Congresswoman Luz Rivas Co-Sponsors Bill to Hold Trump Accountable and Invoke 25th Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29) joined House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and 64 of her House Democratic colleagues in introducing a bill to establish a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office. The creation of this commission is called for in Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to enable Congress to ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the presidency.

"House Democrats are using every tool at our disposal to hold Donald Trump accountable and save our democracy," said Congresswoman Rivas. "Trump's mental and physical instability is a serious concern for our nation. Trump has displayed erratic and incoherent ramblings during speeches and interviews, as well as unexplained medical treatments and unusual physical appearances of injuries. This shows a cognitive and physical decline that is threatening the survival of our republic.

Congresswoman Rivas continued: "Ranking Member Raskin's bill meets a critical moment in our history by empowering Congress, through its Constitutionally-mandated duty, to create a body to assess the mental and physical fitness of the President's ability to carry out the duties of the office. I join my colleagues in ensuring Congress can fulfill its responsibilities under the 25^th Amendment to protect our democracy from the effects of Trump's erratic behavior and assess his mental and physical fitness to serve."

Background:

Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment empowers Congress to establish a permanent "body" that, with the concurrence of the Vice President, can declare that the President is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

Although the 25^th Amendment was adopted more than 50 years ago, Congress never set up this body called for in Section 4. Ranking Member Raskin's bill establishes this independent nonpartisan body: The Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office. This means the Vice President could act either with a majority of the Cabinet or a majority of this body in the event of a 25th Amendment crisis.

Congresswoman Rivas joins Ranking Member Raskin and 64 other House Democrats in introducing this bill.

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