Calling on Vice President Pence to Convene and Mobilize the Cabinet to Activate Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to Declare President Donald J. Trump Incapable of Executing the Duties of His Office

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H. Res. 21, calling on Vice President Pence to invoke section 4 of the 25th Amendment.

Like all of us, I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the violence that occurred here in our Nation's Capital last week. Political violence is never the answer, regardless of which side of the political spectrum it occurs. And that is a strongly held position on which I have been clear since well before my time in Congress.

Let's be clear about a few things. The adoption of this political resolution would be divisive rather than unifying. The Vice President has said he has no intention of taking action under the amendment. So, this process is pure political theater on the part of the majority.

In addition, no due process has been provided. As a former prosecutor, if law enforcement brought evidence of a crime to me and said take this to the jury tomorrow for a jury trial, there would be no chance for the defendant to prepare any defense. I would be violating half the Constitution, the code of Virginia, and over 100 different rules of procedure.

In the more than 50 years since the 25th Amendment was ratified, section 4 has never been invoked. As such, there are no judicial or authoritative opinions that would evaluate its implementation. Absent this, we must look to the legislative intent of the Congress that passed its language, and nowhere in the legislative intent is the current situation envisioned. It is meant to be used for incapacity, not for political ends with 8 days remaining in a President's term.

Last week, Vice President Pence was lauded by the majority for not yielding to pressure to exert power beyond his constitutional authority to determine the outcome of the election. Yet, the majority today is attempting to pressure him to exert power beyond the intention of his constitutional role in section 4 of the 25th Amendment.

This action will only further fuel the political divide among our citizens and will be detrimental to the long-term efforts to unify our country.

Mr. Speaker, both President Trump and President-elect Biden have called for a peaceful transition of power. I would encourage members of both parties to work toward this end and vote against this rushed, misguided, politically motivated resolution.

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