Monday, December 5, 2011

The Twenty-fifth Amendment

"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."


The Twenty-fifth Amendment set up the succession plans for the Presidency and established procedures for filling a vacancy and dealing with a President that was un-able to lead. It was very important to include this Amendment in the Constitution for the safety of the Executive branch. If the President and Vice-President happened to get killed at the same time we would need to know right away who the new acting President would be. There most likely wouldn't be time to set up the procedures to pick a new President after something like that had happened.


This is just a funny tweet from somebody making fun of Joe Biden the Vice-President for saying he was 2nd in the line of succession to the Presidency instead of the 1st. It doesn't help much to have the procedures set up if the people who are supposed to use them don't know them. He probably just mixed his words up, but it is funny just the same.

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