The Law: When Law and Politics Collide: Presidents and the Use of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment

Since the ratification of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in 1967, presidents have been advised by White House counsels on how and when to apply the sections that address temporary vacancies in the office of the president and transfers of power during such times. Early experience with presidential illness and incapacitation under the amendment during the Reagan administration indicated that counsels recognized the constitutional and practical purposes of these provisions, but encountered opposition from presidents and political advisers who viewed any temporary transfer of power as politically damaging to an incumbent president. More recent experiences suggest that counsels have been moderately successful in impressing the need for prior arrangements between presidents and their vice-presidents on matters of incapacitation.