Let's talk about a 25th Amendment Commission being set up for Trump.... - Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about a 25th Amendment Commission being set up for Trump.

Okay. After numerous calls from commentators on both the left and the right to pursue the 25th Amendment because of Trump's increasingly erratic behavior some members of Congress are pushing for a commission to be set up. Some quick background.

The 25th Amendment allows the president to be removed if he's unable to perform the duties of the office. People always focus on the Cabinet removing the President. But there's another method outlined in the 25th Amendment that allows Congress to set up an alternate body to review presidents. There will be a full explainer on the 25th Amendment down below.

Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland seems to be running point on a plan that would create a commission of 17 people. Eight of those people will be former high-ranking members of the executive branch. Half appointed by Republican leadership, half by Democratic leadership. Eight people on the committee will be doctors, half medical and half psychiatric. Those 16 people will elect a 17th person to be chair by simple majority.

Raskin released a statement saying, "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 insulting the Pope of the Catholic Church, and sends out artistic renderings online, likening himself to Jesus Christ.”

It goes on, “We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation.”

While the statement is about Trump and his more frequent moments of behavior that can't really be explained, the bill really doesn't target Trump. It's bipartisan in structure, and the commission doesn't end when Trump leaves office. If this passes, this commission will be a permanent fixture.

Republicans who believe Joe Biden was suffering from dementia should be supportive of the idea. If they aren't, well, you know, everything they said was just something to rile up their base and they don't really believe it was an issue or they do believe it was an issue, but they would rather protect their party's president than do anything to remedy the situation.

All partisanship aside, this commission needs to exist. There's a reason the 25th Amendment gave Congress the power to set up a body like this. The Cabinet are the people who could benefit the most from a president who is easily manipulated because of mental decline and under the minimums outlined in the 25th Amendment they're the people who would have to betray their friend who appointed them and the person they can use for their own gain. That's asking for a lot of integrity from a majority of the Cabinet.

The fact this commission was never set up is a failing of Congress to begin with. It should be corrected, if only because the person with control of nuclear weapons has no real review of their continued fitness.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.