Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland has teamed up with 49 other House Democrats to introduce a bill establishing a 17-member commission to evaluate whether President Donald Trump is mentally or physically able to perform the duties of the office.
Introduced on Tuesday, April 14, the bill aims to clarify Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare that a president is not fit to serve.
If the president doesn’t accept the unfit call, both the House and the Senate must vote to confirm the finding with a two-thirds vote. No president of the United States has ever been removed this way.
Raskin’s bill, titled the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office, would set up a bipartisan panel of physicians, psychiatrists, and former senior executive branch officials.
Congressional leaders from both parties would appoint the members. The commission could conduct medical examinations when directed by a congressional resolution and report its findings on the president’s ability to serve.
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Raskin has pushed versions of this idea since 2017, during Trump’s first term, and reintroduced similar measures in later years.
This latest effort comes as Democrats point to the president’s recent statements and actions during the conflict involving Iran.
In a statement, Raskin cited Trump’s rhetoric about the war in Iran, U.S. military moves in the Middle East, and a social media post that showed Trump in a Jesus-like pose.
However, Trump later clarified that the picture depicted him as a doctor helping people.
Raskin also talked about the president’s threat from earlier this month that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran didn’t meet a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The president issued the warning amid tensions over the waterway, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil trade. Hours before the deadline, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire.
Dozens of Democrats, and even some figures from Trump’s own circle, had urged the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment after the threat.
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The president withdrew from the immediate escalation, but the threat added to concerns raised by his opponents about his stability.
With only 50 Democrats’ support, the bill has very limited chances of passing in the House, which is controlled by Republicans.
By any chance the bill sails through the House, it would still need Senate approval and the president’s signature, which Trump is unlikely to give for a measure that could target him.
Legal experts note that creating such a commission would not change the core requirements of the 25th Amendment.
The vice president and cabinet still hold the initial power to act. The commission would serve as an additional tool for Congress to gather independent medical input.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has described the effort as a matter of national security.
Trump’s ability to lead the U.S. is questioned.
He believes that popular confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the job, or rather lead the United States, has allegedly reached new lows amid chaos in the Middle East, and other incidents, including sharp criticism of the Pope.
The 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967, mainly to remedy gaps exposed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and earlier cases of presidential disability.
Section 4 is the most contentious part because it can override a president’s objection, yet it requires a broad consensus.
For now, the bill is more of a messaging tool than a realistic path to removal. Democrats are planning to use the debate to question Trump’s judgment on foreign policy and his conduct in public.
