Well wishes have been coming in to President Donald Trump with his positive COVID-19 test result. With the announcement Friday afternoon of his hospitalization for precautionary reasons on the advice of doctors, it raises the question of what could happen next.
Trump is still performing his duties as president. Multiple reports Friday evening indicate the president has not transferred his powers to Vice President Mike Pence.
If the president were to become “incapacited,” the law, including the 25th Amendment sets forth a plan of succession beginning with Pence.
“If the president himself transmits to Congress, the Speaker and the President Pro Temp of the Senate, and says, ‘I’m temporarily unable to perform my duties,’ the vice president serves as acting president,” David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University and law professor at the University of Minnesota, said. “Let’s say it’s more serious, let’s say he’s unconscious, he’s on a ventilator and so forth, there’s also a provision where the vice president and the cabinet can tranmsit to congress and say the president’s temporarily incapacitated, the vice president’s going to take over.”
There have been somewhat comparable situations in the past. Two colonoscopies for President George W Bush put Vice President Dick Cheney in charge. In the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, powers were transferred to vice President George HW Bush for 8 hours.
But an unscheduled procedure for what the white house says will be a few days, is a new situation.
“No one’s hoping this happens, but if the president were to die we also have clear language in the constitution that if the president were to die between now and the end of his term in January the vice president would take over,” Schultz said.
Schultz said if Trump is unable to serve as the Republican nominee for president, it would greatly complicate the election process. Millions of ballots have been printed, millions have been cast early with his name.
“This becomes a matter of both state law in how to handle it and just logistically, it’s going to be very difficult,” he said.
There is no definition of the term “incapacited” as the 25th Amendment is written. In the previous examples with George W. Bush and Reagan transferring their powers briefly, the decision was made by the presidents.
“(We’re) hoping that his cabinet and his vice president had to make the choice, or if the president...was unconscious...would make what they think is the best choice in the interest of the president and the United States.
At some point you have to put faith in judgments.”
