#39 The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution

The amendment was proposed in Congress on January 6, 1965 (Senate version, drafted by Sen. Birch Bayh) and July 6, 1965 (House version, proposed by Rep. Emanuel Celler).Hearings were held through February 19, in which the Senate passed the amendment (then known as "Senate Joint Resolution 1") by a unanimous 72-0 vote. The House passed a modified form of the amendment on April 13 by a 368-29 margin, and after a conference committee ironed out differences between the versions, on July 6, 1965 the final version of the amendment was passed by the Senate and presented to the states for ratification.Just six days after its submission, Wisconsin (by an 84-11 margin in the State Assembly and 28-0 in the Wisconsin Senate) and Nebraska were the first states to ratify the amendment. On February 10, 1967, Minnesota and Nevada were the 37th and 38th states to ratify, and in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, General Services Administrator Lawson Knott certified that the amendment was part of the United States Constitution on February 23, 1967.

Article 2, Section 1, Clause 6In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same

shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death,

Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as

President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be

elected.

Section 1.

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2.

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4.Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.  Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

DWIGHT EISENHOWER

• saw a need to have a plan for his Vice President (Richard Nixon) to act in his stead if he became disabled.

• JOHN KENNEDY's tragic assassination on November 22, 1963 shook a nation, and paved the way for the amendment's passage.

• LYNDON JOHNSON helped the effort to get the 25th Amendment ratified, making it Sen. Birch Bayh's bill among his legislative priorities.

• RICHARD NIXON became the first to invoke Section 2's provisions following Spiro Agnew's resignation, and ultimately, those of Section 1 as well by submitting his own.

• GERALD FORD is unquestionably the 25th Amendment's greatest beneficiary, rising from relative obscurity to the White House.

• JIMMY CARTER wasn't directly affected by the 25th Amendment, but its been reported that in seeking his 1980 Vice Presidential running mate, some candidates were passed over in part due to health issues.

• RONALD REAGAN became the first to invoke Section 3's provisions on July 13, 1985. 

• GEORGE H.W. BUSH is our nation's first-ever Acting President, serving on July 13, 1985.  A staunch opponent of the amendment, Bush would be elected President himself in 1988, and encounter a situation where he almost invoked it himself.

• WILLIAM J. CLINTON was perhaps least affected by the 25th Amendment, but still had at least one situation where its invocation was discussed during his administration.

• GEORGE W. BUSH became the most recent President to invoke the provisions of Section 3, doing so twice during his administration, transferring executive authority to Vice President Cheney.

• Barack Hussein Obama II

• During his administration there were numerous public outcries to use the 25th Amendment to remove Obama from the presidency, bringing questins to how far the 25th Amendment to go in REMOVAL.

Order of Presidential SuccessionAccording to the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, the Senate president pro tempore1 was next in line after the vice president to succeed to the presidency, followed by the Speaker of the House.In 1886, however, Congress changed the order of presidential succession, replacing the president pro tempore and the Speaker with the cabinet officers. Proponents of this change argued that the congressional leaders lacked executive experience, and none had served as president, while six former secretaries of state had later been elected to that office.

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, signed by President Harry Truman, changed the order again to what it is today. The cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established.

Prior to the ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967, there was no provision for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency. When a president died in office, the vice president succeeded him, and the vice presidency then remained vacant. The first vice president to take office under the new procedure was Gerald Ford, who was nominated by Nixon on Oct. 12, 1973, and confirmed by Congress the following Dec. 6.

The Vice President Joseph BidenSpeaker of the House John BoehnerPresident pro tempore of the Senate Patrick LeahySecretary of State John KerrySecretary of the Treasury Jacob LewSecretary of Defense Chuck HagelAttorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell (born in United Kingdom; cannot be Pres.)Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. VilsackSecretary of Commerce Penny PritzkerSecretary of Labor Thomas PerezSecretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen SebeliusSecretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun L.S. DonovanSecretary of Transportation Anthony FoxxSecretary of Energy Ernest MonizSecretary of Education Arne DuncanSecretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. ShinsekiSecretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers (Acting)