Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sparred with a GOP lawmaker during a House hearing after the Republican asked whether the Cabinet has considered removing President Joe Biden via the 25th Amendment due to questions about his cognitive health.
The House Transportation Committee met for hours on Tuesday to discuss infrastructure, electric vehicles, and rising energy costs amid the war in Ukraine. However, the hearing took a turn after Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) began to press Buttigieg with suggestions that Biden is not mentally fit for office.
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“We now see the mainstream media questioning President Biden’s mental state, and for good reason. Sadly, he shakes hands with ghosts and imaginary people, and he falls off bicycles,” Nehls said, referring to an incident last month when the president fell off his bike while greeting a crowd in Delaware.
Nehls also presented the committee with photos of Biden and captions mocking a speech the president gave last month in which he stuttered through parts of his delivery. Others standing around the Texas Republican presented photos of Biden standing with the White House Easter Bunny.
“Have you spoken to Cabinet members about implementing the 25th Amendment on President Biden?” Nehls asked.
“First of all, I’m glad to have a president who can ride a bicycle, and I will look beyond the insulting nature of that question and make clear to you that the president of the United States — ” he said before being interrupted. “Of course not,” he muttered under his breath as Nehls repeated the question.
“ — is as vigorous a colleague or boss as I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Buttigieg then added.
Biden, 79, has been subjected to questions about his cognitive ability due to common slip-ups, stutters, and verbal gaffes. While some argue the mistakes indicate cognitive decline, the Democrat has often made verbal blunders throughout his career as a senator and grew up with a stutter when he was a child.
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The 25th Amendment would allow the president to be removed from office if the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members or a group established by Congress declare him or her unfit.
Republicans have considered invoking this power, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) calling for its use in August 2021 after the fallout from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan left 13 U.S. military members dead and hundreds of bystanders wounded. Democrats also called for President Donald Trump to be removed via the 25th Amendment after the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, with some Republicans also reportedly considering doing the same behind closed doors.
