Presidential Stuff How we elect and remove a

Presidential Stuff: How we elect and remove a President, the role of the VP, and the Cabinet.

How do you get to be President? n n n Impeachment-President can be removed from office for treason, bribery, or other “high crimes and misdemeanors”. What does that mean? Impeachment charges are brought up and voted on in the House, with a trial in the Senate where Senators serve as the jury. To remove a President, 2/3 of the Senators must vote for conviction. 0 -2 in impeachment history. (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Andrew Jackson was censored. Richard Nixon was never impeached, but was pardoned anyway by Gerald Ford. )

How do you get to be President? n n n Election-most common way. People vote for electors to the electoral college. You win the electoral vote, you win the presidency. 538 total electoral votes=270 to win What happens if no one wins an electoral majority? ? ? Washington Precedent-Nothing in the Constitution was written regarding the number of terms a President could serve. George Washington decided not to seek a 3 rd time, which every President followed until…

nd 22 Amendment (1951) n n Franklin D. Roosevelt won a 3 rd, then a 4 th term. To stop this from happening again, Congress and the states passed the 22 nd amendment in 1951, limiting a President to serving to elected terms.

John Adams, the “I am the Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything. ” st 1 VP

Roles of the VP (1) Balance the ticket n (2) Advise the President n (3) Preside over the Senate n (4) Break ties in the Senate n (5) Help decide the question of presidential disability n (6) Become the President if…? n (official) Dick Cheney: Most powerful VP… EVER

The Tyler Precedent n n n When President William Henry Harrison died in 1841, no one was quite sure what VP John Tyler was suppose to do. Constitution was vague(shocker). Tyler said if the President died, then he became the actual president, with all the powers contained in the title. No one called him on it, so it stuck.

… but, I may be everything n n Daniel Webster rejected Zachary Taylor’s Vicepresidential nomination in 1848 because the office was so insignificant… President Taylor died of gastroenteritis in 1850 leaving Millard Fillmore as the Prez Daniel “Never-Was-President” Webster

Presidential Succession Act of 1947 n n First passed in 1792, revised in 1886, 1947. Provides for the order of succession in the event of both POTUS and VPOTUS being unable to fulfill their duties. *Closest an Oklahoman has gotten to the Presidency is Speaker Carl Albert. During the Watergate crisis Speaker Albert was next in line twice.

th 25 n n n Amendment (1967) A president has died in office 8 times and resigned once If Prez leaves office for any reason the VP becomes Prez(this codifies the Tyler Precedent) If VP leaves office, the Prez chooses a new VP, who must be confirmed by majority of both Houses of Congress VP can serve as “acting president” in case of disability If POTUS and VPOTUS are unable to perform duty, Presidential Succession Act has provided a line of succession President James Garfield was unable to govern after being shot in 1881

Present Line of Succession The Presidential Succession Act of set up the order of succession following the vice president. So if 45 th POTUS Donald Trump doesn’t finish his time in office…

Order of Succession Vice President Mike Pence(R-IN)

Order of Succession #1 – Speaker of the House Paul Ryan(R-WI)

Order of Succession #2 – President Pro Tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch(R-Ut)

Order of Succession #3 – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Order of Succession #4 - Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin

Order of Succession #5 - Secretary of Defense James Mattis

Order of Succession #6 - Attorney General Jeff Sessions (Seriously. Read about this guy)

Order of Succession #7 – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zincke

Order of Succession #8 - Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue-2018’s Designated Survivor!!!

Order of Succession #9 – Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (rumor has it, he falls asleep in Cabinet meetings)

Order of Succession n #10 – Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta

Order of Succession n #11 – Secretary of Health and Human Services – Eric Hargan More human than human

Order of Succession #12 – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson n He’s a neurosurgeon…in charge of increasing home ownership and community development.

Order of Succession n #13 – Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chau-married to Mitch Mc. Connell(Sen. Maj. ) No conflict there!

Order of Succession n #14 – Secretary of Energy Rick Perry(fun story. When he ran for President, he wanted to abolish the dept. that he now runs)

Order of Succession n #15 – Secretary of Education In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then He made school boards. – Mark Twain Betsy De. Vos-making classrooms safe from Grizzlies since 2017

Order of Succession n #16 – Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin

Order of Succession n #17 – Secretary of Homeland Security Keeping Homeland safe since 2002! Kirstjen Nielsen