America knew what it was taking on when it chose Joe Biden to be the 46th President of
the United States. While Biden is generally in good health, at 78, Biden is the oldest
President the country has elected. During his last medical check, which took place before
he took office, his physician described the then-President-elect as healthy and vigorous
enough to take on the duties that the office entails. Further, White House press secretary
Jen Psaki says that the President is in such good health that she has a difficult time
keeping up with him.
But this is not to say that Biden hasn't had health scares — he already survived two
brain aneurysms in the 1980s, and he's on different types of medication such as blood
thinners, as well as tablets to help with minor problems such as acid reflux, cholesterol,
and allergies. Most recently he worried supporters when he nearly took a tumble as he was boarding
Air Force One.
So while we aren't keen on playing the what if game, particularly if it involves the death
of a president, there is something of a need to talk about what happens in the event that
Joe Biden dies in office — something we also had to do when former President Donald
Trump came down with COVID-19 before the November elections in 2020.
"The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared or more resilient
than the United States."
First of all, it might make you feel better to know that the country has laws that guarantee
the continuity of government, which keeps a vacancy from coming up in the event that
the President dies while in office. The Presidential Succession Act has gone through some changes
since the time the act was first created in 1792, and amended in 1886, and then again
in 1947. The changes had to do with the positions of both the Senate president pro tempore and
the Speaker of the House within the line of succession.
So in the event that President Joe Biden were to die in office, the Succession Act dictates
that he would be succeeded by Vice President Kamala Harris, followed by the speaker of
the House — who at this time is Nancy Pelosi. After Pelosi, it would be the Senate President,
Patrick Leahy, and then Secretary of State Antony Blinken. There are sixteen different
people listed in the order of succession; the last in the current administration is
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
History is full of examples that show that the Presidential Succession Act works; while
the United States has, by and large, been a peaceful country, it has had some experience
in losing a sitting President. Of the 46 heads of government we've had so far, eight have
died in office. Four had been ill: William Henry Harrison, who holds the record for the
shortest Presidency, died of pneumonia. Zachary Taylor had cholera; Warren Harding, whose
death by heart attack generated numerous conspiracy theories; and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died
of congestive heart failure.
The rest — Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, James Garfield, and John F. Kennedy — were
assassinated, and all four were succeeded by the vice presidents they had been elected
with.
But history also shows us that there can be exceptions to the rule, and we saw that in
the early 1970s, as the term of Richard M. Nixon was wrapping up. Many people might recall
that Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon after he resigned in August 1974, but few will remember
that Ford was not elected as Nixon's Vice President, and that he was, in fact, House
minority leader. Ford was a compromise candidate who was chosen because he was expected to
pass a Senate confirmation process with few problems, and both the Speaker and the Senate
President Pro Tempore were Democrats.
History points out that Ford is the first President who became commander in chief by
appointment, because Nixon had nominated Ford, who was a Republican as Nixon was, to replace
Vice President Spiro Agnew in November 1973. Agnew had to resign over charges of tax evasion
and corruption. Ford later pardoned Nixon of anything illegal he did in office.
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