25th Amendment: Raskin bill proposes new panel help declare presidential fitness

Calls for using 25th Amendment against Pres. Trump

Some lawmakers are calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked against President Trump following his posts threatening Iran. Constitutional law expert Robert McWhirter weighs in. 

A bill proposed by Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin this week looks to establish a new committee that would help evaluate presidential fitness and invoke the 25th Amendment. 

Here’s what to know about the bill: 

Raskin 25th Amendment bill

FILE - People gather outside the White House on June 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Big picture view:

The proposed bill has to do with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment – the involuntary transfer of power, which allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a president unfit for office. 

Dig deeper:

Raskin said in a press release that the amendment allows for Congress to establish a permanent "body" that can also work with the vice president in making the declaration, and that this body hasn’t yet been established.  

This means a vice president could act either with a majority of the current Cabinet administration, or with a majority from this proposed new commission. 

How it works:

The bill proposes the creation of a 17-member commission:

• The Senate Majority and Minority leaders, and the House Speaker and House Minority Leader would each appoint two members. 
• The Democratic and Republican leaders of each chamber would select four physicians and four psychiatrists to serve on the commission. 
• Those 16 appointed members would select a 17th member to act as the chair of the commission. 

Why this was proposed:

Raskins said he introduced the proposal following "a series of increasingly volatile, incoherent, and alarming public statements by the President regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran, which have raised urgent concerns across the political spectrum about his cognitive fitness."

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What they're saying:

"Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilizations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ. We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation," Raskin said in a press release.

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What's next:

Rasking said he has also written to White House Physician Captain Sean Barbabella, asking for a full cognitive and neurological evaluation of president Trump. It’s unclear if that will be performed and released publicly. 

What is the 25th Amendment? 

Here's how the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution works

It was created to clarify the rules for replacing a deceased or incapacitated president, ultimately ratified in 1967.

The backstory:

The amendment was added to the Constitution following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. It was created in order to clarify the rules for replacing a deceased or incapacitated president, ultimately ratified in 1967. 

Its use came up in debate again among several Democrats after Trump’s Easter morning post about Iran.