Has the 25th amendment been invoked by the vice president and cabinet
Executive summary
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment’s involuntary‑transfer provision in Section 4 — which requires the vice president plus a majority of the Cabinet (or a congressionally‑created body) to declare the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” — has never been used [1] [2]. Presidents have voluntarily transferred authority under Section 3 on brief medical grounds several times, including President Joe Biden’s temporary transfer to Vice President Kamala Harris during a 2021 medical procedure [3] [4].
1. What the Constitution actually says about invoking the 25th Amendment
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment authorizes the vice president and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or another body established by Congress to transmit a written declaration to congressional leaders that the president is unable to perform the office, whereupon the vice president “shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President” [1] [5]. Section 3 allows a president to voluntarily transfer power to the vice president by written declaration to congressional leaders and has been the vehicle for brief, planned transfers of authority [5] [4].
2. What “invoked by the vice president and Cabinet” means in practice
An invocation in the Section 4 sense requires the vice president plus a majority of the Cabinet or an alternate statutory body — not a unilateral act by the vice president alone — and triggers an immediate, involuntary assumption of duties by the vice president pending congressional review [1] [6]. Legal debates persist about whether acting or unconfirmed department heads count toward the required majority and whether Congress could or should designate a different body by statute, but the constitutional text places the vice president and a cabinet majority at the center of the mechanism [7] [6].
3. The record: Section 4 has never been used; Section 3 has been used briefly
Authoritative legal histories and the Congressional Constitution Annotated state plainly that Section 4 “has never been used,” while Section 3 has been used on multiple occasions when presidents voluntarily transferred power for scheduled medical procedures [2] [8]. Public records compiled by presidential archives and the American Presidency Project document the instances in which vice presidents served as Acting President under Section 3 — for example, multiple temporary transfers associated with sedation or medical procedures — and include President Biden’s November 19, 2021 transfer to Vice President Harris during a colonoscopy [4] [3].
4. Why people sometimes believe Section 4 was invoked
High‑profile political calls, media reporting about possible Cabinet discussions, and partisan resolutions urging a vice president to “invoke” the 25th Amendment have produced confusion between political pressure and constitutional fact; after January 6, 2021, there were reports that some Cabinet members considered asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke Section 4, but those reports did not document any formal invocation [3] [2]. More recent congressional letters and resolutions urging Vice President Harris to convene the Cabinet reflect political pressure to use Section 4 rather than evidence that the constitutional mechanism was actually activated [9] [10].
5. The practical and political barriers to a Section 4 invocation
Scholars emphasize that Section 4 sets a high bar: it requires a coordinated written declaration by the vice president and a majority of principal officers (or a legally established substitute body), immediate assumption of duties by the vice president, and potential congressional resolution within prescribed timeframes — procedures that carry risk of constitutional dispute and political blowback if attempted [6] [8]. Questions about who counts toward the Cabinet majority (acting vs. Senate‑confirmed officers) and the likely partisan stakes of forcing a congressional two‑thirds decision make Section 4 both legally fraught and politically frail, which helps explain why, despite episodic calls and discussions, it has never been formally invoked [7] [2].
6. Bottom line
Constitutional authorities and congressional records converge on one clear fact: the vice president and Cabinet have never jointly invoked Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to remove or suspend a president; only the voluntary Section 3 transfers have been used in practice [2] [4]. Reporting that frames political appeals or private conversations as an invocation conflates advocacy with constitutional action and should not be read as evidence that Section 4 was ever formally triggered [3] [9].