From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

The breaking of the amerta about President Biden's decline in office continues to jolt the political debate,

raising questions about whether the 25th Amendment could have been deployed to remove him from office if necessary,

in what price the Democratic Party might pay for pretending he was fit as a fiddle.

Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.

We're joined today by my colleagues, James Toronto and Barton Swain.

The 25th Amendment, which clarified the Constitution's rules for presidential

succession, was passed by Congress in 1965, two years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

One thing that lawmakers were worried about was if a president survived an attack like that

or a stroke but fell into a coma or lost the cognitive capacity to do the job.

Hence, Section 4 of the amendment, which provides a legal bypass when the president is, quote, unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, unquote. This is catnip for pundits and screenwriters

on shows like the West Wing or 24. But James, you have an op-ed in the journal this week,

arguing that the 25th Amendment is not a very good fit for Joe Biden. How come?

Well, Sections 1 through 3 of the 25th Amendment are fine.

Section four is a contrivance that was developed in anticipation of the possibility that a

president is unable to discharge his office. Congress anticipated the possibility that there might

be a disagreement between the president and his vice president

and cabinet over whether he is unable. So it set up a mechanism for the president to challenge

this determination. So what would happen is the president could be temporarily removed from office

if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet members say that he's unable to perform his duties.

The president could then appeal this, essentially, give notice to Congress that he disputes

this conclusion, and Congress has to vote. And for Congress to uphold the finding of disability

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