Did congress and senate activate the 25th adminment

1. What “activating” the 25th Amendment would mean, and who actually does it

The 25th Amendment’s Section 4 allows the vice president together with a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments—or a body Congress might by law create—to transmit a written declaration to the congressional leaders that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of office, at which point the vice president “shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” ^{[6] [7]}. If the president disputes that declaration, Congress’s role is to decide the matter: it must convene and can sustain the vice president’s acting status only by a two‑thirds vote in both houses within the statutory timeframe ^{[2] [8]}.

2. The historical record: use, near‑uses, and what Congress has done

Historically, Sections 1–3 of the amendment have been used for succession and voluntary temporary transfers (for example, filling vice‑presidential vacancies and Presidents temporarily relinquishing duties), but Section 4—the involuntary removal pathway—has never been invoked ^{[9] [1]}. Congress itself has not “activated” Section 4; its constitutional function is reactive if the vice president and a majority of Cabinet file a declaration or if the president contests a voluntary return to duty ^{[10] [2]}. The legislative branch has debated the amendment’s contours many times and could create a statutory review body, but no such body empowered by law currently replaces the Cabinet mechanism absent future legislation ^[8].

3. Recent political debate vs. constitutional reality

After high‑profile crises such as January 6, 2021, and during heated political moments, lawmakers and commentators called for invoking the 25th Amendment; these calls are political pressure, not the statutory or constitutional trigger itself ^{[11] [12]}. Individual members of Congress have publicly urged Vice President Harris or earlier Vice President Pence to convene Cabinet action, and some filed resolutions urging invocation, but those are exhortations and requests, not an invocation by the vice president and Cabinet ^{[4] [5] [3]}. The Constitution requires the vice president plus a majority of Cabinet secretaries (or another congressionally authorized body) to transmit the formal declaration—an action not recorded in the available reporting ^{[2] [6]}.

4. Why confusion persists: procedure complexity and political theater

Part of the public confusion stems from misunderstanding who “activates” Section 4 and from media reports amplifying calls to “invoke” the amendment as if Congress could do so unilaterally; in reality, Congress only resolves a dispute after a vice‑presidential/Cabinet action, and removal through Section 4 has a very high bar and specific procedural timelines ^{[8] [2]}. Advocacy pieces and opinion columns urging Congress or the Cabinet to act can create the impression of momentum, but the constitutional text and authoritative explanations from the Library of Congress and constitutional centers make clear that no congressional activation mechanism exists independent of the vice president/Cabinet declaration ^{[13] [7]}.

5. Bottom line and limits of reporting

There is no record in the provided sources that the vice president and a majority of Cabinet secretaries formally transmitted a Section 4 declaration to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House; therefore Congress and the Senate did not “activate” the 25th Amendment ^{[6] [1]}. The reporting documents repeated calls by lawmakers and informational explainers about how the process would work and the historical context, but they do not document an actual invocation or a congressional vote to remove a president under Section 4 ^{[3] [4] [5]}. If new, authoritative documentation exists of a formal transmission or of Congress voting under Section 4, that evidence is not present in the sources supplied.