If the rolling catastrophe of Der Furor's presidency has taught us anything, it's that the authors of the Constitution severely underestimated the ability of unprincipled, unscrupulous, and dangerous individuals and parties to exploit every conceivable loophole of a document deliberately crafted to be ambiguous enough to appeal to a wide range of ideologies, geographical concerns, and governing philosophies.
Although I realize there's not the least chance in my lifetime of the Constitution ever being updated or amended to fix its worst shortcomings, here's my recommendation for updating Article II, which covers the presidency and its powers.
Article II - The Executive Branch
Section 1 - General
The Executive Branch is headed by the President of the United States of America, who serves both as head of state and head of government. The President is elected for a four year term of office, and may serve a maximum of two terms, which need not be consecutive. A President elected to a second, nonconsecutive term may not run for an additional term. A President who serves a partial term due to the death, resignation, or removal of the elected incumbent, is considered to have served a full term.
The President is assisted by a Vice President, who will serve as President should the incumbent die, resign, be impeached, or be otherwise unable to fulfill the duties of the office.
Section 2 - Qualifications for Office
In order to serve as President or Vice President, a candidate must be between thirty-five and sixty-five years of age and a citizen of the United States, either native born or naturalized. A naturalized citizen must have been a citizen for a minimum of twenty years as of the date of election, and may not hold dual citizenship with their country of birth or any other country.
Section 3 - Election, Compensation, and Presidential Oath of Office
The President and Vice President will be elected by the popular vote of the majority of legal adult citizens eligible to vote according to the laws of the respective states.
Presidential elections will be held on the first Tuesday of November, unless Congress changes the date through legislation. Each state will determine its own methods, rules and systems for the conduct of elections, as long as the state's laws do not limit the right of eligible citizens to vote. The President's term of office begins at noon on January 20th of the year following the date of election, or on January 21st should the 20th fall on a Sunday.
The President and Vice President shall receive a salary paid from the Treasury, the amount of which shall be fixed by law and shall neither increase nor decrease during their term of office. While serving in office, they shall receive no other salary, payment, reward, or compensation from any other source, and shall place all personal investments or other holdings into a blind trust. Expenses of the office of the President and Vice President for their official duties shall likewise be paid from the Treasury, and subject annually to formal audit and accounting, the results of which shall be considered public information. Gifts of any form or value presented to the President or Vice President by a foreign leader are the property of the United States and may not be retained for personal use or display.
Before taking office, the President shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 4 - Duties and Responsibilities of the President and Vice President
As Head of Government, the President shall oversee the activities of Executive Branch agencies, but will exercise no direct day-to-day managerial control over their operations; such control will be carried out by heads of the respective departments nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
As Head of State, the President shall be the official representative of the United States at all international conferences, assemblies, and other meetings of national leaders.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, and of the National Guard forces of the States when those forces are mobilized for service of the United States. Mobilization for national service of National Guard units must be ordered in writing by the President and shall not exceed thirty days duration unless authorized by Congress. In an emergency, the President may order, through the Secretary of Defense, the employment of forces necessary to meet the immediate emergency; however, such employment of forces must be approved by the Senate within ten calendar days.
The President may solicit the opinion and advice of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties and responsibilities of their offices.
The President shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. Reprieves and pardons will be granted only upon a formal recommendation made to the President by the Department of Justice.
The President shall have power to negotiate treaties, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and the concurrence of two thirds of the Senators.
The President shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, officers of the federal government, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose appointments are established by law. Congress may by legislation vest the appointment of specific officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the appropriate courts, or in the heads of the departments in which they will serve.
The President shall have the power to remove, for cause based on publicly provided evidence, officers they have appointed. Causes for removal include, but are not limited to, treason, fraud, bribery, felony criminal acts, and abuse of office.
The President may fill vacancies that occur when the Senate is in recess, but such appointments must be confirmed by the Senate when it reconvenes. Recess appointees not subsequently confirmed by the Senate shall be withdrawn and new nominees submitted for approval.
The President shall, at least annually, provide Congress his or her assessment of the state of the union, relations of the United States with other nations, details of their legislative program, and their view of the nation for the coming year.
The President shall receive Ambassadors and other public ministers, although the Secretary of State shall generally perform this duty except when diplomatic circumstances require the personal attention of the President.
The President shall faithfully execute the laws passed by Congress.
The President shall commission all officers of the United States government and the Armed Forces.
The duties of the Vice President are as assigned by the President, except that the Vice President shall serve as President of the Senate. In this role, the Vice President will have no vote on legislation or other matters unless the Senate is evenly divided.
Section 5 - Line of Succession
Should the President be unable to exercise the duties of office, the following officials will, in the specified order of succession, assume the Presidency:
The Vice President
The Speaker of the House of Representatives
The President Pro Tempore of the Senate
The Secretary of State
The Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of Defense
The Attorney General
The Secretary of the Interior
The Secretary of Agriculture
The Secretary of Commerce
The Secretary of Labor
The Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The Secretary of Transportation
The Secretary of Energy
The Secretary of Education
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
The Secretary of Homeland Security
Section 6 - Removal from Office
The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, public corruption, or other criminal offenses.
*****
What do you think of my recommended changes and updates? Would this prevent the rise of another Der Furor-like president? What have I missed, or what could be better expressed to eliminate loopholes? Would any of this make things worse? Leave a comment and let's discuss.
Have a good day. Keep an eye on presidents who believe they are kings. More thoughts coming.
Bilbo
