Democrat from ultra-liberal Portland, Oregon says he's looking at the 25th amendment because he fears for Trump's mental health

A Democratic lawmaker says he's so concerned about Donald Trump's 'erratic behavior' that he wants to revise the 25th Amendment in case the president demonstrates that he does not have the 'mental and emotional capacity' to do his job.

Oregon Congressman Ed Blumenauer, who represents the liberal city of Portland, says he sees a 'glaring flaw' in the wording of the amendment that was ratified in 1967 in response to JFK's assassination. 

'For a mentally unstable, paranoid or delusional president, the 25th Amendment has no guarantee of its application. In fact, it’s likely that it would fail,' Blumenauer said in a speech this week on the House floor.

Democratic lawmaker Ed Blumenauer says he's so concerned about Donald Trump's 'erratic behavior' that he wants to revise the 25th Amendment in case the president demonstrates that he does not have the 'mental and emotional capacity' to do his job.

Blumenauer is one of several Democrats suggesting that Trump's unsupported statements about large-scale voter fraud and other issues are a reflection of his mental state.

Rep. Ted Lieu of California is working on legislation that would require a psychiatrist or psychologist to be on hand at the White House, The Hill reported.

 Congressman Blumenauer revealed on a TV program that some Republicans in Congress have told him privately that Trump's 'not right mentally.'

The 25th amendment says in part that the vice president and 'a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide' can demand the president's removal from office if they decide he is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties.'

Blumenauer said in a Wednesday op-ed that appeared on OregonLive.com that the amendment isn't strong enough. 

'It has inherent flaws that need to be addressed. The amendment's default decision-makers-- the vice president and the cabinet -- have a natural bias toward the existing officeholder that would make them reluctant to acknowledge the president's inability to serve,' he said.

'Additionally, in the case of a president who is suffering from mental illness and is emotionally unstable or irrational, there is no fail-safe to prevent him or her from simply firing the entire cabinet to prevent the application of the amendment.' 

Blumenauer called attention to the issue again later that day on the House floor.

'Like many people, I’ve noticed renewed interest in the 25th Amendment, as we’ve seen erratic behavior out of the White House and the inability of Donald Trump to even tell whether it rained on him during his inaugural speech and repeating false statements that are demonstrably wrong,' the Democrat said. 

The Congressman has proposed a 'fail-safe' to ensure impartiality, should observers determine the president is 'emotionally unstable' - a panel comprised of living presidents and vice presidents.

'We need to have a mechanism that can be reliable, command public confidence and be above politics,' he said.

Democrat from ultra-liberal Portland, Oregon says he's looking at the 25th amendment because he fears for Trump's mental health