How Nancy Pelosi could take over the White House after Donald Trump gets COVID-19
She is among Donald Trump’s greatest critics, but Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, could take control. This is what could happen next.
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If Donald Trump becomes too ill from the effects of COVID-19 to run the United States of America, what happens next?
Given the fact that his inner circle, and his deputy Mike Pence, might have been exposed too, the question arises of who is next in line to run the nation.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MR TRUMP BECOMES TOO SICK TO GOVERN?
The 25th Amendment of the US Constitution addresses the problem of fitness for office.
Section 3 of the Amendment has only been used in cases where the president was physically incapacitated.
US President Ronald Reagan did not invoke the amendment after his 1981 assassination attempt but he did sign over power to Vice President Bush Sr. during colon surgery in 1985.
It was invoked twice by US President George W. Bush for short periods of time while he was sedated for a colonoscopy.
But given that this is a highly contagious communicable virus, what if the Vice President — who so far has tested negative — contracts COVID-19 and can’t govern?
Typically, the second in command should take over following the protocol laid out in the 25th Amendment.
But if the vice president becomes incapacitated as well, then the Presidential Succession Act, which was passed in 1947, comes into play.
Under the Act, should both Mr Pence and Mr Trump be unable to serve, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president — handing the White House to a different party without an election.
WHO IS NANCY PELOSI?
Nancy Pelosi, 80, is the most senior elected Democrat in America as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Born in Baltimore, she now lives in California and has been married to businessman Paul Pelosi since 1963.
Pelosi has five children and nine grandchildren.
The Speaker, who has been involved in the Democratic Party politics since the 1960s, has a fractious relationship with Mr Trump.
At the end of his State of the Union address earlier this year, Ms Pelosi famously ripped up speech notes in front of TV cameras.
“Because it was a manifesto of mistruths,” she told reporters later.
Under Ms Pelosi’s leadership, the House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019.
Mr Trump called Ms Pelosi a “sick woman” and a “waste of time” after she labelled him “morbidly obese”.
“I don’t respond to her. I think she’s a waste of time,” Mr Trump said.
“Pelosi is a sick woman. She’s got a lot of problems, a lot of mental problems. We’re dealing with people that have to get their act together for the good of the country.”
Trump has also described her in the past as being “very nasty”.
KEEP HER SAFE!
Nancy Pelosi should be “in isolation right now” as she would be president if Donald Trump and Mike Pence fall ill, a doctor has warned.
Dr Jonathan Reiner, the former White House medical adviser, said that “everyone should be quarantining now” after the president contracted the virus.
“I’ll go even further and say that the Speaker of the House should be protected in isolation now,” Dr Reiner said.
“It doesn’t violate the rules of physics now for both the Vice President and the President of the United States to get sick.”
The doctor went on to say that having a “clear leader” is required.
He concluded and advised: “I would limit activity for the Speaker of the House, make sure that she is really isolated and in a relatively sterile environment.”
WHO WOULD RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IF TRUMP, PENCE AND BIDEN ALL BECAME TOO ILL?
If both Mr Trump and Mr Pence were ruled out of the election through illness, it is likely the Republican National Convention would meet to nominate a new candidate.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the President’s own son, Donald Jr, have all been among those named most likely to step in as candidates.
In the case of the Democrats, if Mr Biden is ruled out through illness the party would be hard pressed to overlook the VP nominee Kamala Harris, although Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and others may have other ideas.
Mr Trump is not the first world leader to have tested positive for COVID-19. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro have also contracted it and recovered.
Originally published as How Nancy Pelosi could take over the White House after Donald Trump gets COVID-19