• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Congress can, indeed, create a commission

    Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office

    Nothing in here about a commission. A Congressional majority could just announce the President unfit and kick power over to the VP immediately.

    Obviously, Republicans aren’t going to agree with this. Obviously, JD Vance is a fucking hack who would continue the atrocities. That’s why Dems needed to block the 2026 NDAA back in December when they had leverage over the Pentagon’s budget. Now they’ve already rubber stamped the checks and there’s little left to obstruct or apply leverage against.

    But this just illustrates why “Forming a Commission” is bullshit. Is this really their plan for 2027? Spend a year fucking around on a vote to form a committee to research a bill to have another vote? So they can maybe hand JD Vance the keys to the White House? Assuming some dissident Fetterman tier Senator doesn’t spike it while drapping himself in an Israeli flag?

    Pathetic.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      20 hours ago

      Nothing in here about a commission.

      There certainly is, you’re just not understanding what role that commission will perform. The commission is the “some other body” that Congress may provide to serve in lieu of the heads of the executive department.

      A Congressional majority could just announce the President unfit and kick power over to the VP immediately.

      No, actually, they can’t. Incompetence is not an impeachable offense. They would have to hold what is effectively a criminal trial in the Senate. They would have to find him guilty of something beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s the evidentiary standard they would have to meet.

      With the 25th, they merely have to indicate they have lost faith in his ability to perform the job. That’s it.

      His tweets threatening nuclear war with Iran are not enough to impeach him. He technically has the authority to make those threats. He can’t be impeached for those threats.

      Those same tweets are a perfectly valid justification for removing him under the 25th.

    • pfried@reddthat.com
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      19 hours ago

      This commission is the “some other body” that Democrats in “Congress may by law provide.”

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        This commission is the “some other body”

        They don’t need “some other body” because it already empowers Congress.

        • pfried@reddthat.com
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          17 hours ago

          “Some other body” is quoted from the 25th Amendment, which empowers Congress not to do the same thing that the Vice President and Cabinet can do but to create “some other body” that can do what the Vice President and Cabinet can do. They could pass a law that empowers Congress to do that, but that would be less likely to pass than passing a law that empowers some committee because Congress has other things to do.