- The Washington Times - Monday, February 26, 2024

A non-MAGA House Republican says he’s seen enough and wants President Biden removed from office under the 25th Amendment.  

Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado introduced a resolution Monday asking Vice President Kamala Harris and the Cabinet to invoke the amendment because Mr. Biden cannot perform as president.

“The Hur report officially addressed what many Americans have long witnessed with their own eyes - that President Biden is no longer fit to successfully discharge the critical duties of his office. Numerous instances were articulated in the report, and have played out in full public view,” Mr. Buck said in a statement.

“The time has come for the vice president and the Cabinet to put our country first and move forward on invoking the 25th Amendment,” he concluded.

While Mr. Buck is a Republican, he is not one that an observer would expect to be quick on the trigger finger.

He has been critical of efforts to impeach Mr. Biden by such Republicans as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The remedy for an incapacitated president that Mr. Buck cites is the 25th Amendment, which has been used a few times to let a president temporarily hand over his duties to the vice president in cases of planned surgeries.

But it also has a provision for involuntary removal.

A note to Congress can remove a president “whenever 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 … their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” the amendment states.

That would make Ms. Harris the acting president, though Section Four also outlines procedures for what happens if a president disputes his Cabinet and vice president’s declaration.

• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.

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