Capitol Hill Buzz: Democrat eyes law on removing presidents
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this March 3, 2017, file photo, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Perhaps in a bit of wishful thinking, a Blumenauer says he plans to form a working group to “clarify and strengthen” the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which lays out presidential succession and the steps the executive branch can take to remove a president from office.
WASHINGTON >> Perhaps in a bit of wishful thinking, a House Democrat says he plans to form a working group to “clarify and strengthen” the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which lays out presidential succession and the steps the executive branch can take to remove a president from office.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon says he’s initiating this effort in response to Republican Donald Trump’s presidency, even though there have been no signs of an effort to remove him.
“Like many people, I’ve noticed a renewed interest in the 25th Amendment as we’ve seen erratic behavior out of the White House,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “As I examined the amendment, it became clear that in the case of mental or emotional incapacity, there is a glaring flaw.”
The 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967 as a response to President John F. Kennedy’s death in 1963. It made clear that the vice president becomes president if a president is removed from office or dies or resigns, and that the new president nominates a new vice president.
It also allows members of the executive branch to essentially force Congress to vote on whether to remove the president from office. The amendment states that the vice president and “a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide” can begin the process of removal if they believe the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
The flaw, Blumenauer says, is that the Cabinet may be fired by the president, “undermining this ostensible check on an unstable president.” He notes that the “some other body” is undefined, and there is no guidance for how it should operate. Blumenauer says he believes that living former presidents and vice presidents could form that body.
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It’s unclear if anyone else has signed on to Blumenauer’s effort. Republican Vice President Mike Pence is in line to succeed Trump.
58 responses to “Capitol Hill Buzz: Democrat eyes law on removing presidents”
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Silly Do Nothing politicians. They should have used their energy backing Sec. Clinton and getting their constituents to vote for her.
They did. They lost. They need to get over it.
Thus the term “SNOWFLAKES” was born to label Liberals…how appropriate…they having a MAJOR MELT DOWN. Conservatives NEVER RIOT, incite VIOLENCE, PROPERTY DAMAGE & PROTEST like them..SAD.
And the SNOWFLAKES wonder why I always say #MAGA…eats them up! I’ll stop and have civil conversations when they STOP THEIR STOOPID STUFF.
Clinton lost! Drumpf won! JohnnyToiletKonnyakuHead is still the waterboy who thinks he scored the winning touchdown! WEAK!
BTW the thought of impeaching Drumpf after less than 1 month is utterly ridiculous.
What was that business that happened in Oregon?
“I’ll stop and have civil conversations when they STOP THEIR STOOPID STUFF.” Good for you, be the adult in the room.
@ el_burrito senorita
Way to much hot sauce..easy hon…chew mints.
What’s the matter WaterBoy, that’s the best you can come up with? WEAK!
@ Tita Girl
So sad but yet enlightening to see how the Liberal Mind works….thank G0D I’m NOT a LIBERAL!
…and thank God one is not president.
They need to re-brand themselves as The Too Little Too Late Party.
Tita Girl, ignorance is no virtue
Vector, relive what happened. The Dems (wrongly) thought Sec. Clinton would be the next president. They put in too little effort putting forth an electable candidate and realized it too late. They’re still reeling and so are their followers. They’re a day late and a dollar short. As usual.
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make em drink!
where do these pupule cretins come from? lock them up!
auwe!!#maga
Damn cry babies, always crying when they don’t get there way
Waste of time like the Hawaii congressional team.
After the past month of Trump’s presidency there is a possibility to use the amendment. Seems as though Trump’s a cancer that’s spreading out thru the staff selections. Where have all these “fake news”,”alternative facts”, “media prejudice “, “intelligence agencies distrust”, and out right lies of knowledge in the case of Flynn collaboration with the Russians. All these fake, alternative, prejudice, and lies must have some “Truth” to them. All this in one month. No other presidency had so much turmoil in all of their terms, yet we’re closing our eyes and hoping these aren’t truly happening and being blinded by the hope everything will turn around for the good of the country…I am hoping too, but the odds are really stacking against it everyday I see the news.
@ cigaripo
Show me the “FACTS”….otherwise to me POTUS Trumps is doing a helluva job. Doing what he promised on the campaign…
Birther Trump has been lying from the start of his campaign, continues to do so, and now has his surrogates and the Republican congressmen lying for him and covering up all the mess Trump created. His whole campaign was built on a foundation lies, conspiracy theories like Hillary’s private server and Benghazi, his campaign operative meeting and communicating with Russian intelligence operatives and Russian officials before, during and after his election. Now the foundation is beginning to crumble. Not long before the Trump Admin edifice collapses from the weight of lies, falsehoods and deceits
“lying …. lying …. lies… lies …falsehoods ….deceits”
So you rely on a logical fallacy of hasty generalization as the basis for your view? It is incumbent upon you to perform your own due diligence and to research your news sources to determine the truth rather than blindly accept them.
I think you’ve mistaken cancer for the cure.
cigaripo> My, my, my! POTUS has really done a number on you. Now you see how much smarter he is than a lot of “cliff jumpers?” Do you know what a “cliff jumper” is? Well, it’s a person who jumps off of a cliff, normally with some type of safety device. In this case, no safety device is being used by you. You really believe all this BS in the MSM? Maybe 25-30% truth, the remainder all BS. In less than a month in office I would dare to say that he has done quite a lot in so short a time. Most of it good for the people and the country, don’t you think so? Why are you so opposed to him being POTUS, are you that inflexible in your beliefs that you cannot see what’s in black and white staring you in the face? Since Trump became POTUS, I have never closed my eyes because I am very much impressed with the manner in which he has performed as POTUS……unmatched. I want to see history in the making!!!!!!!!!!!
Please do this. He needs to go away.
Donald Trump is clearly unqualified for the position of US President. I think he ran only as a publicity stunt. He was clearly unprepared in the debates. How could anyone have voted for such a revolting, disgusting human being?!
He was voted in because Hillary was way more revolting and disgusting. Dems should have gotten a better candidate.
I once thought people in this state, especially the locals and kamaaina, had a lot of ALOHA in their hearts. I am really amazed at the level of hatred, malice, bigotry, and violence that’s promoted on this Star Advertiser site. Very much like the red neck Bible thumping deep South
“hatred … malice …bigotry … violence … red neck”
@Pink Sushi…You’re absolutely correct. Sec. Clinton was prepared for the debates Even without receiving the questions in advance by Donna Brazile, I have no doubt she would have been just as well prepared. She’s been in politics since the Garden of Eden, she knows how DC works, she knows all the right (donors) people, the Lame stream media gave her passes, every major poll (except IBD) had her winning the election including FOX who had her up by 4+…and yet she still lost. Why? She did not campaign well. She did not campaign where she should have. She did not go after the votes where she needed to. She surrounded herself with people who did her no favors…Podesta, Mook, Abedin,Palmieri.
Her arrogance lost her the presidency.
and she LIED way too much..hence the nic Crooked hiLIARy!
Unqualified in terms of the other lying sniveling criminal types he ran against Get over it You lost Try to act like a grownup Your mom thinks you’re a crybaby so do we
I guess it was his looks.
This is funny. If he’s serious, he’s got a mental problem. I think he’s just trying to garner votes. If the democrats hadn’t skewed the primary and forced Hillary down our throats, Bernie Sanders probably would have gotten elected.
I agree. Bernie would have beaten The Donald.
This guy is a nobody.
Did March 3, 2017 come early??
Today is FEBRUARY 16, 2017!!!
Simple explanation – Democrats are trying to get ahead of themselves.
Wow! And the body isn’t even cold yet.
Will they ever stop!! I am sick and tired of listening to their acrimonious rants. We have more pressing things to address in this country. Work together to fix the problems or go away already!!!
@ maile77
I’m with you but unfortunately the liberal mindset is not a “reasonable solution think fairly” kind of thinking.
I expect this sore loser whining to go on the next 4 years…maybe 8…maybe more.
Good luck in it passing, last I heard both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans. Why are they in power of both the House, Senate, and now President? Why is the so called President of Syria saying that the refugees seeking to come to the US definitely have terrorists in this group? Why doesn’t the SA post the news of an illegal immigrant hit and killed a father and grandfather recently?
I didn’t vote for Trump, but this is ridiculous. Typical of those that only want the rules that benefit them. Cant they just work with what they got.
Remember how Democrats passed new laws and rules so as to hurt Republicans??? And now that Republicans are in power it has come back to bite the Democrats in the butt??? Well, the Dems best be careful what they are doing or it will come back to bite them again. On another note, remember how many calls there were to impeach President Obama… that never came to anything?
Also I don’t remember conservatives RIOTING, DESTROYING PROPERTY, SETTING FIRES, creating HAVOC on ROADWAYS, STOPPING BUSINESSES from selling name brand products, ASSAULTING INNOCENT PEOPLE…etc.
LOL that guy is wearing a bow tie!
Probably panties too.
There is signs of removing the President from Office. I say? Get in Back of the of the Line,because the Democrat Line is pretty LONG! How long can this “Sillyness” and this Crybaby attitude continue?
Don’t know if it’s me or what? But has Rep.Blumenauer ever heard of the song by the Rolling Stones,”You Can’t Always Get What You Want”? Why was this stellar idea never brought up during the Obama admin?
I have a better Idea for Rep. Blumenauer:
How about implementing a law forbidding “Previous presidents ;ie (Obama) and organizations from meddling into a seated presidents affairs. Stuff like “Molds” in the WH and Obama’s “The Shadow Government”, George Soros, Move on.org and the rest of the MSM.
Wouldn’t be great if we had ALL of the People united behind President Trump? Imagine how much he could actually accomplish….Oh BTW Trumps Approval Ratings jumped up to 55%.
And this is what The Democrats are afraid of. That President Trump,beyond all odds, will Succeed with or without the help of the Democratic Party.
If he does? He’ll be Bigger than Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy combined!
IMUA President Trump ! IMUA!
Wonder if there’s any laws for removing Congressmen. This guy is the one who needs to go.
All the do-nothing Republican Congressmen need to go. They and the Republican Senators obstructed Obama the entire 8 years he was in office. Now they are making a mess of the entire government by placing inexperienced, inept, religious and right wing political ideologues in positions of power.
inept … religious … right wing …ideologues i
Trump is clearly unqualified to be President … Lets do it … remove him! All his supporters … apparently don’t have the ability to know the basics of electing any leader or their circle of friends … their lives are a mess!
808Cindy> It’s unfortunate that you truly believe in what you have posted. No POTUS has ever, mind you EVER been impeached. That goes for Billy Clinton. Do you really expect the Congress will try to impeach POTUS? I’m willing to wager that it will never happen. Read thee law that covers the Impeachment Process. Go look it up for yourself, then you will truly know that this liberal DEM Rep doesn’t have a chance in hell to get it done. ALL talk and No walk, at all! Where were you in school when they covered civics????
@ 808Cibdy
Thank you for not screaming your head off like before…meds working.
Go get them Mazie
She’s sleeping and can’t be disturbed….
Oh my God! Keep grasping at straws…get over it and move on. Granted the the President’s style is different, but not uncommon. Many have not experienced working in the business world which entails having to show results in a timely manner. On top of this, we were held accountable via quarterly and culminating in a year-end review. We were allowed to disagree…”respectfully”. After all is said an done, your slate is wiped clean and you start again. You can’t rest on your laurels and sit on your rear. With that being said, watching everything unfold with President Trump, remember when President Trump first entered the arena for our nation’s highest office…”First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win…Mahatma Gandhi” 🙂
Just another distraction. Meanwhile The Donald took the teeth out of Barrycare individual mandate striking a blow for freedom. Keep up the good work Mr. President.
Ditto.