HB 2016-1053 - The Presidential Succession Act of 2016 (DFW EAT THIS NOW!)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Right, there seem to be a few misconceptions floating about regarding what will happen if there is no president-elect waiting to assume office when the incumbent administration retires on Friday. To clarify:

1) Per the terms of the legislative reboot, the Republic of Atlasia adopted the U.S. Code in its entirety upon the ratification of the Fourth Constitution. This means that the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (as amended) is still in effect. In other words, failure to pass this bill before noon Friday will not trigger a constitutional crisis. While it would of course be preferable to have this legislation signed into law before the next president is set to take office, either way we will have a president on Friday. The executive branch will not simply cease to exist if this bill does not pass in time.

2) The term of the current Congress expires on Friday, November 4 at 12:00:00 PM (EST), when the 3rd Senate and House of Representatives officially take office. By law, the next Speaker and PPT of the Senate may not be elected before that time. To clarify, the next presidential term also begins at noon on Friday, meaning that it is literally impossible for the House to elect a new Speaker, or the Senate to elect a new PPT, in time for that person to assume the presidency under the terms of this bill. Unless both the president and the vice president resign office before the end of the present term, there will not be a Speaker or a PPT to become president when the vacancy occurs.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Why should Senators be ahead of house members in the line of succession? The head of the house is ahead of the Senate PPT.

Fair point. It's also worth noting that representatives are elected by the population at-large, and thus represent the nation as a whole, unlike the regionally-elected Senate.