Civics 101 is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Here's the truth, President Cosmos.

The President is not fit when the President is on a well.

And the President must now really control the executive branch voluntarily or involuntarily.

You're listening to Civics 101, I'm Nick Kepadice.

I'm Hannah McCarthy.

And that was a clip of Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger from Illinois on January 7th, 2021.

He was calling for the Vice President and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.

So, today we're going to try to explain the 25th as best as we can,

why it was created, what it is, and how it works.

Alright, so let's get to it.

What does the 25th Amendment say?

The 25th Amendment, and I'm thinking that unlike in past times, we don't have to have me read all the word for word.

Like I've been sisted sometimes.

This is a dear friend to the show and a constitutional scholar who has in the past insisted things be read to the letter, Linda Monk, author of Bill of Rights, a user's guide.

But in general, the 25th Amendment is well, well, long relatively speaking, has four sections.

The first of which says something that had been in practice, but hadn't been in the Constitution, which is if something happens to the President, the Vice President becomes President.

Now, like a lot of things in the 25th Amendment, there had already been precedents before the men that comes in place, which is really kind of light.

Late? Like how late?

The amendment wasn't ratified until 1967.

The reason it was written in the first place was the Kennedy assassination in 1963.

Lyndon Johnson became President after the death of JFK, but he himself had suffered a heart attack.

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