Succession by Defenestration: How Biden’s Withdrawal May Trigger a 25th Amendment Fight, by Jonathan Turley

President Biden’s alleged decision to withdraw from the race creates some sticky legal issues for the Democrats. From Jonathan Turley at jonathanturley.org:

Below is my column in the Hill on the withdrawal of President Joe Biden from the 2024 election. After weeks of Democrats and the media raising the alarm of his mental capacity, Biden finally gave up his public refusal to step aside. Harris will now be the nominee through succession by defenestration, or being tossed from a window. Yet, there remains a lingering question of Biden’s capacity to serve for another six months as president.

Here is the column:

President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw as the Democratic Party’s nominee solved an immediate problem for his party. Biden has plummeted in the polls as the vast majority of voters concluded that he is too diminished by age to serve another term. Yet, it has now created several new problems, including the obvious problem of a president who is viewed as incapable of running for an office that he continues to hold.

The Democratic Party essentially created its own political version of the 25th Amendment in forcing Biden off the ticket. This decision was about as voluntary as leaving a building by way of a window on the 46th floor. That is particularly the case when you are thrown out of the window by your closest friends.

The unseemly image of succession by defenestration will soon be whitewashed by a media that will praise Biden after weeks of declaring him incompetent and enfeebled.

That, however, leaves the lingering question after the fall. How can Biden remain in office when he is incapable of running for the office?

Biden is notably vague about the reason for his withdrawal after maintaining for days that he will be the party’s nominee. He simply says that it is in the best interests of the country.

The Democratic establishment has two equally unappealing options.

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