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1 1 (March 28, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveoui0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ 'aResearch Service The Twenty-Fifth Amendment and Presidential Inability, Part 1: Introduction March 28, 2024 This Legal Sidebar post is the first 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 provides an overview of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's procedures. Other Sidebars in this series discuss the history of the Presidential Succession Clause and presidential succession, as well as 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. Overview Ratified in 1967, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment clarifies and supplements the Presidential Succession Clause in Article II of the Constitution by (1) confirming that the Vice President becomes President when the latter dies, resigns, or is removed from office as a result of impeachment proceedings; (2) requiring the President, with Congress's approval, to fill a vice presidential vacancy; and (3) establishing mechanisms for transferring an incapacitated President's powers and duties to the Vice President. The Supreme Court has not definitively interpreted the Amendment, and legal scholars continue to debate its provisions on presidential inability. Section 1 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment provides that if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office as a result of impeachment proceedings, then the Vice President shall become President. Section 1 was intended to clarify, consistent with long-established historical practice, that the Vice President immediately succeeds to the presidency in such circumstances instead of serving as the Acting President. In 1974, Section 1 resulted in Vice President Gerald Ford's succession to the presidency when President Richard Nixon resigned under threat of impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11131 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress