Pritzker joins wave calling for 25th Amendment. Here’s what that means

President Donald Trump’s latest inflammatory comments about Iran sparked pushback from officials across the country, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who called for Trump’s removal from office.

Here’s what the governor said.

What did Trump say about Iran?

In a Truth Social post early Tuesday morning, Trump warned that Iran’s entire civilization would be wiped out if Tehran does not make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump wrote. "I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will."

The comment came hours ahead of an 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to make a deal or face broad attacks targeting country’s power plants and bridges.

"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end," Trump wrote. "God Bless the Great People of Iran!"

How did Pritzker respond?

Pritzker hopped on X late Tuesday morning to condemn Trump’s warning, writing, "This is not foreign policy, it’s a deranged mad man threatening to wipe out an entire country."

Pritzker then proceeded to call for Trump’s removal from office, saying, "It’s past time. The 25th Amendment must be invoked."

What is the 25th Amendment?

The 25th Amendment centers around the orderly transfer of power in the case of the president’s death, resignation, removal or incapacitation.

Under the amendment, the first to take the president’s place in these cases would be the vice president.

Section 4 of the amendment authorizes the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet, or the vice president and a majority of an "other body" created by Congress, to declare a president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." This would immediately allow the vice president to assume the president’s powers and duties.

The president then has the ability to declare "that no inability exists," unless the vice president and acting bodies double down on their initial declaration within four days.

The decision is then punted to Congress, who must decide in a two-thirds majority vote whether the president is unfit to serve.

How likely is the enactment of the 25th Amendment?

Theoretically, the 25th Amendment can be invoked by or against any sitting president, including Trump. However, the bar for clearing its use is much higher than for other actions like impeachment.

Modern interpretations from scholars at institutions like Cornell Law and the Congressional Research Service say the majority, if not all, of the acting Cabinet heads would need to sign on with the vice president to put Section 4 into action.

Neither JD Vance and nor any of the relevant Cabinet members have expressed support for removing Trump or taking punitive action against him.

What qualifies as being "unable" to serve as the president is a sticking point when speaking about Section 4. Yale Law School, for example, said traits like "inept," "lazy," or "inattentive" aren’t likely to be a basis alone, according to historic precedents.

MTG, NAACP join wave calling for 25th Amendment

Former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined a wave of public officials calling for Trump to be booted from office using the 25th Amendment.

"25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America," Greene said in an X post. "We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness."

The NAACP also called for the invokement of the amendment in an official statement, with President and CEO Derrick Johnson saying, "This president is unfit, unwell, and unhinged."

Several Democrats, including Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) previously made similar declarations back in January when the president sent a text to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre about the United States’ plans to take over Greenland.

CONTRIBUTING: Francesca Chambers, Christopher Cann, Michael Loria and Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY