Raskin, a constitutional law professor and attorney, has long argued that Congress should prepare for moments like this. Nearly a decade ago, he proposed creating an independent commission authorized under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to assess presidential fitness if a cabinet proves unwilling to act. The Amendment allows the Vice President, together with either the cabinet or such a congressionally created body, to declare a President unable to discharge the duties of the office, though it has never been used in that way. Even so, Raskin emphasizes that no mechanism is foolproof. “The framers had no concept of nuclear weapons and what a president could do with them,” he says. “And I don’t think they ever anticipated that somebody would act in the ways that Donald Trump has been acting in office.”
Raskin notes that he does not plan to sway members in any direction during Friday’s caucus-wide call. “I’m not really advocating for this or that solution,” he says. “I’m really just trying to explain the constitutional design.”
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