The 25th Amendment
A Method to Ease Madness
The 25th Amendment delves into what is to be done if a sitting President dies while in office. The Amendment takes into account what happens to a President if necessary, whether found in the circumstances of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation. The removal of a President or Vice President from office requires the application of these procedures. The 25th Amendment was already organized in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, an act that shocked the free world, leaving huge emotional scars for those who were around during this time.
Our Constitution has detailed what is supposed to happen if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office. There are procedures as to how to fill the post of President, or even Vice President. We as a country need to remind ourselves why the 25th Amendment was submitted to the States on July 6, 1965. It was ratified on February 10, 1967. The President who cannot fulfill his duties will have the Vice President stepping in, but there are provisions in case the Vice President is also incapacitated. Section one of this Amendment states the Vice President becomes President, but Section two is defined as saying that if the Vice President slot is vacant, the new President shall nominate a Vice President.
The taking office happens by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress, which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both the House and the Senate have to vote on who will be appointed President, which will fill the shoes of the old President, whatever the circumstances. The President has to tell the President of the Senate that he cannot fulfill his duties in office, and then the Vice President steps in to fulfill the duties of their office. It takes four days to transmit to Congress that the President feels unable to fulfill the duties of office. The 25th Amendment was written because the Constitution had an original failure to provide a mechanism that allows for the filling of a vacancy.
The 25th Amendment was made as a way to fix this. Consequently vacancies in the Senate need to be appointed by a Governor. Congress has 535 voting members, 435 Representatives, and 100 Senators. It should be noted the Vice President has to be Acting President, not a full President. Section three of the 25th Amendment is about the President writing a written declaration that they feel unable to fulfill their duties as President. The Fourth Section of the 25th Amendment is all about how the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives have to provide a written declaration that an inability exists. If none does, then the Vice President can step down as Acting President while the President resumes his duties.
Votes required to remove the President from office, includes a two-thirds vote of the House, and a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Our Constitution has provided a means of getting this done. In our current climate, it might be necessary to eventually do this.
All Congress has to do is assemble in 48 hours to make the decision since Congress has to decide within 21 days after the decision has been made. Only two-thirds of a vote is necessary that that the President is unable to fulfill his duties in office at this time. We are being lazy as a species. Are we going to wait until things get really bad to do anything? People have their heads in the sand about what is going on.
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About the Creator
Iria Vasquez-Paez
I have a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State. Can people please donate? I'm very low-income. I need to start an escape the Ferengi plan.
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