Evaluating Presidential Fitness: The 25th Amendment and Presidential Disability

The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution offers procedures to address presidential disability. However, it omits a standard and process by which inability to discharge the duties of the office should be judged. Formulation of a standard and an approach to evaluation should begin by recognizing the similarities with workplace fitness-for-duty evaluations. Thus, operationalizing the 25th Amendment would involve developing a job description, considering the degree of impairment that would render a president unable to function, and clarifying an approach to evaluation. Establishing an independent work group could mitigate the intensely political environment in which this process would unfold.