A House Republican who has criticised the hasty declaration of impeachment against President Biden is calling for his removal from office over questions about his mental fitness for office, Fox News reports.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) told Fox News Digital that he plans to introduce a resolution Monday calling on Biden’s office to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
He cited special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents as the reason. The report made no allegations against the president, but repeatedly characterised him as an aging leader with a poor memory.
Buck said the report “confirmed what many Americans have long since seen for themselves: that President Biden is no longer able to successfully carry out the critical responsibilities of his office.” He told Fox News Digital:
“Numerous instances were articulated in the report, and have played out in full public view, showing President Biden’s apparent cognitive decline and lack of mental stamina. 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.”
In his resolution, Buck also pointed to Biden’s verbal hesitations and public gaffes as evidence of mental decline. He pointed out that Biden recently confused French President Emmanuel Macron with his predecessor, who died decades earlier, as well as confused the names of German leaders and mistakenly referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico.
However, Biden and his allies strongly deny that his mental acuity is suffering. Buck’s resolution is a significant addition to the growing pressure on Biden officials to pay attention to the president’s mental health.
The Colorado Republican, who is retiring at the end of this term, is one of a handful of House lawmakers who have publicly expressed wariness about an attempt to impeach Biden over allegations that he and his family’s businesses have profited from his political weight.
Buck voted with the rest of the House Members Conference to formalise impeachment proceedings against Biden in December, but last week he criticised the leaders of the probe for relying on allegations by FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who was recently indicted for lying to the bureau. Buck said in a CNN interview:
“We’ve always been looking for a link between what Hunter Biden received in terms of money and Joe Biden’s activities or Joe Biden receiving money. This clearly is not a credible link at this point.”
He told the network in September:
“I want to make sure we don’t ruin this institution over a tit-for-tat impeachment. If the evidence is there… I will absolutely vote for impeachment. I don’t see the evidence at this point.”
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the White House cabinet to declare the president unable to perform his duties, transferring authority to the vice president.
By writing to Congress to declare that he can perform his duties, the president can regain that authority. The cabinet would have four days to rebut that claim, after which Congress would vote on whether the president could remain in office.
Buck is one of several Republican lawmakers who have called for a constitutional amendment to be invoked in the wake of Hur’s report, including Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla. and Mike Lee, R-Utah, as well as Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill. and Mike Collins, R-Ga.
