U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, citing concerns over what he says is erratic behavior by President Trump, has introduced legislation that would offer an alternative method for removing presidents from office.

Under the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a president can be removed if the vice president and a majority of cabinet members send written notice to congressional leaders that the president is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

The president can protest, but if the vice president and cabinet members are adamant about the president's unfitness, Congress can remove the president with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

But the 25th Amendment also allows Congress to create its own body that can declare the president's unfitness for office. Blumenauer's bill would establish that body, comprised of all living former presidents and vice presidents.

The 25th Amendment is most often invoked by the president voluntarily, such as in cases where the president is under general anesthesia and the vice president temporarily becomes acting president.

Beyond being removed via the 25th Amendment, presidents can also be impeached for treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, like in the cases of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson.

Blumenauer said his bill is necessary because the current presidential removal process could be manipulated by a mentally ill commander-in-chief.

"If you had a president that was delusional or paranoid the 25th Amendment wouldn't work," Blumenauer said Wednesday during a meeting with the Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board.

If the vice president and cabinet members did try to invoke the 25th Amendment, the president could fire the cabinet, Blumenauer said, voiding their declaration of presidential unfitness.

He said impeachment is insufficient for removing unfit presidents in many cases because it is "inherently intensely partisan."

"I've been through an impeachment. It's ugly," Blumenauer said, referencing the impeachment of President Clinton, which he voted against.

Instead, Congress should refine the presidential removal and succession process, said Blumenauer, who has been a fierce critic of Trump and much of his agenda.

After Trump's election, Capitol Hill chatter began to focus on the likelihood of the president's eventual impeachment, Blumenauer said, confessing that he, too, pondered how to get Trump impeached -- going so far as to read law review articles on impeachment procedures.

Blumenauer said one of his chief worries about Trump is his tendency to repeat demonstrably false information. He gave examples of Trump's insistence that his inaugural crowd was the largest ever and that it was sunny during the ceremony when it was, in fact, raining.

Blumenauer said he is unsure if Trump's at times bizarre antics are "an act," but added that he has spoken with people who believe there is something "clinical" driving Trump's behavior.

Blumenauer has no Republican co-sponsor for his bill, but said there is "Republican recognition that this is a problem."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman