The corridors of American power have long been familiar with the tremors of political dissent, but the current climate in 2026 has introduced a frequency of instability that feels distinctly modern and dangerously high-stakes. Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has navigated a landscape of global volatility that has tested the traditional boundaries of executive authority and diplomatic strategy. Central to this turbulence is a deepening and bloody conflict in the Middle East, characterized by coordinated airstrikes with Israel against Iranian targets—an escalation that has fractured international opinion and left a staggering human toll in its wake. With casualty reports exceeding 3,000 individuals, including over 1,000 civilians, the moral and tactical implications of the administration’s foreign policy have moved from the realm of debate into a state of urgent, national crisis.
In this atmosphere of escalating violence and intelligence disputes, a startling voice has emerged from within the conservative establishment itself. Scott McConnell, a respected intellectual and the co-founder of The American Conservative, has broken ranks to propose a solution once relegated to the pages of political thrillers: the invocation of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. This constitutional mechanism, designed to handle instances where a president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” has never been used for the involuntary removal of a sitting commander-in-chief. Yet, McConnell argues that the current trajectory of the presidency, particularly concerning the administration’s handling of the Iran conflict, necessitates this extraordinary intervention.
McConnell’s call to action is directed specifically at Vice President JD Vance. Through a series of pointed public statements, McConnell has outlined a hypothetical yet rigorous path for a transition of power. He has urged Vance to announce immediate support for a Twenty-Fifth Amendment transition, framing it not as a coup, but as a stabilizing necessity for a nation on the brink. To ensure the legitimacy of such a move, McConnell suggested that Vance should pair this transition with a pledge of bipartisanship and self-sacrifice. Specifically, he advised the Vice President to appoint a figure such as Democratic Senator Chris Murphy as his new second-in-command—praising Murphy as an anti-war strategist who is “smart and not super woke”—and to publicly renounce any intention of running for the presidency in 2028. This “unity government” approach is designed to strip the transition of partisan ambition and focus entirely on de-escalation.