WP: "Nightmarish" succession scenario: Hastert has a secret list

[DeepModem Mom]

A Secret in the Line of Succession
By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 16, 2006; Page A19

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) shows no sign of resigning over the Mark Foley-House page scandal. But the mere suggestion that he might do so raises an intriguing political and constitutional question: Who would replace him while Congress is in recess?

The answer, it appears, is on a piece of paper locked away in the House clerk's office.

In a little-noticed action taken nearly four years ago, the House amended its rules dealing with the "continuity of Congress" in emergencies and the succession of speakers. The rule, cited recently in Roll Call, directs the speaker to "deliver to the Clerk a list of Members in the order in which each shall act as Speaker pro tempore . . . in the case of a vacancy in the office of Speaker."

Normally, "speaker pro tempore" is the title given for a few hours at a time to various members of the majority who preside over House sessions. But the rules revision made in January 2003, in response to worries about terrorist strikes that could wipe out large numbers of elected officials, appears to bestow upon a newly named replacement all the powers enjoyed by a full-time speaker elected by his peers....

***

As for nightmarish constitutional what-ifs, (Neil Kinkopf, a professor of law at Georgia State University) said, "Imagine where the presidency falls not to the speaker, but to somebody on the speaker's secret list."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/15/AR2006101500691.html

[Kagemusha]

1. On a better day I'd ask if this was some kind of joke.

That's pretty sad stuff...

[napi21]

2. Hmmm, wouldn't you LOVE to see that list?

I'm just curious. It would speak volums about the real thought process of the GOP. Too bad we'll probably never know!

[elehhhhna]

17. Seen it. First up: Prince Bandar.

[DeepModem Mom]

21. Thanks for your responses to this thread -- I've enjoyed! nt

[Benhurst]

3. What a nightmare.

:boring:

[Hosnon]

4. I don't get how the list is secret if it is to be "deliver[ed] to the

Clerk".

What am I missing?

[DeepModem Mom]

8. As I read it, Hastert has delivered the list to the House Clerk...

for safekeeping. It's a secret to all, apparently, unless the House Clerk has had a look at it.

[wakeme2008]

5. Let me guess Tom DeLay

Buffet Denny has been to lazy to update his list. :evilgrin:

[elehhhhna]

18. Good one, but no. It's "Roger Myas" lmao

[demwing]

6. But the official order of succession specifies

only that the Speaker of the House may succeed, and makes no room for a "speaker pro tempore."

If the Speaker is unable to take office, the succession passes immediately to the president pro tempore of the Senate. If the "speaker pro tempore" was eligible to succeed, then --theoretically--one would have to go through the entire House before moving on to the Senate.

I can almost guarantee that such a thing would never happen.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. From the article --

Perhaps the biggest question, some lawyers say, is whether a House speaker -- full time or pro tempore -- can assume and keep the presidency under any circumstance. A statute, not the Constitution, lists the speaker's place in the line succession.

A case can be made that no one in Congress qualifies as an "officer" eligible to assume the presidency under Article II of the Constitution, said Neil Kinkopf, a professor of law at Georgia State University. The question may never be settled, he said, because the Supreme Court would take it up only if a speaker became president and someone challenged the action in court.

[demwing]

15. Well, Article I clearly states:

The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. --emphasis added.


The Speaker is clearly an officer, as defined by the Constitution.

[alfredo]

11. It's DeLay, Foley, Cunningham, Ney.

[NoPasaran]

7. Come January, it will be Nancy Pelosi's list

Anyway, the line of succession is Prez--->Vice Prez--->Speaker of the House--->President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

[texpatriot2004]

10. How did they change it to their own secret Succession list? I

thought that there was a specific procedure in place that had worked for countless others before these evil, criminal bastards took over.

[elehhhhna]

19. NOOOOOOOO! Not you dang hippies and your stupid "laws" again. Sheesh.

[grasswire]

12. what other secret end runs against the Constitution have they made

This is an outrage.

[Ezlivin]

13. The Bush admin has passed all sorts of little laws just in case of a loss

of power.

On May 8, 2001 - four months prior to 9/11 - the president placed Dick Cheney in charge of "All federal programs dealing with weapons of mass destruction consequence management within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies…" This included all "training and planning" which needed to be "seamlessly integrated, harmonious and comprehensive" in order to "maximize effectiveness." This mandate created the Office of National Preparedness in FEMA, overseen by Dick Cheney.

Sure looks like they think something is going to happen....

[Bunny]

14. This brings up an interesting question.

Who would succeed to the presidency if the top four were wiped out in a catastrophic attack; Wiki says:

<snip>
This is a list of the current presidential line of succession, as specified by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19).

# Name Position
1 Richard B. Cheney Vice President
2 J. Dennis Hastert Speaker of the House of Representatives
3 Ted Stevens President pro tempore of the Senate
4 Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State
5 Henry M. Paulson, Jr. Secretary of the Treasury
6 Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense
7 Alberto Gonzales Attorney General
8 Dirk Kempthorne Secretary of the Interior
9 Mike Johanns Secretary of Agriculture
Carlos Gutierrez
(ineligible; not a natural-born citizen) Secretary of Commerce
Elaine Chao
(ineligible; not a natural-born citizen) Secretary of Labor
10 Michael Leavitt Secretary of Health and Human Services
11 Alphonso Jackson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
12 Mary Peters Secretary of Transportation
13 Samuel W. Bodman Secretary of Energy
14 Margaret Spellings Secretary of Education
15 Jim Nicholson Secretary of Veterans Affairs
<snip>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession

[elehhhhna]

20. Well slap my butt & move the WH to the Hague.

[formercia]

16. The King is dead

Long live the King.

[me b zola]

22. k&r