Of course not. It’s total nonsense, with no evidence to support it. The headline is click-bait.
But as I thought about it, I realized that would be the ultimate act of loyalty. It would 100% guarantee an acquittal for Trump in the Senate, no matter what evidence emerges.
Bear with me for a second …
For the moment, let’s assume that tomorrow we find a video tape of Trump committing a completely evil act. He reveals the name of every undercover agent and informant overseas, or agrees to nuke California – make up any horrible crime you can think of.
- If Pence is vice-president, the Senate would vote to remove Trump from office and accept Pence as the new POTUS.
- If there is no vice-president, the senate votes to acquit. Not a single Republican senator would vote to remove – no matter what Trump is proven to have done – because removing Trump would make Nancy Pelosi president.
Pence’s resignation would be the ultimate insurance – an absolute 100% guarantee that every Republican senator will vote to acquit, no matter what they hear at the trial, no matter what they believe to be true.
That resignation leads to some interesting speculation.
When I was a kid, my parents had a comedy record album from a political impressionist named David Frye called “I am the President.” What I found truly fascinating about it was that it contained nothing but Pre-Watergate Nixon humor. I was 6-years-old when Nixon resigned and it seemed to me in the 1970’s and 80’s that all Nixon humor was about Watergate. Throughout the album, one of the running jokes was about Spiro Agnew and how he had the intellect of a not very bright toddler. “Spriro, Mr. Eisenhower (Nixon’s son in law) is going to teach you the days of the week, and the months of the year.” “Colors I want to learn colors!!! I forget if it was for high school or elementary school, but I read (I think it was) James Dean’s book for a paper I wrote about Watergate. The book described how prior to Watergate, Nixon and members of the administration joked that Agnew was assassination insurance. After the scandal broke, it was no longer a joke and Agnew had legitimately become Impeachment insurance. Of course, Agnew was forced to resign because of his own scandals and was replaced by the appointed VP Ford. If Pence did resign, I am sure the Democrats would vote to confirm nearly anyone if they thought it more likely Republicans would vote to convict.
I am sure Trump wouldn’t hesitate to nominate someone for the good of the country. He’d never wait until AFTER his trial was over, right?
But I can’t see Pence resigning absent his own scandal. It is his best, and most likely only, chance to be president.
McConnell currently determines the order of business of the Senate. If Pence resigned today, and Trump chose to nominate a replacement immediately, Mitch could choose to take up the confirmation before or after the impeachment process, depending on what he felt to be most advantageous.
But if the 25th Amendment to the Constitution specifies no precise timetable for the Senate, neither does it specify one for the President to name the replacement, so Trump himself could act instantly or hold off indefinitely, depending on what he felt to be most advantageous.
If Trump really wanted to create chaos, he could nominate McConnell and let the courts deal with the mess. Could McConnell vote in his own confirmation? In fact – could McConnell even be allowed to determine when his confirmation process would be held? The Constitution does not specify, so the Supremes would end up with it on their table. That might even halt the impeachment process while the courts determine whether McConnell could determine to place the impeachment before his own confirmation hearing! Now THAT would be fun, especially since the Senate Majority Leader has no true constitutional authority. (He is acting in lieu of the Senate President Pro Tempore.)
Digression:
I once saw David Frye perform live in Miami Beach, for an audience of about ten people in the late 70s. Just a few years earlier he had been a huge star. His performance was terrible. He had not written any new material, so his old impersonations of Nixon, LBJ, Gregory Peck and others were still accurate, but totally stale.
JFK: [gets shot dead]
Lenny Bruce: Wow, is Vaughn Meader fucked!
I forgot about that line. Dark, but brilliant.
Yes, but the Speaker might not be Pelosi. As soon as Pence resigns, a majority of the House can put anyone they want into the Speaker’s chair (even if Pelosi can’t be persuaded to resign herself).
Don’t forget that the Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of the House of Representatives. A majority of the elected House members can appoint anyone they want to be Speaker. She doesn’t have to be an elected representative. Oprah could be elected Speaker; so elect Michelle Obama. Or Andy Richter. Absolutely anyone.
And the Speakership also provides the only backdoor route into slipping someone who doesn’t otherwise meet the Constitutional requirements for being elected elected President, into legally serving as President (though he/she couldn’t run for reelection). AOC, I’m looking at you. Yes, despite her youth, AOC could be chosen Speaker as soon as Pence resigns and thus be ready to take over as President should Trump fall ill, be convicted, or even depart this mortal coil.
It need not be Pelosi to guarantee that Republicans would vote to acquit. No matter who is Speaker of the House, it will be determined by the House, which means the dreaded Democrats.
Presidential succession doesn’t work as you described it. If anyone along the way is ineligible for the office, they get skipped over. For example, when Kissinger and Albright were Secretary of State, that step was skipped over and the Sec of the Treasury moved up one step. The Constitution doesn’t specify how old a person needs to be to RUN for President, but rather to be eligible to the office.
(In fact, a 34-year-old could run for President and be elected, as long as he or she turned 35 between election day and inauguration day. Oddly enough, this situation was actually tested by Joe Biden almost 50 years ago. He was elected to the Senate at 29, but turned 30 on November 20, after election but before taking office.)
Therefore the GOP would love it if Trump were removed, with no Pence, and AOC as speaker – because Chuck Grassley would become President – the ultimate cranky old white guy! (And there is no MAXIMUM age to be eligible to the office, only a minimum.)
You are right about one thing, though, and it’s a fascinating and little-known fact about the government: the House does not have to choose one of its own as Speaker. In a situation where the Speaker becomes President, the members of the House literally can make anyone Speaker, and therefore President! But in order to succeed to the presidency, he or she must be somebody who meets the constitutional requirements for the presidency. So in that situation, they could make Oprah Speaker and President, but they could only make AOC Speaker.
SIDEBAR: the papacy works the same way – kinda. There is no requirement for the pope to be a cardinal, or even a priest, or even celibate. However, they could not elect Oprah, because there are two requirements – the pope must be Catholic and male. They could elect Andy Richter if he’s a Catholic (I have no idea). If Andy is not eligible, they could certainly elect Conan O’Brien, who would be the best pope ever!
Well, Pelosi might only be president for a short while. There’s no guarantee she would run in 2020, and she might piss off enough people in that short amount of time that they all vote Republican.
Actually, if Pence resigned, and the Republicans thought long term, they should convict. What would be the consequences of Pelosi becoming President? A good Republican, or hell Independent candidate could take the election from Bernie or Warren.
Sounds reasonable except that even the GOP could work with a Dem president. Its preferable that they don’t but if they can block 6 years of Obama I’m sure they could handle 9 months of Pelosi. Pelosi is corporate friendly and would probably still pass around a few hand jobs for the lobbyists to get excited over.
The antichrist could come from the pits of hell and promote plague, destruction, and hell on earth and the evangelical Republicans would acquit if a Democrat was next in line. ‘Own the libs’ is the only motto. Not only that, but they would go back to their rural cult every Sunday and preach about how righteous they are.
Doesn’t work every time, but a good rule of thumb – if the headline is a question, the answer is no.