Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As Joe Biden steps down from his re-election bid, some are wondering whether the 25th Amendment will be used to remove the President from his powers before he finishes his term in January.
Dr. John Feerick of Fordham Law School says before any conversation enters the mix, there needs to be an assessment by the Vice President [Kamala Harris] and the president's cabinet to determine whether the Biden is able to perform his constitutional duties as President.
Feerick says there are two ways the 25th Amendment can be invoked.
One, if the President chooses to do so, would be to declare his own inability, and transfer the powers and duties of the office to the Vice President, making Kamala Harris the acting president. The President would still remain the President, and can be covered at any point he wished under that section.
One such instance was when Ronald Reagan underwent colon cancer surgery in 1985, handing off power to George H. W. Bush for several hours.
The second situation involves an act of Congress, which was tried after the Jan. 6 insurrection of the Capitol in 2021.
"[Mike Pence] said no, and I can't imagine that if the present Congress called on the Vice President to invoke the 25th Amendment, that would be any different response from what happened in 2021," said Feerick with WBEN.
Can this apply to Biden between now and the end of his term? Feerick says he has no information that comes to that conclusion.
Biden announced over the weekend he would drop out of the race for the White House this November.
Related
