Rep. Darrell Issa suggests Congress and the Supreme Court should help remove unfit presidents after Biden health controversy.

Issa Floats Constitutional Change After Biden Health Concerns

Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican and member of the House Judiciary Committee, has called for a new constitutional amendment that would allow Congress and the Supreme Court to participate in removing a president deemed unable to perform their duties. Issa’s proposal comes in response to what he describes as a “cover-up” by the previous Biden administration regarding President Biden’s declining health, raising questions about the effectiveness of current safeguards in the Constitution.

Issa argues that the 25th Amendment—which empowers the vice president and cabinet to remove a president who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”—may not be sufficient in cases where those closest to the president are unwilling or unable to act impartially. “The initiation was always intended to be the vice president and the cabinet based on the assumption that they would take their oath and their observation seriously and that they were closest to the president to know if that event was needed,” Issa explained. “It now looks as though their impartiality can be questioned.”

In Issa’s view, expanding the removal process to include Congress and the Supreme Court would help ensure that a president’s fitness for office can be fairly and transparently evaluated. “If that's the case, the other two branches need to be brought in in some way into the process of asserting that the president may be unable to perform his duties and determining that in a fair and, if necessary, public way,” Issa said, emphasizing the importance of checks and balances in the constitutional system.

Congressional Investigations May Inform Amendment

Issa’s comments coincide with the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing inquiry into former President Biden’s health and the actions of his top officials. The committee has scheduled interviews with key former administration figures, including Neera Tanden, Anthony Bernthal, and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, to better understand the decision-making processes and disclosures surrounding Biden’s tenure. Investigators also seek to determine whether any officials authorized executive actions on the president’s behalf without his direct permission.

Issa noted that the findings from these interviews could help shape the language of any constitutional amendment that emerges from the Judiciary Committee. “What Chairman Comer is doing is extremely important because he's basically doing the fact-finding for the Judiciary Committee, which is going to undoubtedly take up a possible amendment to the 25th Amendment,” Issa stated.

Amending the Constitution is a challenging process, requiring a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, as well as ratification by three-quarters of the states. Even with strong Republican support, Issa acknowledged the steep political and procedural obstacles but insisted that improvements to the current system are necessary. “Since it didn't work, we have to ask, is there another way to make it work better in the future?” Issa concluded.

As the investigation unfolds and debate intensifies over presidential fitness and accountability, Issa’s proposal is set to spark discussion in Congress about the appropriate mechanisms for ensuring transparency and stability at the highest levels of government.