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1 1 (March 28, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveouh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ 'aResearch Service The Twenty-Fifth Amendment and Presidential Inability, Part 2: Federal Convention Debates March 28, 2024 This Legal Sidebar post is the second 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 framing of the Presidential Succession Clause at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Other Sidebars in this series discuss the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's procedures; the history of presidential succession; and 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. Executive Succession in the Founding Era When declaring independence from Great Britain in 1776, the United States rejected the rule of King George III and the British Parliament. The Constitution's Framers departed from the British tradition of constitutional monarchy by vesting the federal executive power in an elected President who would serve a four-year term and was subject to impeachment and removal from office. When designing the American presidency, the Framers confronted questions about who would discharge the President's duties if the President died, resigned, became unable to fulfill his responsibilities, or was removed from office. The Articles of Confederation that preceded the Constitution did not create an independent executive branch, contemplate executive succession, or address presidential inability. However, several Founding- era state constitutions addressed gubernatorial vacancies or inabilities. Typically, these state constitutions provided that a subordinate officer (e.g., lieutenant governor) would temporarily assume the executive's powers and duties during a vacancy, absence, or inability. A few state constitutions established procedures Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11132 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress