This past February marked 50 years since the ratification of Amendment XXV to the U.S. Constitution. Written to clarify the procedures for presidential and vice-presidential succession in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, the amendment also allows for a U.S. President to be sidelined by either his own declaration of incapacity, or by a declaration of "the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide."
Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the 25th Amendment has been discussed on social media and in op-eds, in response to concerns about erratic presidential behavior. In May, the Atlantic summarized the growing discussion. More recently, UW law professor Hugh Spitzer explored the possibilities last week in the Seattle Times.
In April, freshman U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin introduced H.R. 1987, a bill which would establish an "Oversight Committee on Presidential Capacity," an example of one "such other body" as may be established under section 4 of Amendment XXV. While even Raskin has recently acknowledged to Newsweek that the bill has virtually zero chance of passage, he contends that the committee closes a long-overlooked loophole in the amendment, which Congress never addressed: "[T]he Trump administration underscores the importance of acting, but we need this body for all times."
To learn more about the history and uses of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, check out The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (CONAN) (Ref Doc. Y 1.1/3: 112-9 & online at Congress.gov and GovInfo.gov). Always an excellent place to research the U.S. Constitution, CONAN is a lengthy one-volume treatise published by the government and maintained by the Congressional Research Service. Organized by article, clause, and amendment number, each section describes the background and application of that constitutional language, and also provides summaries of related U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
The CONAN entry for Amendment XXV is brief, but describes the background need for the amendment and its invocation during the Watergate era. It also provides citations to legislative history materials, which can be found in the library's usual sources for Federal Legislative History or in Fordham Law School's Twenty-Fifth Amendment Archive.
You can find additional research materials on the 25th Amendment with a subject heading search in the Duke University Libraries catalog for "United States. Constitution. 25th Amendment". This subject search will retrieve about a dozen books and e-books on the subject, including the latest edition of Fordham Law professor John D. Freerick's The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Applications (3d. ed. 2014, available in off-site storage & online). Like CONAN, chapter 8 of this book also includes detailed analysis of each section of the amendment.
For help researching the Twenty-Fifth or any other constitutional amendment, be sure to Ask a Librarian.
Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the 25th Amendment has been discussed on social media and in op-eds, in response to concerns about erratic presidential behavior. In May, the Atlantic summarized the growing discussion. More recently, UW law professor Hugh Spitzer explored the possibilities last week in the Seattle Times.
In April, freshman U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin introduced H.R. 1987, a bill which would establish an "Oversight Committee on Presidential Capacity," an example of one "such other body" as may be established under section 4 of Amendment XXV. While even Raskin has recently acknowledged to Newsweek that the bill has virtually zero chance of passage, he contends that the committee closes a long-overlooked loophole in the amendment, which Congress never addressed: "[T]he Trump administration underscores the importance of acting, but we need this body for all times."
To learn more about the history and uses of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, check out The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (CONAN) (Ref Doc. Y 1.1/3: 112-9 & online at Congress.gov and GovInfo.gov). Always an excellent place to research the U.S. Constitution, CONAN is a lengthy one-volume treatise published by the government and maintained by the Congressional Research Service. Organized by article, clause, and amendment number, each section describes the background and application of that constitutional language, and also provides summaries of related U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
The CONAN entry for Amendment XXV is brief, but describes the background need for the amendment and its invocation during the Watergate era. It also provides citations to legislative history materials, which can be found in the library's usual sources for Federal Legislative History or in Fordham Law School's Twenty-Fifth Amendment Archive.
You can find additional research materials on the 25th Amendment with a subject heading search in the Duke University Libraries catalog for "United States. Constitution. 25th Amendment". This subject search will retrieve about a dozen books and e-books on the subject, including the latest edition of Fordham Law professor John D. Freerick's The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Applications (3d. ed. 2014, available in off-site storage & online). Like CONAN, chapter 8 of this book also includes detailed analysis of each section of the amendment.
For help researching the Twenty-Fifth or any other constitutional amendment, be sure to Ask a Librarian.