Oct 8, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Pelosi to introduce bill to assess president's mental, physical capacity for office

Jacob Knutson

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) during a press conference on Oct. 8. — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with Rep. Frank Pallone during a press conference on Oct. 8. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will introduce legislation on Friday to establish a 25th Amendment commission to assess the president's mental and physical capacity to hold office, according to a news release.

Why it matters: The legislation, coming as Trump is still recovering from COVID-19, is largely symbolic as it is highly unlikely the Republican-majority Senate will even consider the bill.

The commission would be established under the 25th Amendment, which enables "Congress to help ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the highest office in the Executive Branch of government," the news release states.

Worth noting: Raskin sponsored a similar bill in 2017, which called for a commission made up of doctors and psychiatrists to determine "whether the president is mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office."

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Pelosi to introduce bill to assess president's mental, physical capacity for office

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