How to Avoid a Presidential Succession Nightmare - by Jean Parvin Bordewich and Roy E. Brownell II
The ousting of Kevin McCarthy as speaker threw the House into turmoil for weeks, and the situation would have been more chaotic if it weren’t for a little-known rule adopted 20 years ago that put Rep. Patrick McHenry in the chair temporarily. That rule is inadequate, however, as it limits the speaker pro tempore to mostly ceremonial functions. The rule reflects a broader problem of poor succession planning in the U.S. government that extends to the White House. The current system for ensuring continuity in the U.S. presidency has gaping holes that could create political instability in a national emergency. Solving these problems doesn’t require a constitutional amendment; Congress can do it with new legislation.
Under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, if the U.S. president and vice president both die, become incapacitated or otherwise leave office, the House speaker is next in the line of succession, followed by the Senate president pro tempore, then the cabinet secretaries, starting with the secretary of state. But a closer examination of this plan reveals lurking dangers.
The current system is flawed in several ways, but four stand out. The first problem is that lawmakers are in the line of presidential succession, which could create a political crisis if a speaker from one party replaced a president of the other. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson could replace Democratic President Joe Biden. One can imagine the outcry and the challenges to presidential legitimacy that could arise. Scholars have also long been split on the constitutionality of lawmakers’ succeeding to the presidency. Except for succession involving a president-elect and vice president-elect—which has a different constitutional basis—legislators should be removed from the line of succession and replaced with cabinet secretaries to eliminate concerns over the constitutional separation of powers and to ensure party continuity in the White House.
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Terrorist attacks, the pandemic and growing threats against elected officials have shown that situations that once seemed unimaginable are now possible. Reforming the presidential succession process should be a nonpartisan issue. The Biden administration could deflect attacks on the president’s age by showing that it doesn’t fear addressing vacancy or temporary incapacitation. Republicans could show statesmanship by supporting legislation that would remove a GOP speaker from the usual line of succession.
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Ms. Bordewich is a former member of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s staff and staff director of the Senate Rules Committee. Mr. Brownell is a former deputy chief of staff for Sen. Mitch McConnell. Both were members of the second Continuity of Government Commission.
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