About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 1 (March 28, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveoug0001 and id is 1 raw text is: '' Congressional_______ flResearchS Srvi e The Twenty-Fifth Amendment and Presidential Inability, Part 3: History of Presidential Succession March 28, 2024 This Legal Sidebar post is the third in a seven-part series that discusses the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. In an effort to ensure that the United States will always possess a functioning President and Vice President, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment seeks to promote the prompt, orderly, and democratic transfer of executive power. In particular, the Amendment establishes procedures for addressing presidential inability and vacancies that arise in the presidency or vice presidency. Because Congress may play a role in implementing the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, understanding the Amendment's history and drafting may assist Congress in its legislative activities. This Sidebar post discusses the history of presidential and vice presidential succession prior to the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's 1967 ratification. Other Sidebars in this series provide an overview of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's procedures; discuss the history of the Presidential Succession Clause; and examine the Amendment's drafting in Congress, implementation, and unresolved issues. Additional information on this topic is available at the Constitution Annotated: Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and in several CRS reports. Presidential and Vice-Presidential Vacancies Before the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's Ratification From President George Washington's 1789 inauguration to the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's 1967 ratification, eight Presidents died while in office. (During this time, no President resigned or was removed from office as a result of impeachment proceedings.) In 1841, President William Henry Harrison became the first President to die in office when he succumbed to illness shortly after his inauguration. Vice President John Tyler took the presidential oath of office and claimed that he had succeeded to the presidency automatically for the remainder of Harrison's term by operation of Article II, Section 1, Clause 6. However, some of Tyler's contemporaries questioned whether Tyler had actually become the President or would merely exercise the President's power and duties as Acting President until a special election could fill the vacancy. After debating the issue, the House and Senate enacted a joint resolution addressing Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11133 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress