USA Presidential Succession Act of 1947 says if both President and VP offices become vacant, hold a special election to fill them.

Submitted by FatesWebb on Thu, 03/31/2022 - 12:39
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Nvestig8 Politics

This means,  If they can  impeach  both kamala and joe,  then  rather than Nancy stepping in, we would hold an election.

Presidential Succession Act of 1947

An Act To provide for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, resignation, death, or inability both of the President and Vice President.

Enacted by the 80th United States Congress

Effective July 18, 1947

Citations

Public law Pub.L. 80–199

Statutes at Large 61 Stat. 380

Codification

Acts repealed Presidential Succession Act of 1886 (Pub.L. 49–4, Session 1; 24 Stat. 1)

Titles amended U.S. Code: Title 3 – The President

U.S.C. sections created§ 24; now 3 U.S.C. § 19 by Act of Congress June 25, 1948 (62 Stat. 672)

U.S.C. sections amended§§ 21 and 22 (1940 edition)

Legislative history

Major amendments

Modifications to § 19 (d)(1):

In June 1945, two months after becoming president upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, Harry S. Truman sent a message to Congress urging the revision of the Presidential Succession Act of 1886. He recommended that the speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate be restored to, and given priority in, the presidential line of succession over members of the Cabinet. The arrangement reflected Truman's belief that the president should not have the power to appoint to office "the person who would be my immediate successor in the event of my own death or inability to act", and that the presidency should, whenever possible, "be filled by an elective officer". Cabinet officials are appointed by the president, whereas the speaker and the president pro tempore are elected officials.[C] He also recommended that a provision be made for election of a new president and vice president should vacancies in both of those offices occur more than three months before the midterm congressional elections.[7][9][26]

A bill incorporating the president's proposal was introduced in the House on June 25, 1945, by Hatton W. Sumners and approved—minus the special election provision—four days later by a wide margin. The measure was forwarded to the Senate, which took no action on it during the balance of the 79th Congress. Truman renewed his request in 1947, when the 80th Congress convened following the 1946 midterm elections. Early in 1947, Senator Kenneth S. Wherry introduced a bill in the Senate which, like the previous 1945 version, put the speaker and the president pro tempore second and third in the succession order respectively, and contained no provision for a special election. After considerable debate the measure was approved on June 27, 1947, by a vote of 50 to 35. Forwarded to the House, the legislation engendered little debate, and was passed on July 10 by a vote of 365 to 11. President Truman signed the bill into law on July 18.[24]

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (Full text) restored the speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate to the line of succession—in reverse order from their positions in the 1792 act—and placed them ahead of the members of the Cabinet, who are positioned once more in the order of the establishment of their department: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Interior. Three Cabinet secretaries were added to the lineup, reflecting the creation of three Cabinet-level departments post-1886: Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Labor.[27] The act stipulates, that in order for either the speaker or the president pro tempore to become acting president, he or she must meet the requirements for presidential eligibility, and must, prior to acting as president, resign from office, including from Congress.

Like the 1886 act, this statute specifies that only Cabinet members who are constitutionally eligible to the office of president, and not under impeachment by the House at the time the powers and duties of the presidency devolve upon them, may become the acting president. However, unlike the 1886 act, this statute mandates that any Cabinet officer who accedes to the powers and duties of the presidency resign their Cabinet post.[15] It also contains a clause stipulating that any Cabinet officer acting as president may be "bumped" from office (supplanted) by a qualified individual higher up the line of succession, a provision not contained in either of the earlier succession acts.[28]

The 1886 and 1947 acts diverge in one other way. The 1886 act describes "such officers as shall have been appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate to the offices therein named" as being eligible to serve as Acting President, whereas the 1947 act describes "officers appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate" as being eligible.[28] The less explicit 1947 language raises the question of whether acting secretaries are in the line of succession. The nonpartisan Continuity of Government Commission, in a 2009 report, said "[r]ead literally, this means that the current act allows for acting secretaries to be in the line of succession as long as they are confirmed by the Senate for a post (even for example, the second or third in command within a department)."[29] Although a case for their inclusion can be made, it is not clear whether acting secretaries are indeed in the line of succession.[30]

The 1947 act established that a person who becomes an acting president under the act will earn the same compensation given to the President.[9] Additionally, based on authority granted by Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment, the act applies to situations where the president-elect, alone or together with the vice president-elect, fails to meet the qualifications for the office of President. Based on that same authority, the act also applies to situations in which there is neither a president-elect nor a vice president-elect on Inauguration Day.[29]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act#Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1947