Senator Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) on Monday became the first member of the upper chamber of Congress to call on Vice President Kamala Harris and current cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Joe Biden from office after his Sunday announcement that he will not run for re-election.
“If President Biden is willing to admit he is unable to continue to stand as the Democratic Party nominee for President after the primary process due to his health, he is unable to continue to serve as President until January 20, 2025,” Schmitt wrote.
He urged Harris to pronounce that Biden’s condition has rendered him incapable of continuing in his role and, should he refuse to resign, make the decision for him.
“As the Democrats scramble to find a new nominee, it is with a sober awareness of the gravity of my request that I ask that you, as Vice President, discharge your constitutional duty under the 25th Amendment, working the Cabinet to submit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration of the truth we now all see — President Biden is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” Schmitt continued. “If President Biden is unwilling to resign, for the sake of our great nation, you must do your duty to relieve him of his constitutional powers and duties.”
While Schmitt is the first Senator to request that Harris invoke the 25th Amendment, the idea has percolated in Republican circles since Biden’s Sunday announcement.
Representative Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) wrote in a post on X after Biden withdrew from the presidential race that she plans to introduce a resolution calling on Harris to do so.
“If Joe Biden does not have the cognitive ability to seek reelection, he does not have the cognitive ability to serve the remainder of his term,” Mace argued.
Senator J.D. Vance (R., Ohio), the GOP pick for Vice President, has made a similar argument, though has not gone so far as to write to Harris.
Vance told Jesse Watters during a Sunday Fox News appearance that removing Biden from office is the appropriate course of action given the circumstances.
“If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president,” Vance said. “And if they want to take him down because he’s mentally incapable of serving, invoke the 25th Amendment.”