Bell ringer
What is the ordinance power of the president?
Which branch has the power to declare war? Why
would this be?
What is a pardon?
The Executive Branch: The Presidency 3
Today we will …
Objectives
agenda
 Discuss presidential
 Hail to You! wksht
succession and the role
of the VP.
 Slide/notes
 Closure
 Finish - History
channel video
 HW: Classified ad for
Pres
Hail to you, Chief!
 Complete the worksheet with a partner
 Raise your hand when you want to check it
 When finished, start on your HW
 20 minutes
Suppose that …
 The President needs open-heart surgery and will be
unable to discharge his duties for at least 1 month.
What happens?
 The President and VP are both killed in a plane
crash. What happens?
Presidential Succession & the Vice Presidency
Presidential Succession
7
 Presidential Succession: The scheme by which a
presidential vacancy is filled.
 Article II is somewhat vague regarding Presidential
succession…does not explicitly state whether the V.P. is
an “Acting President” as opposed to a “true” President.

Tyler Precedent

25th Amendment deals with Presidential and Vice Presidential
Succession.
Presidential Succession
 25th Amendment (1967) explains when and how
the Vice President may assume the role of President.

Very clear protocol if president is unable to perform duties

http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment25.html
Presidential Succession
#
Office
Current officer
1
Vice President of the United States
Joe Biden (D)
2
Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R)
3
President pro tempore of the Senate
Orrin Hatch (R)
4
Secretary of State
John Kerry (D)
5
Secretary of the Treasury
Jacob Lew (D)
6
Secretary of Defense
Ashton Carter (D)
7
Attorney General
Eric Holder (D)
—
Secretary of the Interior
Sally Jewell (D)[a]
8
Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack (D)
9
Secretary of Commerce
Penny Pritzker (D)
10
Secretary of Labor
Thomas Perez (D)
11
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Sylvia Mathews Burwell (D)
12
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Julián Castro (D)
13
Secretary of Transportation
Anthony Foxx (D)
14
Secretary of Energy
Ernest Moniz (D)
15
Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan (D)
16
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Robert McDonald (R)
17
Secretary of Homeland Security
Jeh Johnson (D)
.
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
10
 Congress fixes the order of succession following the
V.P.
 What about Presidential disability?
The
President can transfer power in cases of disability, even
temporarily.

In 2002, President Bush had surgery for 2 hours. For these 2
hours, President Bush had transferred his power to V.P. Dick
Cheney.
Check for understanding
 The President needs open-heart surgery and will be
unable to discharge his duties for at least 1 month.
What happens?
 The President and VP are both killed in a plane
crash. What happens?
The Vice Presidency
12
Through much of history, the VP has been treated as an office of
little importance.

“I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be
everything.” – John Adams, 1st VP

“The most insignificant office that ever the invention of man
contrived or his imagination conceived.” John Adams

“Honorable and easy” and “tranquil and unoffending”
Thomas Jefferson
The Vice Presidency
13
 President Theodore Roosevelt was annoyed by a
chandelier making a tinkling noise. He ordered it to be
removed and said:

“Take it to the office of the Vice President. He doesn’t have
anything to do. It will keep him awake.”
 Yet, the VP is a heartbeat away from becoming the
President of the U.S. (8 Presidents have died in office. 1
President has resigned).
Balance the Ticket
14
 Usually, the presidential candidate picks someone who
will balance the ticket – which means someone
who can strengthen his chance of being elected by
virtue of certain ideological, geographic, racial, ethnic,
gender, or other characteristics.
Presidential Election of 2008
 Who are these people?
 Why were they selected?
 Did it work?
Closure
 What are the TWO constitutional roles of the VP?
 Which one do you think is more important? Why?
 History Channel – Inside the White House
 http://www.history.com/shows/americas-book-of-
secrets/videos/americas-book-of-secrets-the-whitehouse