Yale psychiatrist warned Congress that Trump is 'going to unravel'
![President Trump takes a drink](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/f9mu8ob8qcDB9x4d6mXkD8-415-80.jpg)
In early December, Yale psychiatry professor Brandy X. Lee spent two days with more than a dozen members of Congress, briefing them on President Trump's recent behavior, Politico reported Wednesday night. All of the lawmakers were Democrats except for one unidentified Republican senator. Lee said she told the members of Congress that Trump is "going to unravel, and we are seeing the signs."
Trump's taunting tweet about having a bigger nuclear button than North Korea's Kim Jong Un has revived discussion in Congress about removing Trump using the 25th Amendment, Politico reported, as well as the lack of a mechanism to assess Trump's mental state. "Their level of concern about the president's dangerousness was surprisingly high," Lee told Politico. She listed some of her own concerns, like Trump "going back to conspiracy theories, denying things he has admitted before, his being drawn to violent videos," adding: "We feel that the rush of tweeting is an indication of his falling apart under stress. Trump is going to get worse and will become uncontainable with the pressures of the presidency."
The 25th Amendment allows for presidents to be removed from office if the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet deem him unfit for office. Lee is scheduled to address Trump's wellness later this month at a meeting hosted by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and a town hall with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who proposed a bill that would set up a commission to evaluate a president's fitness for office.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At The Atlantic, James Hamblin argues for some such mechanism, especially given a president's nuclear powers, pointing to alarming signs of Trump's possible neurological degeneration. "A president could be actively hallucinating, threatening to launch a nuclear attack based on intelligence he had just obtained from David Bowie, and the medical community could be relegated to speculation from afar," he notes. You can read more about his proposal at The Atlantic.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 July
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: The dark world of illicit gambling
Podcast Plus, the pension pot shortfall and Obama's silence on Harris
By The Week Staff Published
-
Leonora Carrington: Rebel Visionary – an exhibition of 'unearthly delights'
The 'captivating' show features over 70 pieces spanning everything from paintings to tapestries
By The Week UK Published
-
Netanyahu makes controversial address
Speed Reads Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress denounced Gaza war protestors
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden saw neurologist during physicals
Speed Read Following his bad debate performance, many are asking questions about the president's brain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published