MM#336--SPECIAL: Clearly 25th Amendment Territory...

0:07 Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser. Hello, I am David and welcome back to another Mojo Minute. If you have been watching developments over the past week with regards to the US presidency, you will know that clearly we are in what most folks are calling 25th Amendment territory, meaning the President of the United States is unable or has the quote inability to discharge his duties as President and therefore the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked.

1:03 And therefore the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked. But let's back up and cover some ground to get you up to speed on the amendment itself. What is the 25th Amendment? 25th Amendment to the US Constitution addresses presidential succession and disability. Excuse me, it was ratified on February 10ary 10 1967 following the assassination of president john f kennedy 1963. It consists of four sections, each dealing with different scenarios involving the president and vice president. Let's cover the first three sections in rapid fire fashion because they are just background to our central discussion here.

1:48 Section one is presidential succession. In the event of the removal, death or resignation of a president, the vice president shall become president, and this section clarifies that the vice president does not merely act as president but assumes the full office of the president. Section two is the vice presidential vacancy, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the vice president, the president shall nominate a vice president who will take office upon the confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress office. Upon the confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. This provision ensures that the office of vice president is not left vacant for an extended period of time.

2:32 Section three deals with the presidential declaration of inability. The president can voluntarily declare an inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office by transmitting a written declaration to the president pro tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. During this period, the vice president serves as acting president. The president can resume the powers and duties of the office by transmitting a written declaration stating that no inability exists. Okay, and now we come to section four, which we are most interested in.

3:17 Section four deals with the involuntary declaration of presidential inability. Involuntary declaration of presidential inability this deals with situations where the president is unable or unwilling to declare an inability. The vice president, along with a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments or another body designated by Congress, can declare the president unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office and the vice president would immediately, uh, would write they have to write the speaker and the uh speaker of the house and the president or speaker yeah, speaker of the house and the president pro tem of the Senate in written fashion and they would immediately assume the role of acting President.

4:13 Then, if the President can test this declaration in written form, then the Congress must decide the issue. So if there's a stalemate between president says no, I can do this job in written form, and the vice president has already submitted that information and says no, he or she cannot, then the Congress must decide the issue. If two thirds of both houses agree that the president is unable to serve, the vice president continues as acting president and otherwise the president resumes office. So it's pretty clear cut.

4:55 Tries to make things as clear cut as possible. Now, the 25th Amendment was first used in 1973, when President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to fill the vice presidential vacancy left by Spiro Agnew's resignation. It was used again in 1974 when Ford became president after Nixon's resignation and subsequently nominated Nelson Rockefeller as vice president. Now the president or? This amendment has also been invoked for temporary transfers of power during medical procedures, such as when President Ronald Reagan and George W Bush underwent minor routine health surgeries, such as colonoscopies, etc.

5:39 Now the significance of this amendment is what's a good thing? The 25th Amendment is a good thing because it provides a clear constitutional process for addressing presidential succession and disability, ensuring continuity and stability in our executive branch of government. However, as we have seen lately, the 25th Amendment especially Section 4, still has ambiguities that exist with regard to incapacity and unable to discharge the duties of President of the United States. Now, to further this discussion, we have as our book of the day John Farrick's the 25th Amendment, the Complete History and Its Applications.

6:28 It's a very dense, academic type book, but allow me to quote from a passage that we have been talking about here. Go on to the book. Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, while its use was raised as a possibility on two occasions, has never been acted on and if it becomes necessary to do so. It makes clear that both the Vice President and a majority of the heads of the executive departments are entrusted with the roles of decision makers. The papers delivered by Professors Robert E Gilbert and Rose McDermott at the Ford Program of 2010 indicate that a case of psychological disability will be a harrowing experience for the nation.

7:16 Let me say that again, the program of 2010 indicate that a case of psychological disability will be a harrowing experience for the nation. That's absolutely true, as we're experiencing now. Going back to the book, however, this may be the closest to the president will be important. Those closest I'm sorry, let me start again, however, this may be those closest to the president will be important to the effective consideration and possible execution of Section 4.

7:59 In such circumstances, president Dwight D Eisenhower, though not faced with such a disability, laid out one approach when he said, in a memorandum accompanying his letter agreement with Vice President Nixon in February 1958, this there is only one final thought I would like to add. If any disability of mine, in the judgment of any group of distinguished medical authorities that you might assemble, finally becomes of a permanent character, I would, of course, accept their decision and promptly resign my position. But if I were not able to do so, and the same group of consultants would so state, then you would take over not only the powers and duties but the prerequisites of the presidency, including the White House itself.

8:51 In temporary cases of my quote inability, we agree that you should act at the beginning of his administration, as suggested by the Ford and Presidential Succession Clinic as a safeguard and as appears already to be in place as a result of pioneering work of Fred Fielding when he served as White House counsel to President Reagan.

9:35 Now, to be sure, the recommendations of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia calling for more advanced 25th Amendment planning among family doctors and aides close to the president, as well as the vice president, have better equipped the nation for handling all forms of disability. So I think this last final sentence is most apropos to what we're talking about. President Eisenhower set a special benchmark of the responsibility of a president to his country in the area of presidential disability by his actions in 1958. Absolutely so.

10:19 Two items to note there from that long quote. Number one the case of psychological disability to the president will be a harrowing experience for the nation. We're certainly seeing that now, and most especially in this last week, with the reoccurring question of who is really in charge of the country. No one really knows, not sure the president of the United States knows. And the second point is, those closest to the president will be important to the effective consideration and possible execution of section four in such circumstances and here is exactly the point where an overwhelming number of americans feel things have broken down and cannot move forward For 90 minutes at last week's debate we physically watched a US president lose his train of thought on many occasions, say things that simply did not make sense, repeat himself a number of times to a question that wasn't asked or was asked some time ago in the debate and appeared very feeble, very weak, incoherent for much of the 90 minutes of live television.

11:43 Now, any of those items, taken separately or in isolation, you could make the case that the president was just trying to make a debating point here or there, wanted to circle back on a certain topic, was trying to find his correct words in this case or that case. So we can give absolute deference of charity in all those aspects. But all of them together, taken collectively, I think is where Americans are at, because it's raised so many red flags, that the American public has grown very, very concerned that we simply do not have a coherent leader in the position.

12:27 And yes, absolutely it is harrowing for the country. And yes, absolutely it is harrowing for the country. Now I have asked for some time that Jill Biden, the president's wife, for her to intercede and lovingly lead him to understand that the presidency cannot go on and, for Joe's human dignity as a person, that he should resign the presidency for health reasons. That's the loving thing to do that Jill Biden should do. And everyone would understand that We've all had persons in our families that we have seen, or in friends' families or extended families where this has happened.

13:16 Very difficult thing for a family to go through. But it's equally difficult and harrowing and hard for a country to watch this happen publicly. It should not have to happen publicly. But for the administration to put this charade up that he's number one capable of conducting the job of president and number two, he's fully in touch with his faculties is just not the truth. You know it and I know it and the whole world knows it and unfortunately, our enemies know it too.

14:00 Only those drinking the severe Kool-Aid of radical democratic liberalism and its politics are the ones who are not anywhere close to the reality and to the truth on this question. So, and there's not that many people of them out there, they make up a very vocal minority, but the majority of common sense, well-thinking Americans are certainly in the country and they know this is not sustainable.

14:47 Now, did you notice in that quote, this line, quote family planning, planning among family, doctors and aides close to the president? I really picked up on that because one has to be looking even beyond the president's wife to others that work around the president day in and day out Members of the cabinet, doctors, the White House doctor, aids. And you have to begin saying objectively did you not notice any of this? You did not notice a continuous loss of the train of thought? Loss of the train of thought, severe memory lapses, unable to remember certain key conversations with staffers or members of the cabinet, or key conversations with other world leaders when you were briefing the president?

15:36 Certainly, I would have to believe that all of this puts us in the 25th Amendment territory that we are in now, puts us in the 25th Amendment territory that we are in now because of the specificity of Section 4 and the steps it lays out. Now I would have to believe that the Congress now is forced to call the Vice President before Congress to ask questions about the nature of these developments, that position along with other members of the cabinet, they're given the sole power to invoke the 25th Amendment. The vice president, along with members of the cabinet, have that sole responsibility and I would urge you to read the language of the amendment itself.

16:23 We're not going to do it here, but you can just Google 25th Amendment, section 4. You can read it, it's not too long, but it's quite clear about the duties and responsibilities of the vice president and the cabinet. I have to be a majority of those officers and the vice president. But the vice president has been working around the president for the last three and a half years and you have to question she has not noticed anything with regard to the president's cognitive functions. Three and a half years, nothing. I don't think 90 minutes last week is an aberration.

17:09 It is for the country, but I think for the last three and a half years somebody has watched this happen and I find it absolutely remarkable that she would make such a statement that she's seen nothing in the last three and a half years, no dip in cognitive ability at all. That's just an unbelievable statement. So she's treading on thin ice now because she could be lying. And if she's brought before Congress and she's lying?

17:53 And then she's lying to the American people. Now one more point about this very good history. On the 25th Amendment. From our book we have the wonderful example of President Eisenhower explaining in detail how he would like things to be handled if he quote had the inability and I think Congress has to look hard at this one proposed solution. Yes, this is in 1958. Now you might not remember that President Eisenhower had a stroke while in office Happened on November 25th 1957. He suffered a mild stroke while speaking to his secretary.

18:35 The stroke was caused by an occlusion of a small branch of the middle cerebral artery on the left side of his brain. The incident left him temporarily unable to speak or move his hand. Eisenhower experienced difficulty completing sentences. Eisenhower remained in seclusion for three days following the stroke, although his speech was not yet back to normal. He returned to work soon after, but he was not pronounced fully recovered until March 1st 1958. Now keep in mind the 25th Amendment had not been passed yet. So because of the 25th Amendment, we have to take seriously these health issues with the President of the United States, issues with the president of the United States.

19:27 It's one thing if the president has a stroke and is back to work in some capacity within a short amount of time, just like anybody else's job, or if you have the flu or if you you know. We just heard about the the president having a tachycardia episode. They said it was a medical event. Tachycardia episode they said it was a medical event. Tachycardia certainly did not lose cognitive or did not lose consciousness and by taking some medicine was able to control that tachycardia. I think he had heart rate up to 160.

20:08 Certainly certainly concerning, but millions of Americans suffer from high blood pressure, tachycardia or AFib. I think maybe the president also had that. So we certainly should be praying for the president, absolutely for his health. But as specifically to the nature of the position, we cannot have a president suffer a health event much like Woodrow Wilson did in October of 1919, where he's incapacitated for long, long stretches of time. I believe President Wilson was incapacitated for some 18 months and his wife, edith Wilson, ends up protecting him and keeping his condition secret from the public, from Congress and from some members of the administration.

21:05 In fact it happened in October of 1919. By February of 1920, rumors began to circulate and it wasn't revealed until March, the following March of 1921, the fact, and that's when he was on his way out of office, the fact that he was incapacitated for those 18 months, that's just wrong. More than just being wrong, that's impeachable. I mean he was unable to perform many of his presidential duties. So the point is we have to take seriously these health events of the president. So in today's Mojo Minute, our republic is founded upon the consent of the governed, but that consent is freely, only freely given when the knowledge of its leaders in their health is freely communicated, and that has not been the case.

22:01 That has not been the case. We can't have any president incapable of performing his duties for months on end. Not talking about the flu. We're not talking about tachycardia. We're not talking about colonoscopy. We're not talking about, you know, two weeks to recover from the cold, which we were told is the reason why his voice was so weak and feeble. We're talking about months on end, and we need to get down to the root of what has been happening for the last three and a half years, and we certainly, certainly can't have his wife performing his duties for him, which, by all accounts, may be what is happening here repeating history of another Edith Wilson.

22:53 No more Mrs Jill Biden. So, folks, let's keep praying for our country. We certainly need it in this time of uncertainty and crisis and, as always, let's keep fighting the good fight. Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.