Saturday, March 25, 2017

Presidential Succession


For John, BLUFAll theoretical stuff for George to teach his students.  Nothing to see here; just move along.



Presidential Line of Succession


I have friends, and at least one relative, who can't wait for Mr Trump to leave office, immediately, if not sooner.  And, of course, there are those Democrats who are not only passionately wishing for it, but actively working for it— People like Rep John Lewis and Rep Maxine Waters and Rep Nancy Pelosi.  Then there are the wafflers, like Sen E Warren.  They want to give a full throttle "YES" to the idea but their common sense keeps pulling them back.

Here, via Wikipedia is the current order of succession:

No.OfficeCurrent officer
1Vice PresidentMike Pence (R)
2Speaker of the House of RepresentativesPaul Ryan (R)
3President pro tempore of the SenateOrrin Hatch (R)
4Secretary of StateRex Tillerson (R)
5Secretary of the TreasurySteven Mnuchin (R)
6Secretary of DefenseJames Mattis (I)
7Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions (R)
8Secretary of the InteriorRyan Zinke (R)
Secretary of AgricultureMike Young (D)[a]
9Secretary of CommerceWilbur Ross (R)
Secretary of LaborEd Hugler (I)[a]
10Secretary of Health and Human ServicesTom Price (R)
11Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentBen Carson (R)
Secretary of TransportationElaine Chao (R)[b]
12Secretary of EnergyRick Perry (R)
13Secretary of EducationBetsy DeVos (R)
14Secretary of Veterans AffairsDavid Shulkin (I)
15Secretary of Homeland SecurityJohn F. Kelly (I)

[a]  This listing assumes that only acting officers whose prior appointment required Senate confirmation are eligible for the line of succession.

[b]  Not a natural-born citizen (acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization) and thus ineligible for the Presidency.

The list does raise questions, such as how did a foreigner get on the Cabinet, given that President Trump is proclaimed by the Media to be such a nativist?

As I pointed out to my Brother, the sign the Democrats are going to actually make a run at President Trump will be an effort to force Vice President Pence to resign.  That is how they did it last time.  And, it will give time to get someone else brought in as Vice President under the Twenty-fifth Amendment, Section 2.

Isn't there a TV Show about the kind of issue, Designated Survivor, or some such.  There is apparently a whole raft of fictional considerations of the issue of Presidential Succession.

Regards  —  Cliff

  Let's face it.  While President Trump is a New York City Progressive with Libertarian/Conservative leanings, Vice President Mike Pence is a real conservative and likely to act like one, bringing his talents in politics and government to bear on the problems at hand, thus making it even more difficult for the Democrats to achieve their goals.  And, a President Pence might point out the Antonio Gramsci like progress of the Democrats.

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