Dem
47
GOP
53
Some Americans prize the First Amendment over all the other amendments. Others put the Second Amendment first. The Fifth Amendment is often in the news when somebody noteworthy is testifying about something somewhere. Donald Trump detests the Twenty-Second Amendment, though some people have recently adopted it as their favorite. But now, all of a sudden, the people are openly talking about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, a relative newcomer to the list.
More than 70 Democratic lawmakers have called on the Cabinet to invoke the Twenty-Fifth to declare Donald Trump unfit for office. For example, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said: "No President in control of his senses would publicly promise to eradicate an entire civilization." Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) tweeted: "We need to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump." Others want to go the impeachment route. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) tweeted: "Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense."
As amendment nerds know, but the legislators may or may not know, invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment doesn't remove the president permanently. When the vice president and a majority of the cabinet notify Congress that the president is unable to perform his duties, the vice president becomes acting president. If the president objects, which is a sure thing in this case, then Congress gets to vote on it. It takes two-thirds of each chamber to sustain the removal. This is a steeper hill than impeachment and conviction, where only a single-vote majority is needed for impeachment and again, a two-thirds vote of the Senate for conviction.
If the Democrats are lucky, they could get a majority in the House in November. They are not going to get a two-thirds majority, so going the impeachment route would actually be much easier. If the Democrats also get a simple majority in the Senate, they can also hold an extended televised trial, with numerous legal experts testifying to Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors. If Republicans control the Senate, Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) could simply call for an immediate up-or-down vote on any impeachments coming over from the House and get rid of them in 15 minutes. He could also simply refuse to hold any vote, though that would be stretching the Constitution to the limits.
Another downside to talking about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (other than it being tougher than an impeachment) is that it puts the onus on the Cabinet. They aren't the problem. They are doing what they were hired to do—carry out Trump's program. The real problem is that Republicans in Congress are the ones responsible for the Constitution being trampled on. It is their job to carefully guard the powers the Constitution grants them, whether it is declaring war, using the power of the purse, levying tariffs, creating independent agencies and more. They should be the ones to take the lead when a president is usurping their powers. Instead they are simulating a doormat. Outsourcing that to the Cabinet is cowardly. (V)