The President may take back the Presidency by sending a letter to the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House. However, if the Vice President and the Cabinet think the President is still disabled and still cannot do his job, they can challenge his return. They have four days to write another declaration saying the President is still unable to do his job. The Vice President is still Acting President during these four days. Congress then has to get together within 48 hours, if they are not already in session. Then Congress has 21 days to make a decision. In the meantime, the Vice President is still Acting President.
If two-thirds of each House of Congress votes that the President still cannot do his job, the Vice President would continue to be Acting President. If Congress does not vote this way, or if they do not vote at all within 21 days, the President takes over the Presidency again.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment has been invoked (used) six times since it was added to the Constitution. Section 1 has been used once; Section 2 has been used twice; and Section 3 has been used three times. Only Section 4 has never been used, though it was considered twice.
President Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, before the House could vote on whether to impeach him for crimes related to the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald Ford became President as soon as Nixon resigned.
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. Two days later, President Richard Nixon nominated United States Representative Gerald Ford of Michigan to be the new Vice President. According to Section 2, more than 50% of each House of Congress had to approve Ford as Vice President. By December 6, 97% of the Senate and 92% of the House had approved Ford. Ford was sworn in to the Vice Presidency later on December 6 before both Houses of Congress. Ford is the only person in United States history ever to be Vice President, and later President, without being elected to either office.
When Gerald Ford became President after Richard Nixon resigned, the Vice Presidency became vacant. On August 20, 1974, the new President Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to be the new Vice President. On December 10, 1974, the Senate confirmed Rockefeller with a vote of 90–7. Nine days later, the House voted 287-128 to confirm Rockefeller. He was sworn into office later on December 19, 1974, before the Senate.
Presidents have used Section 3 of the 25th Amendment three times. Each time, they have given power to their Vice Presidents for a short time because they needed to get anesthesia for medical tests or surgery. The three Acting Presidents in United States history are listed below.
On July 12, 1985, President Ronald Reagan found out that he had a small growth in his colon that could turn into colon cancer. His doctor told him he needed surgery. Reagan decided to have surgery right away.
However, Reagan did not want to invoke Section 3 of the 25th Amendment. He was worried that giving Presidential power away would set a bad precedent. The White House's head lawyer and Reagan's Chief of Staff suggested that he use Section 3 and give power to Vice President George H.W. Bush.
Two letters were created. The first invoked Section 3 and said Reagan would be unable to discharge his duties. The second said that Reagan knew about Section 3, and did not think it applied to his situation, but still wanted Bush to take over during his surgery. On July 13, Reagan signed the second letter and had it delivered to the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House.
Reagan's autobiography, and other books, argue that Reagan clearly meant to give power to Vice President Bush. The White House lawyer, Fred Fielding, said:
However, since Reagan did not specifically mention Section 3 and say he could not do his job as President, he did not officially invoke the 25th Amendment.
On June 29, 2002, President George W. Bush became the first President to officially invoke Section 3. He needed a colonoscopy, a test of the colon, and would be getting anesthesia. He formally gave power to his Vice President, Dick Cheney, using the rules that the 25th Amendment set out. Unlike Reagan, he specifically said he was using Section 3 of the 25th Amendment in his letter to the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House. After about two hours, Bush was awake and took back the Presidency.
On July 21, 2007, President Bush again invoked Section 3 so he could have another colonoscopy. Again, Cheney was Acting President for about two hours, until Bush was ready to take back the Presidency.
As of 2021, Section 4 has never been invoked, however there were at least two occasions where the use of Section 4 was considered and another where its non-use came under substantial criticism. These occurred during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
On March 30, 1981, a man named John Hinckley tried to kill President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was shot and needed immediate surgery, so he could not invoke Section 3 to give power to his Vice President. His Vice President, George H.W. Bush, did not invoke Section 4, because he was on an airplane returning from Texas. Reagan was out of surgery by the time Bush got to Washington, D.C.
In 1995, Birch Bayh, who had written the Senate version of the 25th Amendment, wrote that Section 4 should have been invoked.
In 1987, Reagan's Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, resigned. Howard Baker replaced him. Reagan's staff told Baker that Reagan seemed lazy and unable to do his job. They told him to be ready for Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to be invoked.
According to the PBS program "American Experience":
In an interview on the program, Edmund Morris, who had written a biography of Reagan, said:
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Dagan died of liver cancer in Tel Aviv, Israel at the age of 71.
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Drake died of cardiac arrest complicated by a rare form of blood cancer on March 17, 2016 in Hollywood, California at the age of 66.
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James Douglas (May 20, 1929 – March 5, 2016) was an American actor. He best known for his role as Grant Colman on "As the World Turns" (1974–81, with return appearances in 1986 and 1989).
Douglas was born in Los Angeles, California. He died on March 5, 2016 at the age of 86.
His first major role came in 1964 when he joined the cast of the primetime soap "Peyton Place". He played the role of Steven Cord. He stayed with the series until it left the air in 1969.