What’s the 25th Amendment, and how would it be invoked?

But what is the 25th Amendment, and how would such a process work?

Ratified in 1967, the amendment was largely inspired by the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. The United States needed a plan in case its president was incapacitated.

Section 3 of the amendment deals with a voluntary transfer of power, in which the president says that he is or will be unable to perform his duties. Such may be the case if the president has to undergo surgery and would be temporarily unavailable.

Section 4 of the amendment deals with the involuntary transfer of power. It allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet or “such other body as Congress may by law provide” to declare that the president is unable to perform his duties via a written declaration to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House. The amendment does not specify what such an “other body” would look like.

Upon that declaration, the vice president takes on the duties of acting president. The president then has the opportunity to object to the declaration and inform Congress and the Cabinet that he is able to carry out his job. Upon doing so, he may resume his work.

The vice president and Cabinet or “other body” then have four days to, once again, tell Congress that the president is unable to perform his job. After doing so, the vice president will resume his role as acting president. If Congress is in session, it has three weeks to vote on the matter or three weeks to vote and two days to convene if it is not in session. If two-thirds of both the House and the Senate agree that the president is unable to perform his duties, the vice president will continue to serve as acting president.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned on Thursday amid the windfall from Wednesday’s events. Among the legal questions that surround the amendment include whether the three acting members of the president’s Cabinet would be able to cast a vote. Additionally, the president could decide to fire members of his Cabinet and replace them and fill the vacant positions with acting department heads more favorable to his cause.

Section 4 of the amendment has never been invoked, but Section 3 has. In 2002 and 2007, former President George W. Bush placed former Vice President Dick Cheney in charge while he underwent routine colonoscopies.

Republican Sen. Adam Kinzinger said in a video statement on Thursday, “Yesterday was a sad day, as we all know. It was the day where fires stoked by the president and other leaders finally leapt out of the pit, and it lit the trees.”

He added, “All indications are that the president has become unmoored, not just from his duty, or even his oath, but from reality itself. It is for this reason that I call for the vice president and members of the Cabinet to ensure the next few weeks are safe for the American people and that we have a sane captain of the ship.”

The sustaining of such a measure by Congress, however, is unlikely, as many Republicans would need to break with the president.