West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey made a bold move on Tuesday, calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment to the Constitution in order to disqualify President Joe Biden from his term in office. This surprising request comes amidst growing concerns over Biden’s memory and ability to serve as President.
The 25th amendment was designed to clarify the order of presidential succession. It outlines a process for the vice president and a majority of officials at the head of executive branch agencies to declare that the president is “unable to exercise the rights and duties of office”. This declaration would then need to be approved by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress.
The Attorney General’s call for the 25th amendment comes in the wake of a report by special counsel Robert Hur, which raised questions about President Biden’s memory and his handling of classified documents. The report found evidence that Biden withheld and shared top-secret information with a ghostwriter, but determined that the evidence did not meet the standard for criminal charges.
President Biden’s Democratic allies have been swift in their response to the controversy, launching a defense against the special counsel’s claims and seeking to dismiss the accusations about Biden’s memory. Vice President Kamala Harris has criticized the report, which described Biden’s memory as “blurred,” “flawed,” “poor,” and with “significant limitations.”
The call for invoking the 25th amendment and the controversy surrounding President Biden’s memory have added a new layer of complexity to an already contentious political climate. It remains to be seen how the Biden administration and its critics will navigate this latest development.