Quote:
Originally Posted by prairiebreeze
Is this really how it could play out? Pelosi getting sworn in, albeit very temporarily? She’s gotta be like +25000 somewhere. Anyone wanna fire a couple bucks at that for shits and giggles?
Pelosi as 46th prez and Biden as 47th is not something I would have ever thought possible.
It’s a little more nuanced than that, but that is 1 scenario
So the Line of Succession, as defined by the 25th amendment is:
1) VP
2) Speaker of the House
3) President Pro Tempore of the Senate (effectively the longest continuous serving Senator from the ruling party)
Pence is ruled out immediately because of the 20th amendment, which is noon on Jan 20, 2021. Same as Trump
So the House is up for re-election. The entire House. Based on the 20th amendment, Senators and House members terms end on Jan 3, 2021
It’s assumed Dems will keep control of the House but if the election results were called into question, the House elections could also be called into question. So it’s debatable that it could be Pelosi. I believe states can effectively ratify this themselves.
But if the House wasn’t established then it would move to President Pro Tempore of the Senate, which is currently Chuck Grassley (R - Iowa), serving since 1980 (we really need ****ing term limits. Dude has been in the Senate for longer than I’ve been alive).
But wait, what about all the senators up for re-election? If the House results are called into question, so are the Senates. So by eliminating the Rs and Ds that are up for re-election, the Senate would actually turn power over to Democrat. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate would then revert to Patrick Leahy (D - Vermont), serving since 19-****ing-75.
Now I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself “self, I know Governor’s and state lawmakers can actually temporarily appoint Senators”, and you would be correct! But based on the number of Democratic vs Republican governors, Democrats would actually take the Senate in this scenario, assuming Governor’s don’t appoint across party lines.
So long story short, if we hit Jan 20, 2021 without election results, all hail President Patrick Leahy.
Here’s a bonus fun fact: Martha McSally (R-Arizona) vs Mark Kelly is actually a special election, as McSally replaced John McCain after his passing. Since it’s a special election, the winner can be sworn in in November.