What Happens if Trump Does Not Recover from COVID-19?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the physical health of President Donald Trump. He tweeted early Friday morning that he and Melania both tested positive for COVID-19, and he was flown to Walter Reed Naval Hospital on Friday afternoon.

By all reports that I have read, he is doing well even though there were some questionable moments. The latest news that I read had a picture of him in an SUV leaving the hospital to wave to his flag-waving supporters. From what I could tell, he was out of the hospital temporarily for the surprise for his supporters, but he may be released as early as Monday.

            The question that came up is about succession of office if Trump is incapacitated or dies. The Constitution is clear that Trump’s term of office ends at noon on January 20, 2021, when the next President is sworn into office. According to Amendment 20, when a President dies or becomes incapacitated, the Vice President becomes the President and completes the term of office. If Trump were not able to fulfill his term of office, Pence would become President.

            I do not know what would happen on January 20^th, but I believe that Pence would become the President and choose his own Vice President if the Republicans received 270 electoral votes. If Joe Biden won the election, he would become the next President. There are some scenarios where it could get sticky – situations that have not happened previously. We can hope and pray that Trump gets well and then re-elected. That is the best scenario of all.  

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.)

Congress Has Control

                    The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article II, Section 1, Clause 6:  "[… and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.]  The intention of the Framers of the U.S. Constitution was to guarantee to the citizens that they would always have a chief executive to handle whatever situations arose.

                    "In an atomic age, and during a period of widespread assassinations and terrorism, it is highly essential that provision be made for any disaster which might deprive the nation of its top leadership just when it is needed the most.

                    "As a result, it has been provided that in the event the President and Vice President are not available, the Speaker of the House shall become President.  The next person in line is the president pro tempore of the Senate.  Next come the cabinet officers according to the seniority of their departments."  (See W. Cleon Skousen in The Making of America - The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 530.)

                    "This provision constitutes the anchor for presidential succession in the United States.  It provides for the Vice President to take over in the event of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of the President.  It also authorizes Congress to establish a line of succession beyond the vice presidency…." (See John Feerick in The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, p. 191.)

Changing of the Guard

A historical event took place in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2011, when Representative John Boehner of Ohio took the oath for the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives. This is the first time in four years that Republicans have been in control of the House. The election of Boehner as Speaker of the House makes him the most powerful Republican in Washington because he is just behind the Vice President in the line of presidential succession. This fact alone should make Americans feel a little more comfortable.

Boehner promised that the House makeover, GOP-style, is just beginning: "We will dispense with the conventional wisdom that bigger bills are always better; that fast legislating is good legislating; that allowing additional amendments and open debate makes the legislative process `less efficient' than our forefathers intended." He also admitted that there is "a great deal of scar tissue" "built up on both sides of the aisle" that will need to be dealt with.

The House Republicans are embarking on a plan to undo major aspects of President Obama's agenda before the President presents his State of the Union address later in January. The first item of business for the House is to begin the process of dismantling the new health-care law as they introduce a two-page bill to repeal it. They will quickly begin the identification of proposed spending cuts amounting to billions of dollars as well as regulations that burden American businesses.

Even though their work will be mainly symbolic because Democrats control both the Senate and the White House, House Republicans want to establish a bulwark against a government that is out of control. The House controls the purse strings of the government; therefore, they can cease to give financial support to any program.

I hope that the incoming freshman class of Congress will remember that they represent the American people and that they were elected because they promised to do their part to return our nation to the Rule of Law. I hope they remember that they can be voted out of office as easily as they were elected if they fail to keep their promises.