After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hinted Thursday that discussions about the 25th Amendment could be taking place amid President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, her office announced a new bill will be unveiled on Friday that would create a commission to determine whether a president is fit for office.
The Hill reports that Pelosi teamed up with Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is a constitutional law expert, on the bill.
Pelosi’s office announced that the two lawmakers will formally introduce the bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Friday morning.
According to The Hill, the proposed legislation will be similar to a proposal Raskin put forward back in 2017. Under that plan, a commission would be created that would be tasked with determining presidential fitness for office as outlined by the Constitution's 25th Amendment.
Raskin’s original bill would have created a “body,” which is mentioned in the 25th Amendment. The newly formed body would be made up of physicians, psychiatrists, and former public officials like former presidents or Cabinet secretaries selected by congressional leadership that would be able to declare if a president can’t fulfill his or her official duties.
Hours after the president announced his coronavirus diagnosis last Friday, Raskin told The Hill he intended to update his bill.
"I've got my 25th Amendment legislation from the last Congress, H.R. 1987, which I'm going to be dusting off and reintroducing," Raskin said.
On Thursday, Pelosi didn't say whether it is time to invoke the 25th Amendment when asked by reporters. She did say she wanted to know why the White House wasn't providing more updates about the president's health.
“I’m not talking about it today except to tell you, if you want to talk about that, we’ll see you tomorrow,” Pelosi said of the 25th Amendment. “But you take me back to my point, Mr. President, when was the last time you had a negative test before you tested positive? Why is the White House not telling the country that important fact about how this made a hot spot of the White House?”
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