Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency
The Constitution and Presidential SuccessionPresidential succession is the scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled. We all know that if something happens to the President, the Vice President takes his place. But who decided this? Did the framers of the Constitution decide this or did someone else?
In the original U.S. Constitution, the succession of a Vice President was not provided. The Constitution declared that the Vice President would take on the powers and duties of the President, but nowhere did it say that the V.P. would actually become the president. The 25th AmendmentAlthough Presidential Succession was not a part of the Constitution, presidents still practiced it. Vice President John Tyler succeeded President William Henry Harrison in 1841, when the President died of pneumonia after one month in office. The 25th Amendment made this practice a part of the Constitution in 1967. The 25th Amendment states that, "In case of removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President."
The Presidential Line of SuccessionThe 25th Amendment is what started the Line of Succession, but the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 is what actually ordered the positions. It placed the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore behind the Vice President. The line of succession then extends to the executive department heads, or the cabinet members in the order in which their agencies were created. Since the cabinet members can change, the Presidential Succession Act must be amended to reflect the changes. The entire line of succession is pictured below.
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Presidential DisabilityUntil the 25th Amendment was adopted, there were serious issues with the arrangement of the line of succession. The Constitution did not say anything about what was to happen if the President became disabled and could not perform his duties. There was also nothing stated about whom a decision was to be made by.
Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment say that the Vice President is to become Acting President if: 1.) The President informs congress, in writing, that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of office. or 2.) The Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform congress, in writing, that the President is incapacitated. The President can resume powers by informing congress in a written declaration that no inability exists. The V.P. and Cabinet can challenge this, however, and if they do, Congress has 21 days to decide the matter. This has come in to effect only three times in the history of the presidency. The longest of the three was in 1985, when Ronald Reagan transferred the powers of presidency over to V.P. George H.W. Bush for almost 8 hours while a tumor was removed from Reagan's large intestine. The Vice PresidencyOne of the most common misconceptions is that the Vice President isn't important unless something happens to the President. When creating the Constitution, the Framers paid little attention to the Vice President's position. It assigns the V.P. two formal duties: to preside over the senate, and to help decide the question of presidential disability. John Adams, while serving as V.P. under President Washington called the office “the most insignificant office that the invention of man ever contrived or his imagination conceived." Vice President Thomas Marshall, who was Woodrow Wilson's V.P. said that his job was to “ring the White House bell every morning and ask what is the state of health of the president.” It wasn't until after World War II that the vice presidency became something of real importance. After the war, Vice Presidents started to become more involved in the political process.
Today, the Vice President is no longer the meaningless job it once was. With each newly elected Vice President, the office gains more and more responsibility. Today, the V.P. is a chief adviser to the President, and a member of the National Security Council. He also travels abroad and participates in negotiations with foreign leaders, and does many other jobs. However, even with the elevation of the office in recent years, no president has ever made his V.P. a true "Assistant President." The major reason is that the Vice President is the only one not subject to removal of office by the President. Meaning, no matter what the circumstances, the President cannot fire the Vice President.
The 25th Amendment in 1967 deals with the issue of vice presidential vacancy. The amendment says that whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the vice president, whether by succession, death, or resignation, the president shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of congress. |