House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is signaling that it is possible she could become acting president if both President Donald Trump and Joe Biden fail to win enough electoral votes to declare victory in the upcoming election.
Pelosi told reporters last week that she is readying House Democrats to potentially determine the winner with each state delegation having a vote.
MSNBC is now playing out its fantasy of Nancy Pelosi becoming acting President.
"You are second in line for the presidency…" pic.twitter.com/M7cYvE13IJ
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) October 2, 2020
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The Complicated And Unlikely – But Possible – Path To An Acting President Pelosi
The process in which Pelosi could become acting president for a time is complicated but goes something like the following.
If a majority still does not emerge for either the Republican or Democratic presidential candidate after the state delegations vote, Pelosi said, “then it goes into another range where the speaker becomes the [president]. It’s complicated after that.”
Complicated indeed.
The House playing a role in determining the outcome of a White House election hasn’t happened in 150 years. If it happened on or after November 3rd, each House state delegation would cast one vote for president, depending on the majority party in each delegation.
So if Pence and Trump become incapacitated. Then Nancy Pelosi becomes acting president and the first woman to hold the office of the president. pic.twitter.com/VU27Qshl9e
— @[email protected] (@buhakmeh) October 2, 2020
Then it gets even more complex. The Washington Examiner reported Thursday, “Pelosi said she is aiming for Democrats to be able to cast at least 26 votes, a bare majority, which would hand the White House to Biden.”
“The Senate, meanwhile, would be empowered with voting to determine the vice president, the Examiner noted.
It didn't take long after President @realDonaldTrump's positive COVID-19 announcement for the liberal media and pundits to start gleefully talking about "worst case scenarios" and even ideas of how Nancy Pelosi could become acting president. https://t.co/53JZLs8a1s
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) October 2, 2020
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Congress Is Constitutionally Obligated To Certify The Election On January 6, 2021
The report continued, “But if the House delegation results in a 25-25 tie and the Senate can’t agree on a vice presidential winner, Pelosi would become acting president, according to the 1947 Presidential Succession Act.”
That’s a scary thought.
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Congress is constitutionally obligated to certify the election on January 6, 2021 next year, mere days after the new Congress is ushered in.
Hopefully President Trump will begin his second term on that day and this horrifying prospect never sees the light of day.