Replace the 25th Amendment
The 25th Amendment failed on many levels during Biden's presidency and it must be replaced ASAP. This post presents one such proposal.
All the recently published insider tell-all books about Biden confirm he was physically and cognitively impaired to such a degree he could not discharge the duties of president. There is much evidence he was thusly impaired even before he became president. Moreover, his disabilities were televised daily on non-legacy media and were apparent to most Americans long before his debate performance.
Despite Biden’s obvious disabilities, the 25th Amendment was not invoked. The vice president had to know and chose to do nothing. Many members of Congress knew and also did nothing. The legacy media ignored for four years what was visible daily on Fox News. Non-elected staffers, not even subject to senate confirmation, effectively ran the government - led by Jill and Hunter. They used an autopen for Biden’s signature amid evidence he did not know what had been signed in his name.
This post analyzes why the 25th Amendment failed and why it cannot be reformed. I also present a plan to effectively deal with presidential and nominee disability. First, let’s recap the operative parts of the 25th Amendment.
“The 25th Amendment failed primarily because it is contrary to human nature.”
The 25th Amendment as Presently Constituted
Sections 3 and 4 of the amendment contain the operative parts of presidential disability and temporary removal from office. Section 3 deals with a president who declares himself impaired. Section 4 provides that the president may be temporarily removed by the vice president and a majority of the cabinet. The president can declare there is no disability and he will resume office unless the VP and a majority of the cabinet disagree. In such an event, the matter is resolved by Congress. Two-thirds of both houses must vote that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office; otherwise the president is reinstated.
Why the 25th Amendment Failed America
The 25th Amendment failed primarily because it is antithetical to human nature and because it is impossible to take the politics out of politics.
Joe Biden must have been well aware of his disability. He not only failed to declare his disability, he sought another four-year term. No president can be expected to self report because it is contrary to human nature.
Biden’s family (primarily Jill and Hunter) went to great lengths to mask his disability - keeping him cloistered and tightly scripted. Again, it is folly to expect family members not to protect their own - the country be damned.
Kamala Harris saw Biden daily and knew he was non compos mentis. She chose to act in her interest rather than the nation’s. She would not have been the nominee had she invoked the 25th. It is counter to human nature to depose the person who chose you to be his vice president. Moreover, as explained below, Kamala was unlikely to get the support of a majority of the cabinet.
The cabinet was intentionally prevented from meeting with Biden and kept in the dark about his true condition. Again, it is an affront to human nature to depose the person who appointed you to high office.
The White House physician surely knew of Biden’s deterioration, but likely was prevented from taking action by the doctor-patient relationship.
A Plan To Replace the 25th Amendment
There are two keys to devising a workable plan for presidential disability: (1) it must not be contrary to human nature; and (2) it must remove politics from the process to the fullest extent possible. Following are the main elements of my plan.
A Presidential Disability Panel or PDP of physicians would be created by Congress to evaluate a president’s physical and cognitive condition.
There would be five voting members appointed to staggered five-year terms. They would be nominated by a blue ribbon medical body and confirmed by the senate. At least one member must be a specialist in cognitive issues. The president’s personal White House physician would be an ex-officio (non voting) member.
The nominee/president would be required to consent to examination by the PDP, including any diagnostic procedures deemed necessary. Refusal to comply would result in automatic disqualification.
The PDP could temporarily remove a president with at least four votes.
Every president and nominee over the age of 70 must be reviewed by the PDP every two years - every year if over the age of 80.
A president or nominee younger than age 70 would be subject to review if there were compelling signs of physical or cognitive disability.
If my plan were in place, Biden may have been disqualified from running in 2020, and he most certainly would have been removed early in his term. My plan may not be perfect, but it comports with human nature and minimizes the role of politics.
If we fail to fix the deeply flawed 25th Amendment, we may not be so lucky next time. We may have someone’s - like Jill’s or Hunter’s - finger on the nuclear trigger.