Never-before-used rule would see Donald Trump removed as president

A conservative political commentator has spoken of how he wants JD Vance to use a never-before-used rule to throw Donald Trump out of office, as criticism continues over the US' involvement in the Iran war.

Trump, who was first elected in 2016, was voted to return to the White House for his second term following the 2024 election.

Critics, however, have accused the country’s 47th leader of escalating tensions in the Middle East, so much so that we could be looking at WWIII.

Iran's Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera on Thursday (26 March) that at least 1,937 people have been killed during the war that the US and Israel are raging in the Middle East, with almost 25,000 injured.

The US president says the conflict with Iran is to stop threats from the Iranian government and prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

He has demanded Iran negotiate and has called for 'unconditional surrender'.

Political commentator Scott McConnell is calling for Vice President JD Vance to carry out an amendment that would throw Trump out of office (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Calls to invoke the 25th Amendment

Now, Scott McConnell has said on X that he thinks vice president JD Vance should consider invoking the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution.

The co-founder of political magazine 'The American Conservative' wrote: "My advice to Vance: Announce your support of 25th amendment transition.

"Say Chris Murphy or similar will be veep. Announce you will NOT be a candidate in 2028.

"Use your position, access to the media to explain why this is necessary. Don't resign."

What is the 25th Amendment?

The 25th Amendment allows a vice president and a majority of the president’s cabinet to declare that the president is unable to carry out the duties of the office.

If this happens, the vice president becomes acting president.

Although the amendment has been used before in limited situations, it has never been used to permanently remove a sitting president.

McConnell suggested that Democratic Senator Chris Murphy could become vice president in this scenario, describing him as 'an anti-war Democrat, smart and not super woke'.

Trump previously said Vance was 'maybe less enthusiastic about going' to war (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Could Trump get a third term?

As explained by Cornerstone Law Firm, the 22nd Amendment limits a US president to being elected only twice - but it doesn’t completely ban someone from serving again.

That’s because there are other ways to become president besides being elected.

The 22nd Amendment only stops someone from being elected president again - not from serving - which leaves a legal loophole.

The House of Representatives chooses a president

A second way to become president - besides being elected - is to be chosen by the House of Representatives. This happens only if no candidate wins a majority of the Electoral College votes.

The 12th Amendment gives the House this power to 'choose' the President, while the 20th Amendment explains what happens if no one is chosen in time or if the chosen or elected president dies before taking office.

In that case, the vice president-elect temporarily becomes president until the situation is resolved.

Criticism is mounting over the US' moves in their war against Iran (Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)

The vice president 'becomes' president

The third way to become president is through the line of succession. If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president automatically becomes President.

This rule was officially written into law by the 25th Amendment, which states that when a president can’t serve, the vice president fully becomes the new president.