Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-D), top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, has introduced legislation on Tuesday that would establish a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office.
The legislation with 50 Democratic co-sponsors would set up an independent commission composed of 17 members tasked with determining whether the president is incapacitated — “either mentally or physically” — and unable to discharge the powers and duties of office, as called for in Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.
The resolution calls for the commission to “carry out a medical examination” within 72 hours of adoption.
The prospect of actually removing Trump from office under the 25th amendment would constitute a higher burden than impeachment and a conviction in the Senate, and has never been used to end a presidency.
A majority of the Cabinet would have to come to an agreement along with JD Vance as VP to implement the 25th, and Trump would have to not disagree with the decision. In that case it would go to Congress and need two thirds of both the House and the Senate to pass.
It’s being described as a long shot.
Democrats still see a political upside to introducing the legislation that brings focus to Trump’s erratic behavior, and puts the onus on his cabinet members instead of Congress.