Like two US former presidents, Donald Trump can temporarily hand over power to his deputy, Mike Pence, if he is unable to perform his duties, for example while undergoing a medical procedure as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, according to the Reuters news agency.
Trump said today, Friday, that he had tested positive for the "Covid-19" disease, and that he would enter quarantine to start the recovery process immediately.
Under the third paragraph of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1967 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Trump can declare in writing his inability to perform his duties.
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Trump and Pence- File Photo[/caption]
Pence will then become caretaker president, even though Trump remains in office, and the president will regain his powers by declaring in writing that he is prepared to take up his duties again.
Paragraph 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment also specifies a path to stripping the president of power, for example if his government finds that he has become incapable of performing his duties, but this procedure has not been activated before.
Examples of activating the third paragraph
On July 13, 1985, President Ronald Reagan chose to remove a tumor that might be cancerous, after it was discovered during a colonoscopy.
Reagan signed a letter indicating that he was aware of the provisions of the third paragraph, although he did not resort to formally activating them, and Vice President George HW Bush became Acting President for nearly eight hours, from 11:28 am to 7:22 pm, when Reagan issued a letter declaring that he is able to resume his duties.
On June 29, 2002, President George W. Bush activated Paragraph 3, temporarily transferring his powers to Vice President Dick Cheney before undergoing a colonoscopy.
Cheney became Acting President from 7:09 am to 9:24 am.
On July 21, 2007, Bush activated the third paragraph again before performing another colonoscopy, and Cheney remained acting president from 7:16 am to 9:21 am.
Fourth paragraph
Under the fourth paragraph, the vice president and a majority of either government officials or “any other body such as Congress, by law,” can inform the Presidents of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Congress that the president is “incapable of performing the powers and duties of his office.”
In such a case, the Vice President assumes the position of Acting President, and the President shall resume his office after informing the Presidents of both Houses of Congress that there is "no deficit" unless officials in government or another body declare otherwise, after which Congress must meet within 48 hours to resolve Command.
If two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate vote that the president is unable to perform the duties of his office, the vice president remains in office until the next presidential election decides who will stay in the White House. Otherwise, the president will resume his duties.
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