What is the 25th amendment with which they can remove Trump and that mentions the controversial anonymous letter from The New York Times
Amendment 25 is a relatively unknown constitutional norm in the United States that, overnight, has become a topic of debate in that country.
The reason? It contains provisions that would allow President Donald Trump to be removed from power.
Amendment 25 was mentioned in the controversial opinion article "I am part of the resistance within the Trump administration", published anonymously last Wednesday in The New York Times and whose author, according to that newspaper, is a senior executive official American.
The author claims that there are members of the executive who "work diligently from within to thwart parts of (Trump's) agenda and his worst inclinations."
"Given the instability that many have witnessed, there were comments within the cabinet about invoking Amendment 25, which would start a complex process to remove the president," the text says.
"However, nobody wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the government's course in the right direction until - one way or another - it comes to an end," added the anonymous writer.
What is the origin of this rule and what could be its implications for Trump?
Order in succession
Amendment 25 was passed by Congress as a mechanism to ensure succession to power after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
At that time, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took over as Head of State, but there was no clear mechanism to fill his post, which had become vacant.
In the United States, the vice president usually accompanies the president as a candidate, who is elected in general voting.
Then Congress proposed this amendment, which was passed in 1965 and became part of the Constitution in 1967, after being ratified by 38 states.
The standard contains four provisions:
- The first establishes that the vice president will take over the government if the head of state dies, resigns or is removed from office.
- The second indicates that, if a vice presidential vacancy occurs, the president must appoint a replacement who must be confirmed by a majority in both houses of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- The third allows the president to delegate his functions to the vice president, temporarily.
The fourth creates the mechanism by which the vice president and the majority of the cabinet members can declare that the president is not capable of "performing the functions and obligations of his office", which can lead to the president being replaced by his number two.
This last provision is the only one that has never been used and it is precisely the one that is now in the middle of the debate.
Is it possible to apply it to Donald Trump?
"More difficult than an impeachment"
"This provision was created to establish the transition in power when the president is incapacitated. To apply it you have to be able to show that he cannot perform the functions and obligations of his office," says Saikrishna Prakash, professor at the Law School. from the University of Virginia and principal investigator of the Miller Center for Studies on the Presidency of the United States, to BBC Mundo.
"If he is in a coma, this is evident, or if he is very ill and cannot work. Also due to mental incapacity, if he forgets things due to Alzheimer's, for example. The question is whether you believe that the president has not been capable of dedicating the time and effort required by his position, is that enough to conclude that he cannot perform his duties? That is the question that those who oppose the president may have, "he adds.
Provision 4 states that if the vice president and the cabinet believe that the president is incapacitated, they can write a letter to notify Congress about it, which would deprive the head of state of his functions.
However, when that happens, the president can go to Congress to refute that assertion, thereby allowing him to remain in office.
At this point, the vice president and the cabinet can reiterate their position before the legislature, which would leave the decision in the hands of Congress: if two-thirds of both houses give their approval, the president would be stripped of his powers.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult requirement to fulfill and it is not likely to be invoked. It is intended to be applied in situations where, from any point of view, it is evident that the president cannot fulfill his functions, not when it comes to a debatable issue. I would be very surprised if they decide to use it, although you never know, "says Prakash in conversation with BBC Mundo.
The expert highlights that the parameters of Amendment 25 are even more demanding than those of an impeachment procedure (impeachment), which requires a majority in the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate.
"The only circumstance in which this amendment is easier to apply than impeachment is if the president does not object to the decision of the vice president and the cabinet," he says.
John Hudak, deputy director of the US research group Center for Effective Public Management, warned that any attempt to implement Amendment 25 will also run into the possibility that the president may decide to fire his cabinet members to prevent them from sending the letter to his removal to Congress.
"The erratic behavior of Donald Trump will not cause him to be removed using the 25th Amendment. Period," Hudak wrote in an analysis posted on the website of the Brookings Institute, a think tank based in Washington.
"No matter how many people are horrified by the behavior, actions and government decisions of the president. It is Congress that would have to act. Without the votes, unless there are drastic changes in politics or in the president's physical health, he is going to be president at least until January 20, 2021, "he concluded.
