>> The U.S.

and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire but concerns over President Trump's rhetoric on the war remain.

It comes after Trump shared this expletive-laced post on truth social ahead of the cease-fire, threatening to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran, including power plants and bridges.

And another one warning that, quote, whole civilization will die tonight, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently joined the chorus of Democrats in his own social media posts calling for the 25th amendment to be invoked.

Joining us now is Daniel Rodriguez, professor of law at Northwestern University.

Professor, thank you for joining us.

So the 25th amendment, it covers presidential disability.

The process of removal.

If it should come to that in the order of succession, how did this amendment come about?

>> Well, it was it came about it was enacted in 1967.

And it was really a direct outgrowth of the anxiety that a that was that we folks out of the resulting from the assassination of President Kennedy.

Now, although tragically, President really died at the time he was Concerns grew about what would happen in the case of presidential disability.

This was not a new issue.

And in fact, in 2 important times in American history, albeit a long time ago.

There was a long periods of time in which the president was really truly disabled.

Woodrow Wilson in there in the 1920's was out of commission after a massive stroke for as long as 17 months wasn't widely known by the public.

And media course is very different.

The years before that James Garfield was assassinated last days before he died in south, though there really was a concern about about what would happen in the case in particular presidential disability.

And how what kind of process would would make sure that they were transition government, conduct conduct of the executive branch during that period of time.

>> Or even how could the 25th amendment the used to remove a sitting president?

>> Well, they're they're there to sections of relevant Section 3 and Section were most interested here, of course, in Section 4, Section 3 provides that the president might voluntarily relinquished to these for a short period of time.

That's happened a number of times beginning with President Reagan undergoing surgery.

President having to colonoscopies and really gushing power.

But but but that's volunteering.

President certainly takes a back once once.

He's a back on the job.

Section 4 is the provision by which president can volunteer removed for office quote, the language from section for the 25th Amendment.

If the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

Let me briefly describe how it works.

the vice president and a majority of the cabinet or into the the Congress establishes instead of the believes that the president is incapacitated unable to perform his duties.

They issue a declaration.

They sent a note to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the Assuming nothing happens that the vice president takes on the duties of the president.

That's a succession as as acting president.

If within 4 days the president disputes that that decoration and says no, I'm perfectly capable of performing these tasks.

Then it falls upon Congress to make a determination within 21 days of whether or not the president is unable and unfit to carry out those duties.

And when I say it falls upon Congress, Congress, if they're going to side with the president is removed from office, they got two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate need to make that declaration.

>> current that's that's a large amount.

And then is that amendment professor is a very specific when it comes to addressing what reasons the president might be removed for.

>> No, not at all.

Indeed.

If you look at the legislative history surrounding the adoption of that amendment, it seems that it was purposely left open-ended.

Certainly those who responsible for drafting the proposed the amendment spoke at great length about the prospects of physical disability, referred to 2 episodes in the past, but a number of them also noted that mental disability would would be a criteria for for invoking the 25th Amendment section for the 20 5th Amendment one, a prominent senator said that if the president quoting here is unable because of mental disability to make any rational decision, that would be a basis for removal of office.

But they did not define and in the text of the 25th amendment, the criteria for either physical or mental disability or for that matter, anything about unable to to discharge the duties of the office who have to purposely open-ended.

>> What professor, what do you think is unique about today's calls to invoke the amendment compared to previous efforts to remove a president?

>> what I would say is is I would I would bring into this not only what's happening presently as of today, but but really the debate that started after 1/6/2021, when when there was then calls for for removing through the 25th amendment and later through impeachment of President Trump and the criteria there being he was he was certainly unable to the argument was he was he was unable to make rational decisions and there were calls for the indication, the 25th amendment.

This is not dissimilar, I should say in that the claim is not me.

As I understand the arguments and individuals separate individuals and legislators, of course, can speak for themself spoken, not about physical disability, primarily some referred to mental disability, but the lion's share of the the argument and this does make it rather unique is that this is just irrational action by someone who's incapable of making rational decisions.

And that's that's quite a quite quite a quite unusual and unique.

>> Are there other ways beyond the 25th amendment or impeachment to remove a president?

>> No, not not.

Let's president voluntarily stepped down.

Those are the 2 ways in which the president is removed from a from office and before the 25th amendment 1960's.

The only way was through through impeaching.

>> remind us briefly, what what is the order of succession if the president is removed?

That's vice president after the vice president, the speaker of House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the of the of the Senate.

if I may just say very briefly, one of the reasons rationales behind ensuring that invoking the 25th amendment requires 9 with the scent of the vice president, but also the ascent of the majority of the is to is to counteract what what some might regard as a cook on the part of the vice president.

So in order to get all the way through to remove the president from office.

>> It takes at least the decision the vice president, but other other actors and officers who would not personally benefit by the president to be removed from office as the vice president So among those other actors, you know, we mentioned that most of the call so far to invoke the 20 minute, the 25th they are from Democrats.

>> Are there other people, though, that you think has if they were to lean in that direction?

Could they also tip the balance in favor of removal if they were to come out in support of invoking the 25th.

>> Well, it's good question a little bit above my pay grade asking you to speculate about politics.

But if I sort of try to combine the political reality with the with the structure, I think again, all roads lead back to the vice president pretty hard to that the certain structure of the vice president has sent to this move forward.

So he's a necessary, even if not sufficient condition so real that I think the heart of the question is, are the folks who, in your words, who could lean into this may be members of the cabinet or other prominent members of the Republican Party that could ultimately convinced the vice president and then he in return convince a majority the Cabinet to to invoke the 25th that 23.

And if they were to even get that far, of course, then they would have to go through the House and the Senate, which are still majority control by the Republican.

>> Republican caucuses, professor Daniel Rodriguez,