The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was proposed by Congress on July 6, 1965 and ratified by the states on February 10, 1967. It concerns Presidential and Vice Presidential vacancies, and Presidential disabilities.
Text of the Amendment
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 forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, 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.
Vacancies in offices of President, Vice President
As originally ratified, the United States Constitution stated that in the event the office of President became vacant, "the Powers and Duties of the office shall devolve upon the Vice President."
This language was somewhat ambiguous in the eyes of some: was the Vice President merely acting as President, or did he actually succeed to the office? While this question was answered by precedent when John Tyler succeeded to the office upon William Henry Harrison's death in 1841, there still remained doubts in the minds of some. Section 1 of the 25th amendment clarified the position once and for all: the Vice President becomes President if the presidency is vacated. Since ratification of the amendment there has been one presidential vacancy, when Gerald Ford succeeded Richard Nixon upon Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974.
The Constitution failed to provide for Vice Presidential vacancies until the 25th amendment was ratified - a glaring omission that had been debated for over a century, as from 1789 to 1967 the office of Vice President was vacant due to death or resignation several times, often for years at a time. Under the 25th amendment, whenever there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President of the United States, the President nominates a successor, who is confirmed by the majority vote of both houses of Congress.
Vacancies in the offices of both the President and the Vice President are filled according to the presidential line of succession.
Inability of the President to serve
The question of how a Presidential inability was to be ascertained was resolved by the Twenty-fifth Amendment. James Garfield was incapacitated for eighty days before dying from an assassin's bullet; a stroke rendered Woodrow Wilson an invalid for the last eighteen months of his term.
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment addressed the issue by providing that the President may, by transmitting to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration to the same effect, declare himself unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Until the President sends another written declaration to the aforementioned officers declaring himself able to resume office, the Vice President serves as Acting President.
It is also possible for the Vice President, together with a majority of the heads of the executive departments (that is to say, members of Cabinet) or of such other body as Congress by law provides, to declare the President disabled. The provision has never been invoked. The President may resume his duties by a written declaration sent to the President pro tempore and the Speaker. If the Vice President and Cabinet, however, are still unsatisfied with the President's condition, they may within four days of the President's declaration submit another declaration that the President is incapacitated. Congress must immediately decide the issue; a two-thirds vote in each House is required to permit the Vice President to assume the Acting Presidency.
Invocations of Amendment
The 25th Amendment has been invoked on four occasions in American history:
Nomination of Vice President
On two occasions, Presidents have invoked Section 2 of the amendment to fill a vacancy in the office of Vice President:
Vice President as Acting President
On two occasions, the Vice President of the United States has discharged the powers and duties of the office of President:
July 13, 1985
On July 12, 1985, President Ronald Reagan underwent a colonoscopy, during which a pre-cancerous lesion called a villous adenoma was discovered. Upon being told by his physician (Dr. Edward Cattow) that he could immediately undergo surgery immediately or in two to three weeks, Reagan elected to have it removed immediately.
That afternoon, Reagan consulted with White House counsel Fred Fielding by telephone, debating whether or not to invoke the 25th amendment and if so, whether such a transfer would set an undesirable precedent. Fielding and White House Chief of Staff Donald Regan both recommended that Reagan transfer power, and two letters doing so were drafted: the first specifically referencing Section 3 of the 25th amendment, the second not.
At 10:32 a.m. on July 13, Reagan signed the second letter and ordered its delivery to the appropriate officers as required under the amendment. Due to some confusing language and Reagan's failure to specifically mention Section 3 of the amendment (see Reagan transfer of power letters) in his letter, some constitutional scholars have claimed that Reagan did not actually transfer his power to Bush. In books such as "The President Has Been Shot: Confusion, Disability and the 25th Amendment" by Herbert Abrams and Reagan's own autobiography, "An American Life" however, Reagan's intent to transfer power to Bush was clear.
June 29, 2002
On the morning of June 29, 2002, President George W. Bush chose to invoke the 25th amendment, temporarily transferring his powers to Vice President Dick Cheney while Bush underwent a colonoscopy.
Aware of the confusion caused by Reagan's somewhat cryptic 1985 letter transferring power, Bush's letter made a point of specifically citing Section 3 of the 25th amendment in his letter transferring power.
References
- Constitution of the United States. http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States_of_America
- Kilman, Johnny and George Costello (Eds). (2000). The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/browse.html
External link
- National Archives: 25th Amendment http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution_amend
ments_11-27.html#25
Last updated: 02-19-2005 00:05:22
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55
