US Democratic lawmaker Raskin seeks commission to oversee removal of presidents
by Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland told House Democrats on Friday that he would introduce legislation that would create a “commission” that would make it easier to remove any president deemed unfit to perform his duties, according to a spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee.
The “Presidential Capacity Commission on Delegating Powers and Duties of the Office” bill was first introduced by Raskin, now the committee’s senior Democrat, in 2020, during Donald Trump’s first term as president.
In recent days, Democrats in Congress have begun talking about pushing for the impeachment of Trump, now in his second term, or trying to trigger the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides the basic process for stripping a president of power through a procedure separate from impeachment.
Trump caused widespread alarm and anger earlier this week when he said “an entire civilization will die” in Iran if the Iranian government does not allow ships to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping there was disrupted following Trump’s decision to launch a military attack on Iran alongside Israel, which began on February 28.
The Raskin bill is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson is a strong supporter of Trump.
Republicans in the House and Senate blocked moves by Democrats to pass a separate resolution to end the Iran war that was never approved by Congress.
The Raskin bill would create a 17-member bipartisan commission if it is determined that the president is unable to perform the duties of the office due to physical disability or mental incapacity or drug or alcohol use or other conditions.
Trump faced two impeachment trials during his first term, each of which ended in acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Since then, most Democrats have avoided talking about impeachment. But Trump’s latest military strike on Iran and his failure to lay out clear goals has emboldened many Democrats to begin talking about removing Trump from power; It’s a strategy that isn’t necessarily embraced by everyone in the caucus.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
