GOP Senator Asks if It Is ‘Time To Exercise the Provisions of the 25th Amendment’
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is raising questions about President Joe Biden’s ability to discharge the duties of his office as chaotic scenes from Afghanistan are being broadcast around the world. In a tweet on Monday…
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is raising questions about President Joe Biden’s ability to discharge the duties of his office as chaotic scenes from Afghanistan are being broadcast around the world.
In a tweet on Monday, Scott wrote, “After the disastrous events in Afghanistan, we must confront a serious question: Is Joe Biden capable of discharging the duties of his office or has time come to exercise the provisions of the 25th Amendment?”
The Florida senator’s tweet followed the Taliban’s take over of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Scott shared a tweet from a couple of days ago noting that the Taliban were on the verge of taking control of Kabul, the ongoing surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the expiration of the suspension on the limit of the amount of debt the U.S. can owe.
The 25th Amendment lays out a process to take power away from a president. As NPR reports, “The language of the amendment says if the vice president and either a majority of the executive Cabinet or a review body appointed by Congress declare in writing that the president is unfit for office, then the vice president immediately becomes the acting president.”
The amendment provides a mechanism for the president to contest the charge that they are unfit for office.
The outlet also notes that the 25th Amendment has never been used to remove a president.
In June, 14 House Republicans penned a letter to Biden “to express our concern with your current cognitive state,” and demand that he take a cognitive test.
Biden has defended his cognitive abilities. During an interview with CBS News in August 2020, he was asked if he had taken a test for cognitive decline.
“No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test? Come on, man,” Biden responded.
And during a press conference in June 2020, he said, “Look, all you gotta do is watch me, and I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive capability to the cognitive capability of the man I’m running against.”