Democrats Weigh 25th Amendment Move on Trump

House Democrats plan to hold a virtual briefing Friday on whether to pursue removing President Donald Trump under the 25th Amendment over his actions in the conflict with Iran.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., disclosed the briefing in a letter Wednesday to fellow Democrats, according to Axios.

Democrats and some Republicans who have broken with Trump on the issue, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have expressed concern over his rhetoric toward Iran.

Conservative commentator Alex Jones has also raised concerns.

On Easter Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to an 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Iran to agree to a peace deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.

"There will be nothing like it!!! Open the [expletive] Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."

On Tuesday morning, Trump wrote, in part, on Truth Social: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."

The parties reached a two-week ceasefire agreement just hours before the deadline.

Jeffries wrote that Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and other committee Democrats would hold a virtual briefing Friday "on Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment."

"Shockingly, Donald Trump threatened to escalate his war of choice in a profane Easter Sunday rant and to eradicate an entire civilization," Jeffries wrote. "House Republican leadership remains completely silent on the president's unhinged behavior.

"Instead, they continue to enable and excuse his dangerous conduct.

"We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness."

Both Greene and Jones on Tuesday floated using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.

Under the 25th Amendment, which governs presidential succession, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet can declare a president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office," transferring authority to the vice president as acting president.

In the final year of the Biden administration, Republicans pressed for use of the 25th Amendment to remove Joe Biden, especially after his widely criticized debate against Trump.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, filed a resolution in June 2024 calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to convene the Cabinet and declare the president unable to discharge his duties.

In July 2024, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a similar resolution, arguing that if the president was not cognitively fit to seek reelection, he was not fit to serve the remainder of his term.

More than 85 House Democrats, along with two Senate Democrats, have called for Trump to be impeached or for Vice President JD Vance and the Cabinet to convene and remove Trump by invoking the 25th Amendment. The calls persisted even after the ceasefire was announced, according to Axios.

A centrist House Democrat told Axios the move is "a fool's errand." Another Democrat, when asked why Jeffries took this step, told Axios they had "no damn idea."

In addition to Raskin's briefing, Jeffries wrote that Democrats will seek unanimous consent to pass an Iran War Powers resolution during the House's pro forma session Thursday morning.

Congress is on Easter recess until next week. House Democrats will also hold a news conference on the Capitol steps after the session, according to Axios.

"There is tremendous angst in the country about Trump's deranged threats to commit war crimes," Raskin, who has publicly called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, told Axios. "The Constitution is not perfectly designed for an emergency like this, but the 25th Amendment is definitely the closest avenue we have for a federal response."

Raskin said the amendment allows Congress to establish an alternative body to partner with the vice president on a president's fitness for office, instead of relying on the vice president and Cabinet, which he said is "not an ideal solution."