Congress Decides

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “[In case of a dispute between the President and the Vice President about the President’s ability to assume the duties of the office of President] Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session.  If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter [Vice President’s] written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”

                This provision gives Congress the power and authority to decide whether or not the President is fit to resume the duties of his office.  It also sets a fairly high bar for the Vice President to jump over in order to keep the power and authority of the office.  Two-thirds vote of both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is fairly hard to obtain.  If Congress were to vote against the President, it would probably have a good reason to do so.

                W. Cleon Skousen shared his concerns about this provision:  “The requirement of a two-thirds vote to keep the President form resuming his office was designed to overcome the possibility of the vote dividing along partisan lines.  There must be a strong feeling in both parties that the President is still disabled or he will be allowed to resume his office.

                “The glaring fallacy in all of this is that an ambitious Vice President, who may have initiated this unseating of the President in the first place, is still acting as President during the time the matter is being adjudicated.  An interval of this kind could be contrived by a Vice President and a dominant bloc in Congress to get through a critical bill which they know the elected President would veto.  Such contriving to manipulate the machinery of government is an established segment of federal political history and should not be overlooked.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 761.)

                If I had not lived through the previous seven years of the Obama Administration, I would think Mr. Skousen was paranoid when he wrote those words.  Now, I too am concerned a possible hostile takeover of the powers of the President of the United States!

Vice President Holds Power

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “… Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office….” (Emphasis added.)  This provision includes instructions as to what should be done if the President and Vice President disagree about the ability of the President to resume the duties of Chief Executive of the nation.  It states that the Vice President will lead the nation if there is disagreement.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained, “This provision gives the President the RIGHT to advise the officials of Congress that he believes himself capable of resuming his duties, but it gives the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet the RIGHT to prevent the President from assuming his duties if they advise the congressional officials that this is their opinion.

                “Notice that the Vice President is acting as President at the time the President tells the congressional leaders he is ready to again take over his office.  Notice also that the Vice President continues to occupy the President’s desk simply by advising the congressional leaders that he and the majority of the Cabinet do not believe the President is yet capable of performing his duties.  Once again the power to make the immediate decision lies in the hands of the one who has the most to gain politically by preventing the President from returning to his official duties.”

(See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 760.)

                I sort of gulped when I read this Section of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and agreed with Mr. Skousen that the situation does not look good.  I suppose the framers of this Amendment showed faith in the person holding the office of Vice President, but I can see a big problem if the Vice President is not worthy of that trust.  The whole thing sounds a lot like setting the stage for a hostile takeover of the office of President.

                John Feerick of The Heritage Foundation further explained, “… For situations where the President is unable to declare his own inability, the amendment authorizes the Vice President, acting with a majority of the Cabinet, to do so and then act as President.  If the President disagrees, Congress resolves the issue….”  (The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 431.)

Vice President Takes Command

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”

                The provision in the Constitution gives authority to the Vice President to assume the duties of President if the majority of the Cabinets agree that the President is incapable of performing the duties of his office.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained a major problem with this provision.  “It is believed by some constitution authorities that this provision opens the door to serious abuse….

                “This becomes more apparent after careful consideration of the rest of this amendment.

                “At this point it is sufficient to simply point out that if a Vice President has ambitions to seize the Presidency, and can get a majority of the Cabinet to agree with him, he is given the power in this provision to summarily take over the duties of the President, with or without the consent of the President.  The fact that the power to make the change is left in the hands of the individual who will benefit the most politically by initiating the change is, in and of itself, a dangerous procedure.” (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 760.)

                John Feerick of The Heritage Foundation is a little bit more calm about this provision.  “… The Twenty-fifth Amendment captures the history of succession in its provisions providing for the Vice President to become President in the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the President and to serve as Acting President for the during of any inability.  It allows a President to declare his own inability and resume his powers and duties when it has ended.  This provision has been used when Presidents underwent surgery – in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan and in 2002 by President George W. Bush.  For situations where the President is unable to declare his own inability, the amendment authorizes the Vice President, acting with a majority of the Cabinet, to do so and then act as President.  If the President disagrees, Congress resolves the issue.  The amendment also gives Congress the power to replace the Cabinet and substitute another body to function with the Vice President.  It was not an accident that the amendment did not define `inability.’  The term was left vague in order to provide maximum flexibility to the constitutional decision makers, at a time of crisis, to do what they thought was in the best interests of the country.  It was intended to cover cases of both physical and mental inability, such as when a President undergoes surgery, is kidnapped, or becomes infirm.”  (See The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 431.)

                I thought for a second that this provision could save us from the current President’s destruction of our nation – but then we would have Joe Biden as the Acting President!  

Disabled President

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Section 3 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.”  This provision means that the President can relinquish his duties to the Vice President when disabled for any reason and then resume his duties when capable of doing so.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained, “It will be observed that the judgmental determination of whether the President is disabled lies entirely within his own province.  He can decide when to turn over his duties to the Vice President and when to demand them back again.  Although he must advise the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate in each instance, there is no discretionary power in either of them to prevent the President from assigning his duties to his Vice President or resuming them again at a later date.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 759.)

                John Feerick of The Heritage Foundation further explained, “Until the Twenty-fifth Amendment was adopted, the nation confronted a number of deaths in office of Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as periods when Presidents have been disabled.  When President William Henry Harrison died in 1841, Vice President John Tyler, asserting that he was fully the President, ascended to the presidency for the rest of the term, claiming that was the proper interpretation of the clause.  The precedent he established by assumption of the presidency was followed by other Vice Presidents when Presidents died in office.  These Presidents were Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.  The Vice Presidents who succeeded to the office were Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson, respectively.

                “Although the Tyler precedent was helpful in providing for continuity and stability, it caused future Vice Presidents to hesitate in asserting any role in a case of presidential inability as opposed to the death of the President.  There was the question of whether the Vice President succeeded to the presidency for the rest of the term, even in a case of temporary inability, as well as the problem of the Vice President’s being seen as a usurper because of the constitutional silence about his role in determining whether there was an inability.  This hesitancy occurred during the eighty days when President Garfield lay dying after being shot by an assassin in 1881; in the period after President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919; and when Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, an attack of ileitis, and then a stroke.  To cope with any future inability, President Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon developed an informal protocol.  Although it did not have the force of law, it gave assurance that a case of inability would be handled with due regard for stability.  It provided for the President to declare his own inability and, if unable to do so, enabled the Vice President, with appropriate consultation, to make the decision.  In either event, the Vice President serving as Acting President until the President recovered his powers and duties upon his own declaration of recovery.  This protocol was followed in turn by President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson, and by President Johnson and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.  It was a useful protocol, but many in Congress wanted a more formal long-term solution.”  (See The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, pp. 430-431.)

                When Ronald Reagan was shot, he turned the authority of the office of President over to Vice President George H. W. Bush until President Reagan was once again capable of fulfilling his duties.  Of course, this occurred in the 1980s and the Amendment was ratified in 1967.

Presidential Succession

                The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Sections 1 and 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:  “In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President…. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.”  This provision insures that there will always be a President and Vice President; it gives the President the authority to appoint a new Vice President and gives the Vice President the authority to ascend to the office of President.

                W. Cleon Skousen explained, “Until this amendment was adopted, a vacancy in the office of Vice President could not be filled until the next presidential election.  The new procedure has been followed twice since its ratification in 1967.  The first time was when Spiro t. Agnew resigned his office as Vice President in 1973 and President Richard M. Nixon appointed Congressman Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to serve in his place – following the approval of a majority of the House and the Senate.  The second incident occurred when President Nixon resigned and Vice President Ford became President.  Ford then appointed Nelson A. Rockefeller to be the new Vice President, and Rockefeller was confirmed by a majority of the House and the Senate.  Ford and Rockefeller thus became the first nonelected President and Vice President serving together in the history of the United States.”  (See The Making of America – The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, pp. 758-759.)

                John Feerick of The Heritage Foundation explained the need for this amendment:  “The original Presidential Succession Clause of the Constitution (see Article II, Section 1, Clause 6) appeared to be relatively simple in providing for succession to the presidency.  There were, however, troubling ambiguities.  What was the meaning of `inability’ of a President `to discharge the Powers and Duties of said office’?  Who determined the existence of an `inability’?  Did a Vice President become President for the rest of the presidential term in the case of an inability or in the event of death, resignation, or removal; or was he merely `acting as President’?  It was clear that there was no procedure for filling a vacancy in the office of Vice President, although it authorized Congress to legislate a line of succession to cover situations involving the death, resignation, removal, or inability of both the President and Vice President.

                “Until the Twenty-fifth Amendment was adopted, the nation confronted a number of deaths in office of Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as periods when Presidents have been disabled….”  (See The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 430.)