Donald Trump wants to change the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution – could he do that?

Donald Trump has declared that he wants to amend the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution to allow the removal of a vice president who “covers up” the incompetence of the commander in chief.

At a campaign rally on Saturday in Mosinee, Wisconsin, the Republican presidential candidate accused his election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, of covering up the mental health of President Joe Biden. Trump considers him unfit for office.

“I will support an amendment to the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a vice president lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incompetence of the president of the United States, if it is done with a cover-up by the president of the United States, that is grounds for immediate impeachment and removal from office, because that is exactly what they have done,” Trump said to applause from the crowd.

“They did. Think about it: If he hadn't been in that debate, he would still be running, still running.”

The 25th Amendment, passed in July 1965, less than two years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, addresses how a president can be removed from office and who would succeed him if he dies, becomes incapacitated, or is otherwise removed from office.

Trump's own Cabinet once considered removing him from office. In 2022, his former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Jan. 6 committee that during a conversation with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the wake of the 2021 Capitol riots, he discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove the then-president from office.

While it would be possible for Trump to amend the 25th Amendment, it would be difficult. The procedure is designed to ensure that the changes are carefully considered and reflect a broad consensus across the Union.

An amendment may be introduced either by a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a national convention convened by two-thirds (34) of the state legislatures.

Once an amendment is proposed, it is sent to the states. Three-quarters of the state legislatures (38 of 50 states) must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution. The states can also ratify it through special state conventions, but this method is rarely used.

A survey conducted for Newsweek After the June 27 election debate, but before Biden dropped out of the race, it emerged that more Biden voters in 2020 supported his overthrow through the 25th Amendment than opposed the measure.

Harris continued to defend Biden's mental state. In her first interview since the president ended his re-election campaign, Harris told CNN's Dana Bash that he is fit for duty.

“He is so smart and loyal to the American people. And I've spent many hours with him, whether it was in the Oval Office or in the Situation Room. He has the intelligence and the commitment and the judgment and the attitude that I think the American people deserve from their president.”

Since Biden gave up his re-election bid in July and endorsed Harris, Trump has attacked the vice president and the media, claiming they covered for the incumbent after his disastrous performance in the first debate in June. Trump has been calling for the president's impeachment since at least September 2023.

“Biden doesn't know he's alive, and she's worse off,” Trump said at the rally.

Trump's call to amend the Constitution to remove Harris as vice president appears to be a variation on his earlier argument that February 25 should be used to remove Biden. It is the latest example of him gathering material to focus on Harris now that Harris is his political opponent in the election.

In recent weeks, Trump has either replaced Biden's name with Harris' in identical discussion points (“Biden's Department of Justice became “Harris and her Department of Justice”) or he has used the two names synonymously in the same sentence.

During his 90-minute speech in Wisconsin, he mentioned Biden – Joe, Sleepy Joe, Joe Biden, Biden – 22 times and referred to Harris – Comrade Kamala, Kamala, Kamala Harris, Harris – 16 times.

Newsweek asked the Trump and Harris campaign teams for comment via email outside of normal business hours.