Trump's Covid diagnosis: What lies ahead could include a constitutional crisis over succession

Since Donald Trump was mitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment on Sept. 2, re have been conflicting messs about status of president’s health.

While his doctor, Sean Conley, gave an upbeat account around on on Sunday , president’s chief of staff, Mark Meows, told reporters day before , “ president’s vitals over last 24 hours were very concerning and next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still t on a clear path to a full recovery.”

prospect that Trump could be or become very ill raises question of how country can constitutionally transfer power if he is longer capable of serving in his official capacity.

answer is little-used 25th Amendment to United States Constitution.

That amendment has only been invoked a few times in history. And its lack of specificity about a situation in which president is unable to determine himself wher he can carry out his duties means re is a potential constitutional crisis ahe in which president may be unable or unwilling to give up power, even if he is clearly too ill to do his job.

Removal, resignation or death

25th Amendment, ratified by states in 1967 , declares that upon removal, resignation or death of president, vice-president assumes presidency.

Commonly referred to as Disability Clause, this constitutional provision also specifies that if president is unable to perform functions of his office, vice president will serve as acting president.

If president is unable to determine his own decision-making capacity, it is possible – though this is an untested area of law – that vice-president, independently or in consultation with cabinet, would determine if he himself assumes role of acting president.

But re is precedent for this of situation r is re precise legal langu that expressly outlines what procedural processes should be if president cant determine his own ability to le nation. This is constitutional crisis that may lay ahe.

In 2002 and 2007, President George W. Bush invoked Disability Clause prior to scheduled coloscopy procedures that required anessia and sedation. During this limited time, Vice President Dick Cheney became acting president.

Line of succession

In dition to Disability Clause, re is legislation that clarifies line of succession should president become incapacitated.

1886 Succession Act me members of president’s cabinet direct successors if vice president could t serve.

Upon assuming presidency in 1945 after President Franklin Roosevelt’s death, Harry Truman requested Congress to amend 1886 Succession Act to provide greater clarification of succession protocol.

Truman wanted that succession to place speaker of House second in line after vice president. After several years of negotiation, both houses of Congress agreed to this revision and passed Presidential Succession Act in 1947.

legislation specified that line of succession begins with vice president and is followed by speaker of House of Representatives, president pro tempore of Senate, secretary of U.S. Department of State, secretary of U.S. Department of Treasury, and remaining secretaries of cabinet departments in order of when y were established as executive branch ncies.

Neir Succession Act r 25th Amendment have ever been invoked for longer than a few hours.

Potential crisis

Since March 2020, U.S. has faced an extraordinary public health catastrophe. More than 200,00 Americans have died from coronavirus and more than 7.2 million have been infected.

Over last seven months, president has publicly disagreed with his own team of medical and public health experts regarding precautionary measures that should be taken in order to minimize exposure to virus. His staff have largely followed his le.

Of particular te is a private White House reception and Rose Garden anuncement to minate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to U.S. Supreme Court. More than 200 people attended, including many of ministration’s most senior appointees and aides.

Few at this event wore a mask. And w a number of prominent attendees – including GOP senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Counselor to President Kellyanne Conway – have tested positive for coronavirus.

As someone who has worked in office of White House chief of staff during Clinton ministration, I can personally attest to confining environment of West Wing.

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Very few senior aides have ir own offices. People are constantly in close proximity, including president, which is why it remains perplexing that White House staff were t required to wear masks.

decision to igre CDC guidelines in West Wing, at official government functions and at campaign events, coupled with president’s disparment of public health measures, has placed country into a potential leership crisis where it is t clear who should be in charge.

(This story has t been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed)