• Senator Ed Markey and three House Democrats formally called for invoking never-used Section 4 of 25th Amendment
• Calls triggered by Trump's text to Norway linking Greenland position to not receiving Nobel Peace Prize
• Removal would require Vice President Vance and majority of Cabinet to declare Trump incapacitated

WASHINGTON (TDR) — Multiple Democratic lawmakers are calling for President Donald Trump's removal from office through a constitutional provision never successfully invoked in American history, citing his escalating threats over Greenland and bizarre communications with foreign leaders as evidence he is unfit to serve.

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts became the highest-ranking official to demand Trump's cabinet and Vice President JD Vance invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment after Trump sent an extraordinary text message to Norway's prime minister linking his Greenland ambitions to not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Invoke the 25th Amendment," Markey wrote on X, sharing a New York Times headline about Trump's message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

At least three House Democrats joined Markey's call, including Representatives Eric Swalwell of California, Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona.

"He's risking the safety of every American. Invoke the 25th," Kamlager-Dove stated.

Ansari went further, explicitly describing Trump as "extremely mentally ill" in her call for his removal.

Trump's Text Message Sparks Crisis Calls

The renewed push to remove Trump stems from a January 18 text exchange between Trump and Nordic leaders attempting to deescalate tensions over Greenland. Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb sent a joint message seeking to calm the situation.

Trump responded in less than 30 minutes with a message that stunned diplomatic observers.

"Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can think about what is good and proper for the United States of America," Trump wrote.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by an independent Norwegian committee, not the government. Trump has falsely claimed he stopped eight wars and that commentators said he deserved the 2025 prize, which was awarded to other recipients.

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The president has repeatedly threatened to seize Greenland from Denmark, refused to rule out military force, and imposed tariffs on eight European allies over their opposition to his territorial ambitions.

Understanding The Never-Invoked Provision

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment has never been successfully invoked since the amendment's ratification in 1967. It provides a mechanism for removing a president deemed unable to discharge the powers and duties of office.

The process would require Vice President Vance and a majority of Trump's 15-member Cabinet to submit a written declaration to Congress that Trump is unable to discharge presidential powers and duties.

"Invoking Section 4 of the 25th Amendment would require Vice President JD Vance and the majority of Trump's Cabinet to submit a declaration to Congress that Trump isn't able to discharge the powers and duties of his office," according to constitutional procedures.

If Vance and the Cabinet submitted such a declaration, power would immediately transfer to Vance as acting president. Trump would have the opportunity to contest the declaration in writing.

If Trump challenged the removal, Vance and the Cabinet would have four days to reaffirm their position. Congress would then have 21 days to make a final decision, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers to permanently remove Trump from office.

Constitutional Scholars Question Political Viability

Legal experts emphasize that Section 4 was designed to address genuine presidential incapacity, not policy disagreements or controversial behavior.

David Cole, a constitutional law expert, expressed skepticism about using the provision for political purposes.

"This idea that the Vice President and the President's own Cabinet are going to take the view that a set of policy decisions indicate that the President has [some kind of] incapacity is a case I can't see," Cole told TIME.

He added that if lawmakers are unsatisfied with Trump's performance, impeachment represents a more appropriate constitutional avenue.

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National Constitution Center president Jeffrey Rosen noted the amendment intentionally leaves disability vague, describing it as fundamentally a political decision.

"It's true that the use of Section 4's involuntary-removal mechanism for the first time in American history—especially for a President who is not ill and who still has public support—could trigger a political crisis," Rosen wrote in The Atlantic.

Cabinet Loyalists Make Removal Unlikely

Political reality makes Trump's removal through the 25th Amendment extremely unlikely. The president's cabinet consists entirely of loyalists including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"Unless President Trump was truly incapacitated, the political reality is that it's exceedingly unlikely that he would be removed by a cabinet that includes loyalists such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem," analysts noted.

Vance himself would effectively need to agree with political opponents that Trump cannot serve, an unprecedented scenario requiring the vice president to side against his own administration.

The Republican-controlled Congress would ultimately decide Trump's fate if the Cabinet invoked the amendment and Trump contested it. Given Trump's ironclad support among congressional Republicans, achieving the required two-thirds majority in both chambers appears virtually impossible.

Historical Context And Previous Attempts

The 25th Amendment was drafted after President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination exposed gaps in presidential succession procedures. Congress formally proposed it in 1965, and it was ratified in February 1967.

Sections 1 through 3 have been used multiple times for routine power transfers during presidential medical procedures. President Reagan briefly transferred power to Vice President George H.W. Bush during colon cancer surgery in 1985. Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden both temporarily transferred authority to their vice presidents during colonoscopies.

This marks the second time during Trump's presidency that calls for the 25th Amendment have emerged. Following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Democratic leaders and some Republicans urged Trump's cabinet to remove him.

"Trump is directly responsible for this insurrection and violence. He needs to be removed from office immediately. It is the Constitutional responsibility of Vice President Pence and the cabinet to exercise the power granted them by the 25th amendment," Representative Seth Moulton stated in 2021.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence rejected those calls. The House voted 223-205 to adopt a resolution compelling Pence to invoke the amendment, but he declined in a letter to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump was subsequently impeached by the House for inciting insurrection.

Partisan Pattern Of Amendment Calls

The 25th Amendment has become a partisan political weapon in recent years. Republican officials and Trump allies routinely called for President Biden's cabinet to invoke the amendment against him, particularly after his decision to end his reelection campaign in July 2024.

Trump himself claimed Democratic leaders told Biden to end his campaign or face removal from office. During the 2024 campaign, Vance called on Biden's cabinet to invoke the amendment to remove him.

GOP lawmakers also demanded the amendment's use after Special Counsel Robert Hur's report suggested Biden's mental fitness was "significantly limited."

This represents the third time since Trump returned to office in January 2025 that critics have demanded his cabinet invoke the amendment. Liberal commentators made similar calls in October 2025 after Trump delivered what they characterized as a rambling address to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia.

Most recently, Trump triggered fresh calls after posting 33 times in 45 minutes on social media, including conspiracies about voting machines and attacks on NATO.

International Concerns Mount

Trump's behavior has alarmed international allies and diplomatic observers. His United Nations General Assembly address in September featured what diplomats described as rambling, combative remarks filled with falsehoods and threats.

"Speaking in New York to an audience of world leaders and diplomats who mostly sat in silence, President Trump began his UN address with typical campaign-style bombast – touting imaginary achievements and disparaging his political opponents," observers noted.

Trump claimed he had ended seven wars and that commentators said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, assertions many found problematic given ongoing global conflicts.

At age 79, Trump is confronting questions about cognitive capacity similar to those Republicans leveled against Biden. If Trump serves his full term, he would be 82 years old upon leaving office in January 2029, making him the oldest president in American history at that point.

"Trump would be the oldest president in US history at age 82 by the time his term ends in January 2029," analysts noted. "Were Vice President Vance, who is 41, and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, it would be a first in American history."

Constitutional Safeguards Under Scrutiny

The renewed debate over the 25th Amendment highlights what legal scholars describe as fragility in America's constitutional safeguards regarding presidential competence.

The amendment's framers intentionally left vague what constitutes presidential inability or disability. Legal scholars have cited physical disability, impeachable offenses, and political emergencies like kidnapping as potential scenarios for Section 4's use.

A 2018 Congressional Research Service report determined that a majority of current or acting heads of 15 Cabinet positions would need to agree with the vice president to invoke the amendment in a modern scenario.

The National Constitution Center notes that contested cases favor the president, as the vice president continues acting as president only if two-thirds majorities of both chambers agree the president is unable to serve.

Critics argue the provision's design makes it nearly impossible to remove a president with strong political support, regardless of behavior that might otherwise raise fitness concerns.

Will mounting calls for Trump's removal force congressional Republicans to publicly defend his fitness for office, or will the 25th Amendment remain a symbolic political demand?

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