The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Mack derides, Steve chides, Anne makes asides, and everyone switches sides.

REFERENCES

The great Constitutional scholars on the interwebs are talking about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment:

Constitution Annotated. “Twenty-Fifth Amendment.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/

The idea of, “Oh, we’ll use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to get rid of Trump”:

Common Cause. “Common Cause Calls on the Cabinet to Invoke the 25th Amendment.” https://www.commoncause.org/work/trump-is-unfit-to-serve/

Impeachment and expulsion:

History, Art, & Archives. “Impeachment.” https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Impeachment/

Which has failed twice:

Mascaro, Lisa; Jalonick, Mary Clare; Lemire, Jonathan; and Fram, Alan. “Donald Trump Becomes the First U.S. President to be Impeached Twice.” January 13, 2021. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/majority-of-house-members-vote-for-2nd-impeachment-of-trump

It’s in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6:

Constitution Annotated. “Article II.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/clause-6/

The delegates of the Constitutional Convention:

National Archives. “Meet the Framers of the Constitution.” https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/founding-fathers

Since the Cold War began:

Britannica Editors. “Cold War.” Revised February 18, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War

The advent of nuclear…:

Office for Disarmament Affairs. “Nuclear Weapons.” United Nations. https://disarmament.unoda.org/index.php/en/our-work/weapons-mass-destruction/nuclear-weapons

…and ballistic weapons:

Britannica Editors. “Ballistic Missile.” Updated October 24, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/ballistic-missile

The Civics on the Rocks Team would like to acknowledge that in this episode we use various colloquialisms to describe mental illness that some may find problematic. No offense was intended and we apologize if any was taken.

King George III went a little nutso:

Watson, John Steven. “George III.” Updated April 17, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-III

There are a lot of really good theories as to why that happened and how that happened:

Putnam, Polly. “The King’s ‘Malady’: George III’s Mental Illness Explored.” March 22, 2024. Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/blog/the-kings-malady-george-iiis-mental-illness-explored/

Did people in the colonies know? Well, King Geoge III’s illness became public around 1788, and the final draft of the Constitution was signed in 1787, so it probably was not an influence on Article II.

In the Declaration, the grievances are against the King:

Zagarri, Rosemarie. “The Declaration’s Grievances Against the King.” National Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/essays/the-declarations-grievances-against-the-king

They pinned everything on Parliament and wrote nice letters and missives to the King:

American Battlefield Trust. “Petitioning the King and Parliament.” Updated July 23, 2025. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/petitioning-king-and-parliament

The first Continental Congress and the Declaration of Rights and Grievances:

Horan, Katherine and Horecny, Zoie. “First Continental Congress.” Updated May 30, 2025. George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-continental-congress

The presidency was a wholly new creation:

Marion, David. “The Creation of the American Presidency.” Bill of Rights Institute. https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/the-creation-of-the-american-presidency/

Were there examples of governors removed in case of inability? We didn’t do a big deep dive on this, but Virginia has an excellent archive documenting its colonial governors, so there was…

…Sir John Harvey, who was removed as royal governor of Virginia for alleged treason:

Tarter, Brent. “Sir John Harvey.” Updated December 22, 2021. Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/harvey-sir-john-ca-1581-or-1582-by-1650/

…Francis Nicholson, who was removed as royal governor of Virgina for being uncouth and a jackass toward one particular woman (as well as political reasons):

Zacek, Natalie. “Francis Nicholson.” Updated December 22, 2021. Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/nicholson-francis-1655-1728/

…and Lieutenant Governor Robert Hunter who never served in Virginia because he was kidnapped by the French whilst in transit (Don’t worry. They were nice to him and he later got to be governor of another colony.):

Find a Grave. “Lieutenant Governor Robert Hunter.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124558546/robert-hunter

So we’ll go with, yeah, there was some precedent.

When Woodrow Wilson had a stroke:

Woodrow Willson Presidential Library and Museum. “Thomas Woodrow Wilson.” https://www.woodrowwilson.org/about-woodrow-wilson-1

His vice president was Thomas R. Marshall:

Britannica Editors. “Thomas R. Marshall.” Updated May 28, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-R-Marshall

But, also, Mrs. Wilson:

Markel, Howard. “When A Secret President Ran the Country.” October 2, 2015. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/woodrow-wilson-stroke

The impetus for the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was Eisenhower:

Weiss, Marcia J. “Constitution Provides for the Incapacity of the President.” 2023. EBSCO. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/constitution-provides-incapacity-president

He had a history of heart attacks while in office:

Merschel, Michael. “The Presidential Heart Attack That Changed America.” February 15, 2024. American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2024/02/15/the-presidential-heart-attack-that-changed-america

Kennebunkport(?):

The White House Historical Association. “Presidential Vacations & Retreats: President & Mrs. Bush in Maine.” https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/presidential-vacations-retreats-president-mrs-bush-in-maine

Bethesda (so close!):

Military.com. “National Naval Medical Center.” https://www.military.com/base-guide/national-naval-medical-center

Wilford Hall(?):

Military.com. “Lackland Air Force Base Wilford Hall Medical Facility.” https://www.military.com/base-guide/lackland-air-force-base/contact/wilford-hall-medical-facility/2397

Johns Hopkins(?):

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/

Kennedy’s assassination:

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. “November 22, 1963: Death of the President.” https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/november-22-1963-death-of-the-president

With Lyndon Johnson specifically:

Britannica Editors. “Lyndon B. Johnson.” Updated March 2, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lyndon-B-Johnson

He’d always been concerned about his health:

Nichter, Luke A. “Who Really Was Lyndon B. Johnson?” November 4, 2024. Yale Books. https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2024/11/04/who-really-w...