He shook his head. "No, sir. They were trying to figure a way to rig a sling, but the New York City helicopter wasn't rigged with a winch. They were trying to get something from the Coast Guard when ... when..." His face was ashen and he couldn't finish the statement.
"Thank you, Special Agent Duvall. I am sure your colleagues tried everything.", I told him. I looked around the table. "I think we need to consider the provisions of the 25th Amendment.", I announced.
There was an immediate ruckus at this, and Cheney looked furious. "You can't do this! He's not dead!", he roared, effectively silencing the others.
I stayed calm. "I certainly hope he isn't, but we need to be prepared. Attorney General Ashcroft, could you lend us your expertise?"
"We need to consider Section 4. It was written in case the President suffered a stroke or became incapacitated and couldn't pass along his powers normally.", he replied. He already had a folded pocket copy of the Constitution before him, and it seemed as if it was open to one of the last pages. "It states that when the Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments consider the President to be incapable of his duties, there is a procedure for which the Vice President can be named Acting President." He read off some of the relevant amendment. "This was passed following the Kennedy assassination, to clarify the succession. We've never used Section 4 before, but it would have certainly been used when Wilson had his stroke.", he commented.
"Thank you. John, please clarify the procedure.", I asked.
"Like hell! You will never be President!", declared Cheney. "George was going to get rid of you and name me the Vice President!"
There was a small uproar at that, but I just held my hand up. "Please, let the Attorney General continue."
John Ashcroft nodded his thanks to me. "When this was written it was envisioned that the principal officers meant the Cabinet. If we vote for this, you only need to win by one vote. Then we inform the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, in writing, and you become the Acting President. You don't need to be sworn in."
"Hastert is the Speaker, but who's the President Pro Tempore of the Senate?", asked Ann Veneman over the phone.
"Robert Byrd.", answered somebody.
Somebody else commented, "He's still alive?"
Colin Powell took it one step further. "Why are we screwing around? We need to swear you in as President, sir!"
"Damn you! President Bush will be rescued!", exclaimed Cheney.
"Dick, face facts! There is nothing left of the World Trade Center but a pile of rubble. It will take weeks or months to dig it out. Nobody got out of there!", answered Powell.
"You go to hell!", Cheney retorted.
I ignored Cheney for the moment. "Secretary Powell, I considered that, but let me say that this would be premature. I have no idea how many people were lost today, but if I tell the American people that we think the President is dead, we are telling them that everybody is dead. It is too soon for that; they won't accept it. I can't do that. I think we need to invoke the provisions of Section 4 now, however.", I told him and the others.
I saw a number of nods and affirmative glances at that, although Cheney looked mulish. I turned back to Ashcroft. "Mister Attorney General, I don't know how we should do this. I can't vote, clearly. How do you want to do this?"
He sighed. "Nobody's ever done this before. We have 14 Cabinet level departments. I will go down the list and ask everybody to vote yes or no. Yes means that Carl Buckman becomes the Acting President. No means he does not." He took a sheet of paper and began to make a list. "Secretary of the Treasury O'Neill?"
"Yes." He looked at the others. "If we do find that President Bush survived, this all becomes moot, anyway."
"Quite true.", added Ashcroft. "Secretary of State Cheney?"
"NO!"
"Secretary of Defense Powell?"
"Yes. Of course."
"The Attorney General – I vote yes." Ashcroft continued down the list, only pausing to comment that while the two missing people might not technically be eligible to vote, since they weren't present, he wanted their opinions as well. Both spoke up in my favor. The vote ended at 13 to 1.
Paul O'Neill spoke up at that. "Dick, I am asking you to change your vote. This is not a permanent thing. If the President is found, Carl goes back to being Vice President. Do it for the nation. We need to be united now, not divided!"
Several other people went along with this, and Cheney reluctantly agreed. Ashcroft happily changed his sheet. He looked up at me and said, "Mister Acting President, your orders?"
I nodded. "Mister Attorney General, you are excused. Please see that this is typed up and put into some sort of proper form and bring it back for all of us to sign. While you are doing that, please see about how we submit this properly. Thank you, sir."
He stood and made a formal little bow of sorts and left.
I turned to Paul O'Neill. "The stock exchanges are shut down?"
"As much for safety as anything else. Nobody knew if any planes were going to crash into them.", he replied.
"I imagine we'll need to keep them shut down for a few days. What's this going to do to the economy?"
"Nothing good!"
After about ten minutes John Ashcroft bustled back in. He had a wry smile on his face. "Even in a nuclear bunker we have secretaries." He waved a few typed pages and brought them around to me. "It's simple enough. Everybody sign. I will witness for the people not here. Is that alright?", he asked towards the speakers.
Both absentees said it would be.
I looked it over. It was on White House stationery and simply stated, 'Pursuant to Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and with the full agreement of the Cabinet, I hereby assume the duties of the Acting President of the United States of America.' Below that there were the typed names of everybody in the meeting, with a space for all of us to sign.
There it was, in black and white. I took a deep breath and exhaled. I looked at the Attorney General. "Just sign there above your name, sir."
I scribbled my scrawl, and then passed it to my left. It went around the table. When Ann and Tommy needed to sign, Ashcroft read the page and then formally asked them if they wished him to sign in their places. They agreed. Cheney looked mulish, but he signed as well. I looked at Ashcroft and asked, "What now?"
"I've already taken the liberty of sending the Secret Service to bring Denny Hastert and Robert Byrd here. They were both in town, so we'll just ask them in and I will present this to them. They can confirm it with us all, and then we can go about our business."
"Which will be what, Mister President?", asked Colin Powell.
I looked him straight in the eye. "Which will be cleaning up this mess and then killing everybody who thought it up. Are you up for it, General?"
"Yes, sir, I am!"
Chapter 138: Aftermath
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
It took a bit longer for Hastert to arrive than Byrd because he was third in line for the Presidency and the Secret Service had stashed him outside town. In the meantime, I made a little speech before dismissing most of the Cabinet. "I will be speaking to everyone here on an individual basis over the next few days, but I expect the scheduling to be haphazard. There are two things that everybody here has to know and understand. First, we are about to go through some extraordinary times. We have just been handed a world-class disaster. If your department is asked to do something, do not wait around – get it done! Don't wait for the paperwork to be finished. I will cover you as best I can, but get it done, whatever it is. I can just about guarantee in writing that this is going to end up in front of a half dozen Congressional and Senate committees, and you will not want to be explaining why you delayed something that could have helped."