Washington : President Donald Trump announced early Friday on Twitter that he has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and he will spend several days at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment and evaluation.
The 25th Amendment provides some answers about how presidential power could be transferred, either temporarily or more permanently. Trump has not invoked the amendment in this case. In fact, the White House said he will continue to work from an office set up for him at the hospital.
Here are some questions and answers about the amendment.
Why was it passed? The push for an amendment detailing presidential succession plans followed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. President Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1965 State of the Union promised to propose laws to insure the necessary continuity of leadership should the President become disabled or die. The amendment was passed by Congress that year and ultimately ratified in 1967.
Has it been Invoked to transfer power before? Yes, presidents have temporarily relinquished power but not all invoked the 25th Amendment. Previous transfers of power have generally been brief and happened when the president was undergoing a medical procedure.
In 2002, President George W. Bush became the first to use the amendment’s Section 3 to temporarily transfer power, to Vice President Dick Cheney while Bush was anesthetised for a colonoscopy. Bush temporarily transferred power in 2007 to undergo another colonoscopy.
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