Under the guidance of the 25th Amendment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has introduced a new bill that would create the Commission on Presidential Capacity. If passed, the commission would allow Congress to intervene if they felt the President was incapable of fulfilling their role. The Commission would consist of 16 members, eight doctors and eight high-ranking former executive office officials who would work with the vice president.
Rep. Pelosi's new bill comes just days after President Donald Trump returned from Walter Reed Medical Center. While there, the President underwent treatment for the coronavirus. Once he returned to the White House, many noted that Trump appeared winded and out of breath. However, Pelosi says that she has not created this bill because of President Trump.
“This is not about President Donald Trump — he will face the judgment of the voters,” she said.
"But he shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents," Speaker Pelosi added.
Immediately after the bill was introduced, members of Trump's team immediately criticized it. Senator Mitch McConnell called Pelosi's proposal "absolutely absurd."
“It's an absurd proposal," Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on FOX.
The bill arrives in the nation's capital just a month before the general election. If either of the major party's candidates are elected, the country will have its oldest President in history. Donald Trump would be 74 years old at the time of the Inauguration and former Vice President Joe Biden would be 78. Prior to Trump's election, only two Presidents were older than 65 years old when they assumed the office.
When asked about the status of either candidate's health at the Vice Presidential Debate on Wednesday, both Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris dodged the question. With the second debate no longer taking place, it is unclear if the question of health will come up again in the election process unless the Capitol Hill COVID-19 outbreak worsens.
Photo: Getty Images