Vice President Harris will not say whether she is confident President Biden is currently capable of serving as commander in chief amid calls by lawmakers to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Biden withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday after his performance at the first presidential debate sparked concerns over his fitness and mental competency. After the sudden announcement, several lawmakers began to question the president’s ability to serve the remainder of his term if he is not able to seek re-election.
After the announcement, Harris was quickly positioned as the Democrat replacement for Biden on the 2024 ticket, but some lawmakers – including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. – don’t want to wait until January for Biden to leave office.
Fox News Digital asked Harris whether she believes Biden is able to serve as president but did not receive a response despite several attempts to reach her office.
Vice President Harris (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Biden has not made any public appearances since testing positive for COVID-19 last week and suddenly ending his re-election campaign just days later via a written statement. Fox News Digital also asked if the vice president knew where Biden has been the past several days and if they were in contact but did not receive a response by press time.
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Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., sent a letter to Harris on Monday stating that Biden is unfit to serve and demanding she invoke the 25th Amendment.
President Biden (AP/Evan Vucci)
“Joe Biden has decided he isn’t capable of being a candidate; in so doing his admission also means he cannot serve as President,” Schmitt wrote. “Therefore, it is in the best immediate interest of the safety of the United States for Joe Biden to resign from office or face removal under the 25th Amendment.”
Over the weekend, Mace also said she was going to propose a similar resolution.
“If Joe Biden does not have the cognitive ability to seek reelection, he does not have the cognitive ability to serve the remainder of his term,” Mace wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. “Tomorrow I will introduce a resolution calling on Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th amendment and assume the duties of acting President.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
Before Biden announced his exit from the 2024 presidential race, vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, suggested Congress should consider the amendment if the president decided to suspend his re-election bid.
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“If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president. And if they want to take him down because he’s mentally incapable of serving, invoke the 25th Amendment,” Vance told Fox News in a sit-down interview with running mate and former President Trump.
Biden endorsed Harris for the Democrat nomination, and the vice president is reportedly seeking to solidify her name on the ballot as soon as this week.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.