,” the vice president responded. “What we know is that when you look at the two sides of the ledger, what we had 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 have come to expect, which is someone who will push lies and distract from the reality of the damage he has created and continues to create in our country.”
Harris said that Biden has done “historic work” and did not mention the 25th Amendment.
Yet former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Biden failed to demonstrate that he was up to the job.
“Joe Biden had one thing he had to do tonight, and he didn’t do it,” McCaskill said. “He had one thing he had to accomplish, and that was reassure America that he was up to the job at his age, and he failed at that tonight.”
Two Republican senators also suggested Biden’s performance suggested an inability to carry out his duties.
“We’ve definitely entered 25th Amendment territory,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X.
“If you think Democrats in Washington and across the country aren’t talking about the 25th Amendment right now, you’re crazy,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wrote. “It’s not a question of whether he should be on the ballot. That ship has sailed. It’s a question of whether he can serve as president right now.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Biden’s debate performance will strengthen her calls for Attorney General Merrick Garland to release the tapes of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
“Every member of Congress has a constitutional duty to ensure we have a coherent President,” she wrote on X. “We MUST hear the Hur tapes. A lawsuit can take years. I will be calling up the vote to hold Garland in inherent contempt this morning. This is a national security issue.”
