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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat if Mike Pence gets infected? White House COVID-19 outbreak could set off constitutional chaos
Raw Story
Published 2 hours ago
on October 2, 2020
By Travis Gettys
NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian laid out the possible chain of events if Vice President Mike Pence also tests positive for the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump announced that he and first lady Melania Trump had been infected, along with senior adviser Hope Hicks, and Dilanian explained to MSNBCs
Theres a sense this is a dire national security situation, perhaps even a crisis, at the same time, Dilanian said. Unlike Boris Johnson, the president of the United States is the commander in chief of the worlds most powerful military with the awesome nuclear force and he has a nuclear football at his disposal at all times, and he needs to be mentally and cognitively in full capacity to be able to make split decisions about national security threats to the United States.
So well hear a lot, I think, in the coming days about this term continuity of government, he continued. That is a term that notes a lot of different procedures and operations behind the scenes. It got a lot of attention after 9/11. Its war-gamed and there are exercises every year where the government games out how its going to maintain operations in the event of a crisis. Most of the planning has to do with catastrophic attacks, terrorist attacks, and a lot of it involves whisking decision-makers away to bunkers. There are places they would take the president in the event of a crisis, but when you have the president infected with COVID thats a problem. You wouldnt want an infected person with key decision makers.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/what-if-mike-pence-gets-infected-white-house-19-outbreak-could-set-off-constitutional-chaos/
EarlG
(21,934 posts)The presidential line of succession is clearly laid out in the Constitution.
crickets
(25,952 posts)beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)there ZERO constitutional crisis here
fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)The pubes won't like it, but tough shit.
MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)We havent had a President with mental and cognitive capacity since January 20, 2017.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)because the next successor after vp pence has a "D" by HER name . .
Me.
(35,454 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(15,551 posts)Wicked Blue
(5,819 posts)THANK GODDESS she's okay
Fiendish Thingy
(15,551 posts)Wicked Blue
(5,819 posts)Thank you so much for pointing that out!
Polybius
(15,334 posts)The current Senate Pro Tempore is Chuck Grassley, he's next in line after Pelosi.
Fiendish Thingy
(15,551 posts)Polybius
(15,334 posts)I'm sure he'll be Senate Pro Tempore anyway after the election, since I think we take the Senate.
Coleman
(851 posts)The result is an acting President. There will be no VP until the return of the president. The acting president has very limited powers. Don't look for Pelosi to save the day.
DarthDem
(5,255 posts)The invocation of Johnson is weird. The UK has nuclear weapons too. I guess he was trying to say that Queen Elizabeth is the head of state of the UK, but she's not issuing military orders.
Wounded Bear
(58,601 posts)Sorry, just being snarky.