President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV infuriated Catholics worldwide, a rift with the Vatican that could exacerbate an already challenging 2026 election season for congressional Republicans as Trump risks alienating a key constituency.
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Pope Leo XIV walks Wednesday after arriving at Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport in Yaounde, Cameroon.
House Democrats have introduced legislation to establish a commission that will evaluate whether the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove President Donald Trump from office. Introduced by Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, the bill would establish a 17-member panel authorized under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment. With 50 Democratic co-sponsors, the proposal follows a recent series of statements by Trump, including a warning that Iran’s “whole civilization will die” if it does not comply with his demands. The body could take steps, including a medical evaluation of the president, to determine if he is “mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.” Raskin stated that “public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows,” referencing his threats to Iran. Raskin also pointed to Trump’s recent attack on Pope Leo XIV and his subsequent social media post portraying himself as Jesus. “We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation,” Raskin said in a press release. The Constitution’s 25th Amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to remove the president if deemed “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of the office. Even if the bill passes both chambers, it is unlikely to become law, and Trump could veto it regardless.
Pope Leo XIV waves to supporters Wednesday as he leaves after his visit to the Ngul Zamba, or Power of God, orphanage in Yaounde, Cameroon, during an apostolic journey to Africa.
Riveting images of faith and spirituality: 30 of AP's best religion photos of 2025
A reveler holds her dog as she participates in the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
A nun holds a photo of Pope Francis while attending his funeral, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state for three days, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025, (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
Pilgrims ride through dusty terrain, on their way to the shrine of El Rocio during the annual pilgrimage, near Aznalcázar, Spain, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
An Indian volunteer carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to immerse in an artificial pond, in Mumbai, India, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)
A weather vane in the form of an angel on top of the spire of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral is silhouetted against the sun showing solar activity zones, photographed by a solar telescope, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
Father Paisios is followed by cats as he walks at the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community of Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos, in northern Greece, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)
Darleen Hall worships during a service at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, in Chicago, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
A congregant of the Re'ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church, an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, stands during a service, in Washington, D.C., April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski, File)
Participants carry a portable shrine, or mikoshi, into the sea during a purification rite at the annual Kurihama Sumiyoshi Shrine Festival at Kurihama, Yokosuka city, south of Tokyo, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
A Tamil Hindu priest takes part in a procession during the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Iranian Shiite Muslims mourn in a ceremony on the eve of Ashoura, the death anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, in Tehran Iran, July 5, 2025, (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
An Aymara Indigenous spiritual guide blesses a statue of baby Jesus with incense after an Epiphany Mass at a Catholic church in La Paz, Bolivia, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
Blood stains a religious icon of the Virgin Mary and child inside the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church, during a memorial service, a day after a suicide bombing, in Dweil'a on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
Pope Leo XIV arrives on his pope mobile before celebrating a Mass for the Jubilee of Families, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Worshippers gather for Easter Mass inside the ruins of St. George Melkite Catholic Church, damaged by Israeli airstrike, in Dardghaya, southern Lebanon, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
A Christian pilgrim rests her head while praying during Easter Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem's Old City, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)
A portrait of the late Pope Francis is projected onto a water fountain at Magic Water Circuit, in Lima, Peru, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)
Girls, wearing crowns made of flowers, dance during the 'Sanziene' midsummer festival at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum, in Bucharest, Romania, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
A masked monk stands behind a curtain, assisting a dancer in preparing for a traditional performance, during Gyalpo Losar, the Sherpa community's New Year celebration, at Shechen Monastery, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children dress up in costumes during school ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, in Jerusalem, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
A woman wades into the waters of Ramirez Beach as part of a ritual honoring the African sea goddess Yemanja, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File)
Naga Sadhus or Naked Hindu holy men take a bath at the Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati, on Vasant Panchami, during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)
Greek Orthodox faithful hold up a wooden crucifix after it was retrieved in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony, in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
Palestinians sit at a large table surrounded by the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings as they gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, as the sun sets, on the first day of Ramadan, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
People with skull make up on their faces, march during the Paseo de las Animas parade as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations, in Merida, Mexico, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina, File)
A view of the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Revelers take part in the Devils and Congos Festival, in Portobelo, Panama, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
Followers from the Layene brotherhood gather near a sacred grotto where they believe their prophet received divine inspiration, in Ngor, Senegal, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag, File)
