The Twenty-fifth Amendment (XXV Amendment) to the United States Constitution states that if the president becomes unable to do his job, the vice president becomes president (Section 1) or acting president (sections 3 or 4). This can happen for a short period of time if the president is simply ill or disabled for a short time. This can also happen before the end of the President's term (the time the President is in office) if the President has died, resigned, or “is unable to fulfill the powers and duties of his office [1]”.
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The 25th Amendment also says what should happen if there is a "vacancy" in the vice president's office (that is, no vice president).
The amendment was ratified by the States and became part of the US Constitution on February 10, 1967.
In the event of the removal of the President from office or his death, resignation or failure to fulfill the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall pass to the Vice President, and Congress may by law provide for the removal, death, resignation or incapacity of both the President and the Vice President. by announcing which official will then act as president, and such official will act accordingly until the disability is removed or the president is elected.]
This means that if the president is fired, dies, resigns, or is unable to "perform [his] powers and duties" (unable to do what the president is supposed to do), the Vice president will take over their job. The Vice President will serve as president until they are better (if they are simply ill or disabled), or until the next presidential election (if the president has resigned or died). If neither the President nor the Vice President can serve as president, Congress can decide who will take over as president. That's all the Constitution says about it. [2]
This point wasn't very specific. It was not said: [2]
Who had the right to say that the president could not do his job
Would the vice president actually become president if he had to take over, or would he just be "acting president" (someone who did the job of president but never got the title " president»)
Who will take the position of vice president if he dies, resigns, cannot do his job, or has to take the place of president
How (or who) in Congress should decide who will take over if neither the president nor the Vice President can serve as president
In 1841, the ninth President, William Henry Harrison, became the first president of the United States to die in office. Prior to this, Representative John Williams proposed that the Vice President become acting president in the event of his death. [3] In addition, after Harrison's death, his cabinet met and decided that Vice President John Tyler would become "Vice President acting President". [4] However, Tyler didn't like the idea. He announced that he was president, not just doing the old president's job. He refused to view the documents addressed to him as "acting President" [5].
Tyler took the presidential oath of office, moved into the White House, and assumed all the powers of the old president. No one officially challenged Tyler's claim to the presidency. Eventually, both houses of Congress passed a resolution stating that Tyler was the tenth president of the United States. This created a "precedent of full succession" [6]. A precedent is a rule or law that can be followed in the future if a similar situation occurs again. "Full succession" means that the vice president will become president, rather than acting president, if the real president dies. The "full succession precedent" became known as the"Tyler Precedent".
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In other cases, presidents did not die, but were unable to do their jobs due to illness. For example, during his presidency, Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke. However, First Lady Edith Wilson and the official White House doctor kept the stroke a secret. [7] [8] Because of this, no one took the post of president, although Wilson could not do this job at the time.
Prior to the 25th Amendment, the vice President's office was empty eighteen times because the vice president had died, resigned, or had to take the president's place. [9] For example, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, there was no vice president for almost four years. [9]
These problems have made it clear that the government needs more specific rules.
Kennedy assassination
Main article: The assassination of John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy. Kennedy's assassination made it clear to Congress that they needed to find a solution to the president's succession right away. The United States was in the midst of a cold war. [10] New President Lyndon B. Johnson had previously had a heart attack [11] in 1955, as well as a family history of Johnson's men who died relatively young (at the age of 60, which he did in 1973 at the age of 64). The next two people in line for president were House Speaker John McCormack [12] (who was 71 years old) [13] and Senate President pro tempore Carl Hayden [12] (who was 86 years old). [14] Congress began to move faster.
Offers
Senator Birch Bay wrote the Senate version of the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
Members of Congress proposed two different amendments to fill in the details missing from paragraph 6.
The Keating-Kefauver proposal proposed allowing Congress to pass legislation on who should decide when a president becomes disabled. [15] It was proposed in 1963 by New York Senator Kenneth Keating [16] p. 345 and supported by Tennessee Senator Estes Kefover [16] p. 28 However, other senators were concerned that Congress might abuse this power or not actually pass the law after the amendment was passed [15] [16] p. 30-35
The Bai-Seller proposal eventually became the Twenty-fifth Amendment. On January 6, 1965, Senator Birch Bayh proposed an amendment in the U.S. Senate, and Representative Emanuel Seller (Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) proposed it in the House of Representatives. [17] In contrast to the Keating-Kefauver proposal, it proposed a way to fill the position of vice president if it was empty, and also set out the rules according to which the president could be declared "disabled" [15] [16] pp. 348-350
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On February 19, 1965, the Senate passed the amendment. However, on April 13, the House of Representatives passed a different version of the amendment [a] [19] The House and Senate had to form committees to work out a version of the amendment that they could all agree on. [19] On July 6, 1965, both Houses of Congress adopted the final version of the amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. [20]
Presidential disability and succession
Adopted by Congress on July 6, 1965. Ratified on February 10, 1967, the 25th Amendment amended part of Article II, section 1.
Section 1
If the President is removed from office, dies, or resigns, the Vice President becomes President.
Section 2
If there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President, the President must appoint a Vice President, who takes office after confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.
Section 3
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 exercise his powers and duties, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be performed by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4
Whenever the Vice-President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments or such other authority as Congress may provide by law 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 perform the powers and duties of his office, the Vice-President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
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Thereafter, when the President transmits to the Acting President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration of incapacity, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office, unless the Vice-President and most senior officials of the executive department or 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 his written declaration that the President is unable to exercise his powers. and the duties of his office. The Congress then resolves the matter by meeting for this purpose within 48 hours, if not in session. If Congress, within twenty-one days after the receipt of the last written declaration, or if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is due to meet, determines by a two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to exercise his powers and duties, the Vice-President shall continue to serve as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume his powers and duties.
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