Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Tuesday that congressional Republicans believe President Joe Biden, 81, is unfit to fulfill his duties as commander in chief and are pressing Vice President Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment and begin the process for Biden's removal.
The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967 in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination, deals with presidential disability and succession. It states the vice president, in this case Harris, would replace the president if they die in office or resign, or if a majority of members of the president's Cabinet notify Congress that the president unable to fulfill the duties of their office.
It has been raised often since Biden's disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27, which amplified fears of Biden's long-suspected cognitive decline.
"There's absolute unanimity among Republicans that we all recognize, unfortunately and sadly, that the state of our president, the commander in chief, is not where it ought to be," Roy told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "This is someone who is not in a position to carry out the powers and the duties of the office of the presidency; as commander in chief, he has the nuclear codes.
"We're all very concerned about it."
The day after the debate, Roy introduced a House resolution calling on Harris to "to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments of the Cabinet to activate Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare [Biden] incapable of executing the duties of his office and to immediately exercise powers as acting President."
"I thought it was important to be very clear that we're concerned about that," Roy said. "This isn't just politics, right? You notice that Democrats are more concerned about losing the election than they are about the fact that the commander in chief can't carry out his duties.
"The vice president of the United States is the only one who can pull the trigger to execute the 25th Amendment. If she did that and a majority of the Cabinet agreed, then if the president said, 'no, no, no, I should stay in office,' then it would come to Congress. For now, it's up to the vice president."
If Harris and a majority of the Cabinet notify Congress that Biden is unfit, Biden could then dispute their finding. It then would take Harris and a majority of the Cabinet again to notify Congress that Biden is unfit, and it would then take a two-thirds vote in each chamber of Congress to remove Biden and make Harris acting president.
But Biden has maintained he is going to stick it out for the rest of the presidential campaign, despite calls from some Democrat lawmakers, high-powered donors, and liberal media outlets for him to step aside. Roy said, however, he doesn't think Harris would ever trigger the 25th Amendment.
"Kamala Harris is uniquely situated to deal with it," Roy said. "But she's complicit. She's been a part of the cover up [regarding Biden's ability to govern]. She's been a part of lying like [first lady] Jill Biden."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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