- The Washington Times - Thursday, August 26, 2021

A Republican House member wrote a letter Thursday to Vice President Kamala Harris, asking that she seize power under the 25th Amendment.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina Republican, urged Ms. Harris to begin the process of removing President Biden from office as “no longer capable of discharging the duties of his office.”

In the letter, Mr. Cawthorn says Mr. Biden has a “declining mind” and is “not even the Joseph R. Biden of two years ago” and thus cannot oversee such crises as the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.



Mr. Cawthorn urges Ms. Harris to “find your courage” and “do nothing more and nothing less than your duty” by invoking the constitutional amendment that enables the replacement of an incapacitated president.

The 26-year-old Mr. Cawthorn got the note off to a poor start though, addressing the letter to “Kamela Harris.”

Accusations of cognitive decline, supported by numerous gaffe-filled clips and memory lapses, have dogged Mr. Biden for the last several years.

The 25th Amendment would require the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to tell Congress that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” The vice president then becomes president.

Although intended for such a scenario as the last couple years of a declining Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, it has never been invoked except for short, uncontroversial periods such as the president being unconscious for surgery.

Numerous liberals floated using the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office as mentally incapacitated during his term of office.

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

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