After a special counsel report excused President Joe Biden of criminal liability for mishandling classified information, a new resolution in the House cites the report’s conclusions as grounds to remove Biden from office.
The resolution, introduced by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), seeks to remove Biden through the 25th Amendment for lacking the mental and physical faculties required to carry out the duties of the office of the president.
Earlier this month, Special Counsel Robert Hur reported that he had determined that Biden wrongfully retained classified documents. But the report also concluded that due to his age, it was unlikely that Biden had the “mental state of willfulness” required to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Buck’s resolution specifically cited the Hur report, which described the president as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” in addition to pointing out a multitude of gaffs by Biden since he became president, to make the case that “the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.”
The 25th Amendment gives the vice president and a majority of the cabinet the authority to remove the president on the grounds that the president is unable to fulfill the duties of his office. In such a case, the vice president would immediately be elevated to the position of “Acting President.”
Buck’s resolution specifically calls for Vice President Kamala Harris to “immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” by activating the 25th Amendment.
In a news release Monday, Buck justified his resolution as being in the best interests of the country.
“The societal challenges and security threats our country faces are innumerable and require a chief executive with both strong mental and physical faculties. The time has come for the vice president and the Cabinet to put our country first and move forward on invoking the 25th Amendment.”
After word of the resolution spread, John Dean, former White House counsel under Richard Nixon, wrote on social media, “Just when you think there may be a few normal Republicans, you discover they are all crazy. [Buck] is leaving public office. He is the person with the cognitive problem not Joe Biden.”
Though Buck is seeking to remove Biden for incapacity, the Colorado congressman has been on record as a skeptic of his House Republican colleagues’ efforts to impeach the president for corruption, citing lack of evidence. He has also been unsupportive of GOP efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
