“Makes my head spin,” she said while feeding him a bit of the panini.
“So, back to my question,” he said chewing the sandwich. “Overall opinion?”
“The law is based on an incredibly faulty premise. Stop me if I’ve already told you all of this, but in 1945, after President Truman succeeded Franklin Roosevelt, he decided to change the first line of succession from cabinet to Congress. In fact, he didn’t name a vice president until he ran for re-election in 1948.”
“Really?”
“Really. And without a vice president serving under him, George Marshall, his Secretary of State, would become his immediate successor if he died. Now a couple of relative points. Some claim that Truman didn’t necessarily believe he, or any president, should be appointing his own successor. In a democracy, the position of president is elective, and therefore it should fall to someone who had stood the test of the electorate. He pointed to the Speaker of the House, the leading officer of Congress.”
“But he’s not nationally elected.”
“You’re right.” The speaker is elected every two years by constituents in his district. But he’s elevated to national prominence by gaining the support and vote of the majority of the members of the House.
“But here’s the rub. The 1792 Statute named the president pro tempore of the senate as the first officer in the line of succession, not the Speaker of the House.”
“So why the change for Truman?”
“On the surface, Truman wanted the power to stay with the party of the presidency. The House was more likely to be controlled by the president’s party than the Senate. But there was more to it than that. Truman’s relations with the president pro tem wasn’t, what shall I say, cordial. He was a wily, vindictive powerful 78-year-old named Kenneth McKellar from Tennessee. He was known as a real patronage guy. Truman knew him from the Senate. Not his favorite. On the other hand, Speaker of the House Sam Raybum was a good friend: good enough that Truman was said to have visited Rayburn’s office for a glass of bourbon after he learned he was going to be sworn in as president.”
“Politics,” Roarke sadly concluded.
“And faulty reasoning,” Katie added. “We’ve had long periods since 1947 when the president’s party is not the majority party in either the House or the Senate, or both.”
“So much for Truman’s logic.”
“Right again. And wouldn’t you think that it’s more likely for a cabinet member appointed by a president to continue his policies than a legislative officer with a different political agenda?”
“Makes sense to me.” He was thinking about Duke Patrick right now. “But Truman got his way. What was it like before that?”
“Good question. Let’s go back to 1886. President Grover Cleveland’s vice president died in office. Congress was out of session and according to the 1792 Act, there were no statutory successors to take over if Cleveland croaked or he couldn’t discharge his duties. So Congress reconvened and pulled together The First Presidential Succession Act, which set the line of succession after the veep with the Secretary of State, followed by the rest of the cabinet department heads, in order of their department’s establishment. The 1886 Act required the successor to convene Congress, if it wasn’t already in session, to determine whether or not to call for a special presidential election.”
“It’s getting complicated again.”
“Oh, it’s very complicated and full of holes. Big ones. Like the whole question of who’s an ‘officer?’”
“Meaning?”
“Well, Duke Patrick, for example. Would the House Speaker be considered an officer in Constitutional terms?”
“Of course he is,” Roarke said, totally engaged. “He was elected…”
“Not so fast. The Constitution, Article II, section 1, clause 6 says…”
Roarke smiled. “You really have this down.”
“Stop it. I have it memorized, I’m trying to act like I have it down…clause 6 specifies that Congress may, by law, specify what Officer — capital O — shall act as president if both the president and vice president are unavailable. That’s the foundation of all the laws that followed. But does the Constitution view elected officials as Officers? No one knows for sure how the Supreme Court would ultimately rule. Cabinet members, yes. They’re officers appointed by the president, ratified by the Senate.”
“And what do you think?”
“Well, my buddy James Madison and I think officers are those appointed rather than elected.”
“You are good,” Roarke added.
“And there’s more if you’re still with me.”
“Forever.”
Katie liked that a lot. It deserved a kiss, which she gave him by sitting up and stretching across the table.
“Ummm,” he said enjoying his reward.
“Now I know you’re dying to ask me where we stand now.”
“Where do we stand now,” Roarke chimed in.
“On very shaky ground. Here’s why. Under the current law, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution focuses primarily on how the president is succeeded in office, under the terms of the 1947 Act. But did you realize that someone could be bumped out of office?”
“No. How?”
“Imagine there’s a catastrophe. The president, vice president, speaker, and senate pro tem are killed. The Secretary of State is next in line to become the chief executive.”
“I’m with you.”
“Okay, but then the Senate acts very quickly. It elects a new president pro tempore. The senator conveniently bumps the Secretary of State out. But then the House names a new speaker. He, or she,” Katie smiled at the thought, “would bump the Senate president.”
“It’d be chaotic.”
“Worse. We’d have numerous politicians and officers — see the distinction now — laying claim to the presidency. It would have to get settled by the Supreme Court. Not a good time after a tragedy.”
“This is amazing,” Roarke observed.
“I wish I could take credit for it, but the arguments have been around for a long time.”
“Okay. So, in short, it’s a mess. One terrorist strike could throw us into a huge constitutional crisis. How, my dear, are you proposing we get out of it?”
“That, my love, is something I’m still sorting through.”
The down payment was in his account. The remainder would be his very soon. Just a few more details and his work would be done.
Colonel Lewis gave the Air Force One crew and the support team word that they were still a few days away from wheels up. There were rumors that they might have a quick stopover in Kandahar airport in Afghanistan. Is that good or bad? The engineer borrowed the navigation charts from the cockpit. Good.
He mentally calculated the distances and considered the likely flight plan. Better, in fact. Much better.
Chapter 66
“Done!” Prime Minister Foss proclaimed.
The pronouncement was followed by silence. The representatives, all of them leaders of their own nations, looked around at one another. Something momentous had happened here, but it was hard to grasp the full significance. Morgan Taylor began to clap. He was joined by the prime minister of Japan. The Indian president joined in. One by one, the heads of state of the rest of the countries applauded. Foss acknowledged the achievement himself by standing and nodding his appreciation.
The formal agreement would be drawn up shortly. The basic language of the pact endorsed Morgan Taylor’s plan to seek and destroy terrorist weapons stores anywhere in the South Pacific. The policy, once ratified by the U.S. Senate, would serve as a blueprint for similar sweeping treaties he hoped to broker in other parts of the world. In its final form, it was titled “The Southeast Asia and Pacific Anti-Terrorist Act,” or SAPATA.