Pelosi, Raskin to roll out bill to create ‘Commission on Presidential Capacity’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin are set to announce a bill Friday that would create a committee on “presidential capacity” with an eye toward using the 25th Amendment to replace President Trump.

“The legislation will create the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, the body and process called for in the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to enable Congress to help ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the highest office in the executive branch of government,” a statement reads.

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, teased the news earlier Thursday at her weekly press conference, saying Democrats were going to be talking about the 25th Amendment.

The 25th Amendment provides for the transfer of presidential power in the case of removal from office, death or disability.

She didn’t give any details or context for what that conversation would be centered on, but she did repeatedly question the timeline of President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.

In Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had some critiques of how the White House has been handling safety precautions against COVID-19 but said he’s been talking to the president.

“We talk a lot on the telephone. I think he’s perfectly fine. He seems normal,” Mr. McConnell said.

The legislation wouldn’t go anywhere, as it would have to pass the Republican-controlled Senate — and be signed by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Raskin in 2017 proposed a similar bill, which would have created a bipartisan task force to carry out a medical examination of the president at Congress’ request.

Mrs. Pelosi earlier in the week suggested Mr. Trump’s decision to call off negotiations on coronavirus relief funding was affected by his positive diagnosis as well as the medications he’s taking.

“The president is, shall we say, in an altered state right now, so I don’t know how to answer for his behavior,” she said on BloombergTV, regarding Mr. Trump’s negotiation-by-Twitter.

“What I said about the president was that we don’t know if somebody — I have not said this, I’ve quoted others to say there are those who say when you are on steroids and, or if you have COVID-19 or both, that there may be some impairment of judgment. But, again, that is for the doctors and the scientists to determine,” she said.

Mr. Trump shot back in the afternoon, tweeting, “Crazy Nancy is the one who should be under observation. They don’t call her Crazy for nothing!”