WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Is the 25th Amendment?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren foglebam here with another classic episode from

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<v Speaker 1>our archives. This one has to do with the Amendment

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<v Speaker 1>to the Constitution of the United States. We first ran

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<v Speaker 1>it back in late January, of the month that Michael

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<v Speaker 1>Wolfe's book Fire and Fury came out, detailing behind the

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<v Speaker 1>scenes happenings in Trump's White House. It called into question

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<v Speaker 1>for some President Trump's mental health and generated conversation about

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<v Speaker 1>whether the twenty five Amendment might be enacted. It was

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<v Speaker 1>not at the time, but given that this amendment is

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<v Speaker 1>again in the news, I wanted to present again our

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<v Speaker 1>breakdown of what it is and how it works. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren fogelbam here. If you've been through in

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<v Speaker 1>American history or government class, some constitutional facts probably left

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<v Speaker 1>a lasting impression. For example, the thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery,

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<v Speaker 1>and the nineteenth Amendment afforded women the right to vote.

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<v Speaker 1>But our twenty seven amendments to the Constitution, and you

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<v Speaker 1>may not have ever had a reason to ruminate on.

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<v Speaker 1>The twenty five Amendment has received special attention as news

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<v Speaker 1>stories regarding President Donald Trump's fitness for office have emerged.

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<v Speaker 1>The amendment was created during the Cold War following President

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<v Speaker 1>Dwight D. Eisenhower's three serious illnesses and President John F.

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<v Speaker 1>Kennedy's nineteen sixty three assassination. Proposed by Congress and ratified

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<v Speaker 1>by the States following it provides the procedures for replacing

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<v Speaker 1>the president or vice president in case of death, removal, resignation,

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<v Speaker 1>or incapacitation. Eisenhower originally entered into a letter agreement that

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<v Speaker 1>stated if his health impeded his ability to run the country,

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<v Speaker 1>power would be transferred to his vice president, Richard Nixon.

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<v Speaker 1>This led to the official Amendment that clarified the rules

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<v Speaker 1>around transfer of power in the event of an incapacitated president.

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<v Speaker 1>After numerous congressional hearings, the final version passed the House

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<v Speaker 1>and Senate in nineteen sixty five and was ratified on

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<v Speaker 1>February tenth, nineteen sixty seven. Their force sections to the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty Amendment. Section one stipulates that the vice president will

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<v Speaker 1>assume the role of president in case of death or resignation.

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<v Speaker 1>Section two covers the event of a vacancy in the

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<v Speaker 1>office of the vice president. In such case, the president

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<v Speaker 1>is responsible for nominating a candidate, who must be confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. The

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<v Speaker 1>history of section to ensures that there is both the

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<v Speaker 1>president and vice president at all times. Section three states

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<v Speaker 1>that the President has the discretion to declare his own

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<v Speaker 1>inability to carry out the job and allows him to

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<v Speaker 1>temporarily ceed power to the vice president. It makes it clear, however,

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<v Speaker 1>that the vice president does not assume the office or

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<v Speaker 1>title of president. Section four, to date has never been implemented,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's the peace of the amendment currently receiving media attention.

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<v Speaker 1>The language empowers the vice president and the cabinet to

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<v Speaker 1>declare a president incapacitated to quote the amendment whenever the

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<v Speaker 1>vice president and a majority of either the principal officers

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<v Speaker 1>of the executive Departments or of such other body as

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<v Speaker 1>Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro

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<v Speaker 1>Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House

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<v Speaker 1>of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable

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<v Speaker 1>to discharge the powers and duties of his office. The

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<v Speaker 1>vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of

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<v Speaker 1>the office as acting president. Section four addresses the problem

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<v Speaker 1>of a president who is unable or unwilling to acknowledge

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<v Speaker 1>his or her inability to discharge the powers and duties

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<v Speaker 1>of the presidency. It would be used most likely if

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<v Speaker 1>a president falls unexpectedly unconscious, though it also clearly applies

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<v Speaker 1>when a president is incapacitated because of some other mental

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<v Speaker 1>or physical inability. You may recall the invocation of the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five Amendment as a result of the Watergate scandal

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<v Speaker 1>in the nineteen seventies. President Nixon invoked it to replace

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<v Speaker 1>resigning Vice President Spiro Agnew with General Ford. Then, when

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<v Speaker 1>Ford replaced Nixon as president, Ford invoked it to appoint

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<v Speaker 1>Nelson Rockefeller to succeed him as vice president. However, in

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<v Speaker 1>order for Section four to be implemented, the vice president

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<v Speaker 1>and a majority of the cabinet must declare the president

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<v Speaker 1>in capacitated in a written statement to the Speaker of

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<v Speaker 1>the House of Representatives and the President pro tem of

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<v Speaker 1>the Senate. Once that happens, presidential powers are automatically transferred

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<v Speaker 1>to the vice president. In order for Congress to successfully

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<v Speaker 1>declare a president disabled, two thirds in each chamber must

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<v Speaker 1>conclude that he is unable to handle the office. The

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<v Speaker 1>disability clause of the twenty five amendment has been invoked

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<v Speaker 1>multiple times since ratification. President's Bill Clinton, George W. Bush,

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<v Speaker 1>and Ronald Reagan invoked it during medical procedures, though it

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<v Speaker 1>was never used when Reagan was shot in However, section

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<v Speaker 1>four has never been invoked to remove a president from office.

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<v Speaker 1>John Hoodak, Deputy director for the Center for Effective Public

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<v Speaker 1>Management and Senior Fellow for Governance Studies at the Briggings Institute,

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<v Speaker 1>writes that the process is more difficult than impeachment and

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<v Speaker 1>is reserved only for truly unique and dire circumstances. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tris

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<v Speaker 1>McNee all and Tyler Claim. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts

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