House Speaker Mike Johnson called on President Joe Biden's cabinet on Friday to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and remove the commander in chief from office given his troubling debate performance the night before.
Asked about Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy's plans to offer a House resolution calling upon Vice President Kamala Harris to take the lead in removing Biden, Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill, “There’s a lot of people asking about the 25th Amendment, invoking the 25th Amendment right now because this is an alarming situation.”
“Our adversaries see the weakness in this White House as we all do. I take no pleasure in saying that. I think this is a very dangerous situation,” added the speaker, who is second in the line succession to the presidency behind the vice president.
I intend to put forth a resolution calling upon the @VP to immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene & mobilize the principal officers of the Cabinet to declare the @POTUS is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) June 28, 2024
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment provides that when the vice president and a majority of the cabinet determine the president is no longer fit to serve, the vice president immediately assumes the power of acting president.
The president then has an opportunity to refute the assessment in writing to Congress, requiring the vice president and the majority of the cabinet to reaffirm their decision, which then triggers a two-thirds vote requirement in both chambers to remove the president.
“I would ask the Cabinet members to search their hearts,” Johnson said, pointing out that Democrats are “panicking” after Biden’s debate performance. “I would be panicking too if I were a Democrat today and that was my nominee. I think they know they have a serious problem.”
“But it’s not just political. It’s not just the Democratic Party. It’s the entire country. We have a serious problem here, because we have a president who, by all appearances, is not up to the task,” the speaker said.
“And these are very dangerous times. This is a very serious moment in American history. And it needs to be regarded and handled as such. And we hope that they will do their duty, as we all seek to do our duty to do best for the American people,” Johnson said. "These are fateful moments."
During Thursday night's debate against former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Biden lost his train of thought multiple times and made nonsensical statements at other moments.
One instance that received a lot of media coverage was when he gave a rambling, incoherent answer about healthcare ending with, "We finally beat Medicare."
BIDEN: "...with the COVID.. excuse me.. dealing with.. everything we have to do with.. look.. if... we finally beat, Medicare."
TRUMP: "He's right. He did beat Medicare. He's destroying Medicare." pic.twitter.com/jgVCpXUhWZ
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) June 28, 2024
At another point in the debate, Biden falsely claimed that no American soldiers have died on his watch.
"I'm the only president this century, that doesn't have any, this decade, that doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world, like [Trump] did," he said.
BIDEN: “The truth is, I’m the only president this century…this decade that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did.”
That is FALSE. pic.twitter.com/ZObPRpNoYm
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 28, 2024
On Friday, Deputy Defense Department Press Secretary Sabrina Singh acknowledged Biden's statement was wrong.
"We have certainly had service members pass during this administration," she said.
Biden's own Pentagon press secretary admits Biden was LYING when he outrageously claimed he's the "only president this century" not to have any troops killed during his term pic.twitter.com/OXZSgiYbJ3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 28, 2024
Singh mentioned three American service members died in a drone strike in Jordan in January believed to have been carried out by an Iranian-backed militia based in Iraq, according to The Guardian.
Biden's own Pentagon press secretary admits Biden was LYING when he outrageously claimed he's the "only president this century" not to have any troops killed during his term pic.twitter.com/OXZSgiYbJ3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 28, 2024
Additionally, two Navy SEALs died that same month while trying to board a ship carrying Iranian weapons to Yemen, The Associated Press reported.
The most high profile incident of American casualties on Biden's watch was the deaths of 13 American troops in a suicide bomb blast during the precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Last night, President Biden claimed that on his watch, we have not lost any American troops; that is obviously untrue.
We will never forget the 13 American heroes who lost their lives during his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan:
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover… pic.twitter.com/f57AC47sQi
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) June 28, 2024
At a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Friday, Biden admitted he does not speak or debate as well as he used to.
But, he argued, "I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done."
President Biden: "I don't walk as easy as I used to. I don't speak as smoothly as I used to... I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job...I know like millions of Americans know; when you get knocked down you get back up!" pic.twitter.com/V9EdtTeDGC
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 28, 2024
Former President Barack Obama came to Biden's defense on Friday posting on X, "Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know," referring to his poor first debate performance against then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential race.
The New York Times reported Biden campaign officials said the president has no intention of stepping aside so Democrats can nominate another candidate and he does plan to debate Trump again on Sept. 10.
