Presidential Succession Act Of 1947

The 80th Congress (1947-1949) Vs. The 118th Congress (2023- )

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It has often been claimed that the 80th Congress (1947-1949) under President Harry Truman was unproductive, or as Truman claimed it in his 1948 Presidential campaign, a “Do Nothing” Congress.

While it is true that the Republican dominated 80th Congress worked against Democratic President Truman and his “Fair Deal” proposals, most notably passing the anti Labor Taft-Hartley Act over the President’s veto, in reality a lot was accomplished in that Congress.

The following actions were accomplished:

The Truman Doctrine
The Taft-Hartley Act
The Presidential Succession Act
The National Security Act–including the Defense Department at the Pentagon in Virginia, the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, separate Department of the Air Force, and the Central Intelligence Agency
The Marshall Plan
22nd Amendment to the US Constitution

At the same time, NOTHING significant has been passed into law in the present first session of the 118th Congress, making it the least productive in modern times since the Great Depression 1931-1933 72nd Congress, split between a Democratic House of Representatives and Republican Senate under President Herbert Hoover!

Jim Jordan Would Have Been A National Security Threat As Speaker Of The House Of Representatives!

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This author and blogger, unfortunately, was offline for three days due to computer issues, but glad to be back!

It has been a tortorous few days watching the potential Speakership of Jim Jordan, who would have been a national security risk, as an Insurrectionist on January 6, 2021, and still refusing to accept that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump!

Thank goodness it looks as if finally he is done as a candidate for Speaker of the House, which is only two heartbeats away from the Presidency, due to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947!

But the Republican Party is still a total mess, leaving the House of Representatives unable to meet its responsibilities!

Jim Jordan As Speaker Of The House Unacceptable Danger!

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The future of the nation is in danger if Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, now the choice of House Republicans, is permitted to become Speaker of the House.

This man is a danger, a supporter of Donald Trump, who was engaged in the planning of January 6, and refused to testify before the January 6 House Committee investigating the Insurrection at the US Capitol!

Jordan is a divisive figure, an extreme right wing MAGA Republican, who would be two heartbeats away from the Presidency under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, endangering American national security and undermining support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

It is hoped that more than five Republicans will work to prevent this menace to public order from becoming Speaker, as he would also have access to important national secrets by assuming leadership in the House of Representatives!

Unless someone like Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Don Bacon of Nebraska, or Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania can become Speaker, then moderates, such as the above, must unite to make Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, the Speaker of the House for the remaining 14 months of the 118th Congress!

Violent Attack On Speaker Pelosi’s Husband Just Tip Of The Iceberg, Incited By Donald Trump!

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The violent attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, home alone at their San Francisco home, is shocking, but just the tip of the iceberg, as it is just one of many threats against members of Congress and their families.

It is clear that this incident was an assassination threat against Pelosi, had she been present.

Most of the threats are against Democrats, and are promoted by MAGA domestic terrorists backed by Donald Trump.

Notice that Trump has NOT expressed his sympathies and denounced this attack, and by having no comment, is endorsing the violence!

Some Republican leaders have spoken up, but many have encouraged such attacks, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebet, Matt Gaetz and others!

There is a need for protection of the homes and close family members of top leadership, as one must realize that the Speaker of the House is second in line for the Presidency.

So this incident represents a second attempt of Trump and his supporters to threaten the life of Nancy Pelosi, after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, where Trump remained silent, as the threat against Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, first in line of succession, occurred.

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for these threats, a situation that has never occurred before for the top leaders in the Presidential succession!

The threats against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are a great concern, and if Republican Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker of the House in 2023, and Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley become President Pro Tempore of the Senate, there will be a need for increased security for these leaders who would be next in line for the Presidency in case of a tragedy!

The Danger Of Kevin McCarthy Being Two Heartbeats Away From The Presidency In 2023

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California has engaged in a great coverup regarding the events of January 6, 2021, but we have now learned that he was ready to promote the resignation of Donald Trump, until he changed his mind and caved in to Trump.

McCarthy has led a campaign to defeat Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only Republicans to show courage and join the January 6 House Committee investigating the horrible events of that day.

With the exception of a small group of other House Republicans who joined Cheney and Kinzinger in supporting impeachment of Donald Trump for his rhetoric and actions on January 6, the party has engaged in a coverup.

Kevin McCarthy so desperately wants to be Speaker of the House that he has shown himself to be a coward in promoting the “Big Lie” about his involvement and interaction around the events of that day.

The danger now is that McCarthy, were he to become Speaker of the House, would disgrace that office, as he has no principles, ethics, or morals, and is willing to sell his soul to Donald Trump!

The nightmare scenario about Kevin McCarthy is that if was to become Speaker of the House, he would be two heartbeats away from the Presidency, as under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the only people standing in the way of the Presidency are President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris!

Even worse is the possibility that someone far worse than even McCarthy, such as Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan or others who are equally reprehensible, could become Speaker in place of McCarthy!

It is essential that the Republicans NOT win the majority in the House of Representatives, as that would also mean the end of the investigation into the most dangerous threat to the US Capitol and American government stability since the War of 1812!

The Aging Of Leadership A Major Problem With Presidential Succession And Otherwise!

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The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 has now set up a situation where the present Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Patrick Leahy, are both 82 years old, born five days apart in March 1940.

Next year, Dianne Feinstein could be the President Pro Tempore at past 89, as she was born in June 1933, and there are signs of her seemingly having dementia interfering with her ability to do her work.

This presents the problem of aging leadership, which has to include in discussion President Joe Biden, who will be 80 in November, but also senior Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who will be 89 in September, and would be President Pro Tempore of the Senate, if the Republicans regain control this fall.

We have never had such an aging leadership in American history, as so many others in leadership are in their late 70s or nearing 80 and over.

The second and third House leaders are in their 80s–House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who will be 83 in June, and James Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, who will be 82 in July.

And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is 80 years old.

It is time for a new generation of leadership!

Orrin Hatch Says Trump Is One Of The Best Presidents Of His Lifetime: Time To Retire!

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Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, Orrin Hatch of Utah, is third in the line of succession at age 83, the longest serving Republican after 41 years in the upper chamber, and is coming up for reelection to an 8th term in 2018, although he may be challenged, if he decides to run, by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee.

Hatch’s longevity and age is a good argument why he should retire, or face possible defeat by Romney for the nomination.

Hatch has often made ridiculous statements, but this latest one, saying Trump is one of the best Presidents of his lifetime, is shocking, and it makes one wonder if his mental health is solid, as it seems delusional, and a sign of his possible dementia.

The thought that in theory Hatch could succeed to the Presidency if Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Paul Ryan were all found to be engaged in collusion, is terrifying.

This blogger has long believed that the line of succession should not be the way it is, and instead be changed to the Senate Majority Leader, who is always younger and has been elected by his party colleagues based on his ability to lead, while the Senate President Pro Tempore is simply in that position based upon seniority, not upon qualifications. So we need the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 to be changed now.

While this blogger is not at all thrilled about Mitch McConnell, at least he has been voted into his position and is younger than Hatch.

So, Orrin Hatch, time to announce your retirement at age 84 and after 42 years, half your life in the US Senate.

House Speaker Paul Ryan And Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch Are Right: Leave DACA In Place, Do NOT Victimize Young Immigrants!

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House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch are second and third in line to be President, under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

Both are clearly conservative Republicans, and yet both have called on President Donald Trump to leave DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) in place for 800,000 young men and women who were given the right to remain in America by President Obama in 2012, despite the illegal status of their presence, when they were brought here by their parents from Mexico and other nations in Latin America.

These children (now young adults) should NOT be forced to face deportation to nations they have never known, and which in most cases, do not know the language or culture, or have relatives they know in those nations that their parents migrated from for opportunity for a better life.

These DACA young people are in many cases, in college or the military, and are not engaged in criminal activity, which would clearly eliminate them from the program if proven in a court of law.

Realistically, beyond the DACA kids, there is no rational way to deport millions upon millions of people who, while they may have come illegally, have not broken the law while in America.

These undocumented immigrants pay taxes, face discrimination by police officers who intimidate them in many cases, and do a multitude of jobs that no one else will take on, including working in agricultural fields, hotels, restaurants, and as maids and engaged in property upkeep and in child care duties, and cannot be replaced.

As always, immigrants work much harder than most Americans, in many cases two to three jobs under great stress, and do not complain in the spoiled way that many Americans engage in.

This is a nation of immigrants, and one can be sure that historically there were many undocumented immigrants who came here, and made contributions to the welfare and success of America, so the answer is NOT deporting anyone who is making a positive contribution, and instead having systematic immigration reform, as Paul Ryan and Orrin Hatch, and other Republicans, including Senators John McCain, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham and others, are advocating.

Mike Pence: A Morally And Ethically Challenged Vice President, Who Signed A Pact With The Devil, And Now Is Suspect As Possible Successor!

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Vice President Mike Pence is facing a very difficult situation, as Donald Trump implodes, and as his prospects of staying in office for the next three years and eight months becomes more difficult to accomplish. Mike Pence, by agreeing to run for Vice President, became tied to the fate of Donald Trump, and one could argue that he signed a pact with the devil. He could, ultimately, benefit, by becoming the 46th President of the United States, but let’s not jump to that conclusion quite yet.

In the midst of the Trump crisis of leadership, Mike Pence himself is coming under a moral and ethical cloud, as he has been shown to have lied about when he learned about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russian government leaders, including Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ambassador to the United States.

And actually, there now seems to be evidence that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also seemed to know of Trump collusion with the Russian government as early as June 2016, and told his House colleagues to stay quiet and remember they are part of a team to work for the party over any such evidence.

So we might be faced with a constitutional crisis worse than imagined as the top three leaders of the government under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947–the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives–might all be compromised as having knowledge of or collusion with a foreign government that worked to undermine the American electoral process, and to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election of 2016.

If that unbelievable scenario turns out to be totally the case, then we would have the unprecedented situation of Senate President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch of Utah, who has been in the US Senate for more than 40 years, and is the longest serving Republican Senator in all of American history, and age 83, becoming President of the United States!

Can this really be happening? Stay tuned!

Speaker Paul Ryan Totally Out Of Line In Demanding That Hillary Clinton Be Denied Access To Intelligence Information As Nominee!

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is totally out of line in demanding that Hillary Clinton be denied access to intelligence information as the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, due to the controversy over Emails, and the FBI director’s criticism of her handling of the matter, while not recommending prosecution.

If that is to occur, then Republican nominee Donald Trump, a dangerous, reckless, “loose cannon” must also be denied access, as he is unable to control his mouth, and might reveal highly sensitive information during the campaign.

It is not Paul Ryan’s place as second in line to the Presidency to intervene and get involved in this controversy, and it makes one wonder how Ryan, if he remains Speaker, and Hillary Clinton, would be able to work together and cooperate next year, if Clinton wins the White House.

Some have thought that Ryan would love to cause a coup and become President himself, as he has done a horrible job as Speaker, and this blogger was highly critical of him when he was Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate in the 2012 Presidential election.

Ryan is totally untrustworthy, and is a good reason to wish that the old Presidential Succession Act of 1886, replaced by the present one in 1947, could be revived. The cabinet members should follow the Vice President in the order of succession, not the three out of four years opposition party Speaker and President Pro Tempore of the Senate being ahead of the cabinet officers in the line of succession, in case of an emergency.