The Law: Vice Presidential Inability: Historical Episodes That Highlight a Significant Constitutional Problem

Autor: Roy E. Brownell
Rok vydání: 2016
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Zdroj: Presidential Studies Quarterly. 46:434-456
ISSN: 0360-4918
DOI: 10.1111/psq.12277
Popis: In 1985, President Ronald Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his intestine (Bush, 2014, 148). Prior to his being anaesthetized, Reagan transferred presidential authority to Vice President George H. W. Bush under Section 3 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (Bush, 2014, 148). (1) While acting president, Bush decided to unwind and play some tennis (Bush 2014, 148; Fitzwater 2000, 356; Koch 2006, 201). However, during his match the acting president backpedaled to try to retrieve a lob, tripped, fell, hit his head on the ground and was knocked unconscious (Bush 2014, 148; Fitzwater 2000, 355; Koch 2006, 201). (2) As Reagan and later Bush press aide Marlin Fitzwater described it, Bush [had] hit[] his head on the concrete. He did not move. The vice president's physician rushed to the court with smelling salts, put a towel under Mr. Bush's head, and took his pulse. After a couple of minutes, the vice president opened his eyes, shook his head, and slowly raised his body to a sitting position. For at least two minutes that day, both the president and vice president were unconscious at the same time. (Fitzwater 2000, 356) Bush's daughter describes the incident similarly: Dad stumbled and fell on his back, bumped his head, and blacked out. The United States may have been without any president at all for a few moments! As he lay on the court not moving, Secret Service agents and a doctor jumped out of the bushes around the court, where they had been covertly watching the whole thing.... The agents drove him up to the house--they wouldn't let him walk--with Dad apologizing for breaking up the tennis game. (Koch 2006, 201-2) (3) Several years later, the vice president's former military aide Sean Coffey commented glibly on the incident that "[w]e figured out later that at least for a few seconds, [then Speaker of the House] Tip O'Neill was in charge. But we decided not to tell him" (Burke 2010). That, however, was not the case. O'Neill was not in charge. Bush remained acting president, even though he was unconscious. And that reality would have held true, even if O'Neill had been notified of Bush's injury. This is because there is no lawful means of determining whether a vice president (or in this case an acting president) (4) is disabled. (5) This episode involving Vice President Bush may seem like an anomaly. However, it is only one of a number of incidents involving real or potential vice presidential incapacity dating back over two centuries. These precedents merit examination not only for historical reasons but also for constitutional and legal purposes. This is because, under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the vice president plays a central role in the continued functioning of the executive branch. This article will begin by reviewing the pivotal role the vice president plays under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. This segment lays out why vice presidential disability is a serious matter. The article will then turn to consideration of historical precedents involving real or potential vice presidential incapacity, the first discussion of its kind in the academic literature. (6) The theme running throughout these episodes is that vice presidential inability is not a hypothetical but a recurrent, real-life issue that cries out for legal redress. Constitutional Text and Vice Presidential Inability The Twenty-Fifth Amendment was adopted to help ensure the continuity of executive branch operations. As such, the amendment provides two processes for addressing presidential inability (U.S. Const., XXV amend. sec. 3, 4). Section 3 of the amendment prescribes the mechanism for handling scenarios when the president recognizes or anticipates his own incapacity and is willing to take appropriate action. In this setting, a president may send a declaration to the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate alerting the legislative branch to his temporary transfer of power to the vice president, who then serves as acting president until the president notifies the same two officials he wishes to regain his office. …
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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