Thread by @ChadPergram

A) User’s Manual to Pelosi’s Bill on the 25th Amendment And a President’s Fitness for Office

B) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) today introduced a bill which could modify conditions under which a President is sidelined from office if he or she is judged to be unfit.

C) The U.S. ratified the 25th Amendment to the Constitution in 1967 to address this issue.

D) Section 3 of the 25th Amendment allows a President to voluntarily transfer power to the Vice President, if say, he or she were undergoing surgery or a medical procedure. This happened in 1985 with President Ronald Reagan and in 2002 with President George W. Bush.

E) Section 4 of the 25th Amendment calls for a President to be sidelined if he’s deemed unfit for office. Such a situation could stem from an unforeseen incident, such as an accident or a medical emergency.

F) The 25th Amendment should have been invoked in March, 1981, after the assassination attempt on President Reagan’s life and his subsequent surgery.

It never was.

G) Section 4 also provides a mechanism for the President to be stripped of his powers involuntarily if “the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” Such verbiage could cover a variety of issues.

H) President Trump and other loyalists are portraying the Pelosi/Raskin legislation as “a coup” or “impeachment 2.0.”

I) One may certainly question why Pelosi would allow Democrats, already doing well in the polls, to be sidetracked by such a discussion, just weeks before the election.

J) “This is not about President Trump. He will face the judgment of the voters. But this shows the need for us to create a process for future Presidents,” said Pelosi.

K) That may be. But frankly, this was, as they say in the military, “psy-ops” by Pelosi. She was clearly trying to bring attention to what Democrats see as problematic conduct by the President of late - and - rent space inside the President’s head.

L) But to be clear: This plan introduces today in no way attempts to remove him from office or sidetrack him because of his positive coronavirus test.

M) Under Section 4, The Vice President and a majority of the cabinet may vote to transfer power to the Vice President if they judge the President to be incapacitated. But Section 4 includes a provision where “Congress may by law” insert itself into the process.

N) The legislation unveiled today gives Congress a say in removing a President. The bill would create a 17-person commission (16 members, plus a chair) to decide the fitness of the President.

O) Two of the three entities – the Vice President, the cabinet and/or the commission established by this legislation – would have to decide if the President was unfit to serve.

P) Again, this is legislation. It must move through the House and Senate and be signed by a President. Pelosi indicated today this was legislation the House may address next year.

Q) And, Congress is potentially able to implement this via law, not by amending the Constitution, because of the provision in Section 4 permitting Congress to pass a law to get involved in the process itself.