I’m curious about what prompted Congress to finally address the issue of presidential succession when they did, but there were actually two proposals for the 25th Amendment. One would have given Congress the power to determine the presidential succession by law. The other stipulated the succession in the Constitution itself.
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. 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.
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 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.
Section 4. 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.
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. Thereupon 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 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.
It’s a long amendment because it is meant to cover any contingency but I’d hate to think how political the congressional maneuvering and manipulation could get if the amendment has simply stipulated that Congress could decide. To get an idea just look at the situation in Massachusetts where the (Democratic) legislature made a law that the governor (a Republican at the time) could not appoint a successor if one of their Senate seats (both held by Democrats) became vacant. Now with the death of Senator Kennedy they want to override that law because they have a Democratic governor again.
When President Reagan was shot in 1981, we were provided real life drama related to this particular issue. The issue didn’t even leave the White House and get into the hands of Congress before there were serious, well, let’s say “communication” problems. See the attached for more information (even if it is from CBS).
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/04/23/60II/main287292.shtml
I think that just goes to show that no matter how well you plan and prescribe – in the moment of crisis there is always room for doubt, error, and initiative to play their parts.
The amendment was the result of more than a century of wrangling. Attempts had been made periodically to deal with various of the issues touched by this amendment singly, but none of these ever received sufficient support.
As early as 1841 when VP John Tyler succeeded Pres. William Henry Harrison when Harrison died after only a month in office, there was a heated debate about whether Tyler became the president or the acting president. Tyler argued that this would inappropriately disenfranchise the executive branch and he declared himself president. He had enough support in Congress to carry it off. But his opponents referred to him as “His Ascendancy” throughout his term.
(On a side note, Tyler is probably even a worse ex-president than Carter, since he became a traitor. He was a representative in the Confederate House of Representatives when he died.)
By the time VP Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency following the assassination of William McKinley, it was accepted that the VP would become the full president under such situations; although, there were still some that argued that this was not constitutionally proper. But, like Chester A. Arthur, Andrew Johnson, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler before him, Roosevelt served out that term without a VP because there was no constitutional method for replacing a VP that moved up to finish out an elected president’s term. The same thing happened when LBJ became president following the assassination of JFK.
Woodrow Wilson insisted on holding onto power after suffering a stroke that left him so debilitated that he refused to see his vice president or members of his cabinet for the better part of a year. His wife became the gatekeeper, allowing only his most trusted aid and his doctors access. She screened every piece of paperwork. When Wilson finally did come out of hiding, it was clear that he was incapable of handling the demands of the office of Chief Executive. Members of both parties realized that there needed to be a way to relieve the president of his duties if he became sufficiently incapacitated.
While all of these problems had been well known for many years, the nationally televised assassination of JFK moved public opinion in a way that cannot be underestimated. The nation was shocked. While everyone knew about the assassination of several presidents in the past, these events had been witnessed by a relative handful of people. The fledgling medium of television changed that. The public became engaged. When the public realized the flaws in presidential and vice presidential succession, they demanded that the problems be remedied. That’s how the amendment came to be passed by Congress only two years after JFK’s death, and how the amendment was ratified less than two years later.
Thanks for providing that background. I knew a few of those things (like “His Ascendancy” and Wilson’s seclusion) but I had not considered the role that television had played in bringing the people together enough to actually pass an amendment on the subject.
Yes, thank you for the excellent background information. I can only imagine the Senators and Representatives sitting in a room thinking of all the possible events that might occur to draft this amendment.