In that instance, Section 3 was used, which allows the president to willingly discharge his powers. "No vice president on board, nothing is going to happen.". "If the vice president and a majority of the cabinet send a letter to the speaker of the house and the president pro tempore of the Senate saying that, in their opinion, the president is incapable of carrying out of his functions and dutiesinstantly, the president ceases to have authority and the vice president takes over," Kay says. The 25th Amendment, has "never been used for something like this," says Kay. "It's a way in which people who work with the president and are convinced that the president cannot effectively carry out his functions, are able to at least temporarily displace him and get the vice president to take over," Kay says. Trump himself reportedlydidn't know what the 25th Amendment did at the time. Reagans letter did not specifically mention the 25th Amendment by name. The 25th Amendment to the Constitution is primarily designed to clarify the presidential order of succession. High quality 25th Amendment Process gifts and merchandise. It's our greatest charter of liberty," Feerick said. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. The balance of the 25th Amendments legislative history indicates that the acting secretaries should participate in the Section 4 process. If there is a vacancy in the vice presidency for any reason, the president can choose someone to fill it. Posted By: Alex Jirgens . The president, of course, can contest this. A then-anonymous senior official in the Trump administration (later identified as Miles Taylor) wrote an op-ed in The New York Times in September 2018, claiming there was a "quiet resistance" undermining the president. Explaining the process of invoking the 25th Amendment Calls from leaders across both sides of the aisle to invoke the amendment that could forcibly remove President Trump from office continue to grow. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on October 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. It can act only in concert with the vice president, who is the key actor under the 25th Amendment, Raskin said. It was proposed by the U.S. Congress on July 6, 1965, and it was ratified on Feb. 10, 1967. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment. A Division of NBC Universal. The vice president and cabinet officers could then send a final letter to Congress disputing the president's claim and restating that the president is unable to do to job, Kay says. The 25th amendment also says that a president can be removed from office if the vice president along with a majority of the cabinet determines the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties" of the office. Over the course of President Donald Trump's time in office, many Americans have wondered how the 25th Amendment could be used to transfer his powers to Vice President Mike Pence. He told Business Insider in March 2017 that the senators who signed the provision into law specified that declaring the president unfit must rely on "reliable facts regarding the president's physical or mental faculties," not personal prejudice. Section 4 of the amendment creates a process by which the chief executive can be declared unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. 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