Posted March 26, 2018 | by KimS | in DemDaily, Elections, Resource

DemDaily: How to Get Rid of a President

March 26, 2018

Almost a year ago I wrote about "How to Get Rid of a President."

Just over three months into his administration, the internet and airwaves were rife with calls for President Trump's impeachment - for reasons long-since dwarfed by subsequent events.

Since the mission of DemList is to educate and inform, we offer a review of the process and possibilities for ousting the current occupant of the White House.

How to Get Rid of a President
The four ways include impeachment and conviction by the US Congress, removal by the Cabinet, resignation or death in office.

"The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."

-- Article II of the United States Constitution, Section 4

Impeachment
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach a president, but removal from office is contingent upon trial and conviction by the United States Senate.

Johnson impeached for firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton

Think of Impeachment by the House, which requires a majority vote (51%), as an indictment in regular court proceedings. If the motion, or indictment, passes, then it goes to the second stage of a trial before a judge and jury, which is the Senate's role, and requires a 2/3 vote of those present to convict and remove the president from office.

When an impeachment process involves a US President, the Chief Justice of the United States is required to preside during the Senate trial (usually the VP's job).

Only two US Presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, in 1868, for violation of the Tenure in Office Act, and Bill Clinton, 1998, for perjury and obstruction of justice. In both cases the Senate failed to convict.

Nixon Resigned before House could Impeach

To date, no US President has been removed from office by impeachment and conviction.

Resignation
While articles of impeachment were brought against President Richard Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, Nixon resigned the Presidency before a vote could be taken by the full House.

Aside from that sole resignation, history records only eight others, all from death, who left the White House before their term was over: William Henry Harrison (1841), Zachary Taylor (1850), Abraham Lincoln (1865), James Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), Warren G. Harding (1923), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945) and John F. Kennedy (1963).

The Cabinet
That leaves removal by The Cabinet. Originally intended for transfer of power to address illness in office, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution allows for a sitting vice president and a majority of the executive branch's cabinet to, upon agreement, transfer power out of the hands of a sitting president.

"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." -25th Amendment, Article 4

In all cases, the chain of succession to the Presidency is the same. Should something cause Mr. Trump to leave office before his term is out, the White House goes to:

Order of Succession to the President (left column, then right)

Vice President: Mike Pence	Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Paul Ryan	Secretary of Labor: Alex Acosta
President pro tempore of the Senate: Orrin Hatch (retiring)	Secretary of Health and Human Services: Alex Azar. First Secretary, Tom Price resigned 9/9/17
Secretary of State: Mike Pompeo (former CIA Director) awaiting confirmation. First SOS, Rex Tillerson fired 3/13/18	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson
Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin	Secretary of Transportation: Elaine Chao
Secretary of Defense: James Mattis	Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry
Attorney General: Jeff Sessions	Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos
Secretary of the Interior: Ryan Zinke	Secretary of Veterans Affairs: David Shulkin
Secretary of Agriculture: Sonny Perdue	Secretary of Homeland Security: Kirstjen Nielsen. First Secretary, John Kelly, appointed WH COS 7/28/17

A coup by the Vice President and Cabinet, particularly one contingent on a revolving door of loyalty, is highly unlikely.

Likewise, the chances for pushing an impeachment and conviction through the GOP-controlled House with 238 Republicans (plus three open seats) and 192 Democrats (plus 2 open), and Senate with 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats (including 2 Independents), is highly improbable - at least before November.

The Answer: Elect a Democratic Congress in 2018.
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Sources: Wikipedia, US Constitution