Discussions Grow Over Use of 25th Amendment to Remove Trump from Office

President Donald Trump's profanity-laced threats to wipe out Iran's civilization have prompted some Democrats to consider invoking the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution to remove him from office. Any such effort would face steep obstacles because it requires support from Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and whose approval rating of Trump stands at 82 percent despite his overall public approval slipping.

The 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967 following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy to clarify presidential succession and ensure the country always has a functioning president and vice president. Before its adoption, the vice presidency remained vacant for more than 37 years cumulatively between 1789 and 1967 due to deaths, resignations or successions.

Section 3 allows a president to voluntarily step aside temporarily during medical procedures, as President Joe Biden did in 2021 for a colonoscopy. Section 4, which has never been used, permits the vice president and a majority of the cabinet, or another body designated by Congress, to declare the president unable to discharge duties. If the president contests the declaration, Congress must convene within 48 hours and approve the removal by two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate.

Democrats including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi previously called for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke Section 4 after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, but those efforts failed. Trump was impeached twice by the Democratic-led House during his first term yet acquitted in the Senate both times due to insufficient Republican support. He won re-election in November 2024 with 312 Electoral College votes to 226 for Kamala Harris.

House Democrats held a members-only briefing on April 10 on Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment. Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania noted that impeachment is not the best use of time while her party remains in the minority and instead emphasized policy priorities such as job growth, fighting inflation and expanding childcare. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Democrats for lacking a positive message and focusing solely on opposition to Trump.

Senior fellow Scott Anderson at the Brookings Institution described any 25th Amendment attempt as a political non-starter without massive Republican defections, given the slim Republican majorities in both chambers