From a previous link here: "Section 4 addresses the case of an incapacitated president who is unable or unwilling to
execute the voluntary declaration contemplated in Section 3; it is the amendment's only section that has never been
invoked. It allows the vice president, together with a 'majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' to declare the president 'unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office' in a written declaration. The transfer of authority to the vice president is immediate, and the vice
president becomes acting president—not president—while the president remains in office, albeit divested of all authority."
Could this section be invoked if it's proved that Trump is mentally "incapacitated" or does it have to be physical and/or
a combination of both? If the former, how exactly would Trump's mental acumen be assessed—under subpoena? And
presumably Congress can override any such mental assessment anyway, so what's the point of Section 4 ultimately?
Section 4 also says if "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". What exactly does that phrase mean?
Again, who or what body determines his ability or inability, and by using what metric? Even the Article II succession
clause doesn't clarify what constitutes an "inability", or who determines the existence of an inability..."
And lastly, could Pence as VP, and acting solely, invoke Section 4 without the vote of Congress?
execute the voluntary declaration contemplated in Section 3; it is the amendment's only section that has never been
invoked. It allows the vice president, together with a 'majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments
or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' to declare the president 'unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office' in a written declaration. The transfer of authority to the vice president is immediate, and the vice
president becomes acting president—not president—while the president remains in office, albeit divested of all authority."
Could this section be invoked if it's proved that Trump is mentally "incapacitated" or does it have to be physical and/or
a combination of both? If the former, how exactly would Trump's mental acumen be assessed—under subpoena? And
presumably Congress can override any such mental assessment anyway, so what's the point of Section 4 ultimately?
Section 4 also says if "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". What exactly does that phrase mean?
Again, who or what body determines his ability or inability, and by using what metric? Even the Article II succession
clause doesn't clarify what constitutes an "inability", or who determines the existence of an inability..."
And lastly, could Pence as VP, and acting solely, invoke Section 4 without the vote of Congress?
I'm a creationist; I believe that man created God.
