Does the Constitution Have an Escape Clause?

Does the Constitution Have an Escape Clause?

From Civics on the Rocks by Anne Trominski

May 25, 2026 · 1h 21m · Episode 55

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications and historical context of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in relation to presidential fitness and impeachment.

The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Mack derides, Steve chides, Anne makes asides, and everyone switches sides. REFERENCES The great Constitutional scholars on the interwebs are talking about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Constitution Annotated. “Twenty-Fifth Amendment.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/ The idea of, “Oh, we’ll use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to get rid of Trump”: Common Cause. “Common Cause Calls on the Cabinet to Invoke the 25th Amendment.” https://www.commoncause.org/work/trump-is-unfit-to-serve/ Impeachment and expulsion: History, Art, & Archives. “Impeachment.” https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Impeachment/ Which has failed twice: Mascaro, Lisa; Jalonick, Mary Clare; Lemire, Jonathan; and Fram, Alan. “Donald Trump Becomes the First U.S. President to be Impeached Twice.” January 13, 2021. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/majority-of-house-members-vote-for-2nd-impeachment-of-trump It’s in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6: Constitution Annotated. “Article II.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/clause-6/ The delegates of the Constitutional Convention: National Archives. “Meet…

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Hosts: Anne, Anne Trominski

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Common Cause, PBS News, National Archives, Britannica

Books & works: Twenty-Fifth Amendment, Article II

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