Theoretically: could Obama be appointed to cabinet?

[brucejoel99]

The answer to your question as stated - could Obama be appointed to the Cabinet? - is a resounding yes for the reason that TDAS04 discusses in their post.

The answer to the broader question underlying your post - could Obama be permitted to ascend to the Presidency once again? - is a bit more tricky & would likely become a question for the Supreme Court if ever necessary, because a very strict reading of the Constitution would actually allow it: the 22nd Amendment only says that a person can't be elected President more than twice, without saying anything about whether or not a person can serve more than twice. That is, if the Court were to take into account the words exactly as they're written, then the answer to your question would be yes. If they were to take the clear intent of the 22nd Amendment into account, then the answer would be probably not.

But until that happens, who knows?

[brucejoel99]

Of course, though it would be unclear whether he could be in line for presidential succession. That question would be very theoretical, though, since it's not likely anyone beyond the speaker would ever become acting president.

I believe I read somewhere the Kennedys actually intended to have Jack as Secretary of State under President Bobby Kennedy once he finished his second term in 1969 and Bobby succeeded him.

IIRC, he most seriously leaned toward just becoming a professor at Harvard after leaving the presidency, though Bobby's Secretary of State was (in addition to President of Harvard) an option which JFK himself had definitely mused on, yes.

[brucejoel99]

The answer to your question as stated - could Obama be appointed to the Cabinet? - is a resounding yes for the reason that TDAS04 discusses in their post.

The answer to the broader question underlying your post - could Obama be permitted to ascend to the Presidency once again? - is a bit more tricky & would likely become a question for the Supreme Court if ever necessary, because a very strict reading of the Constitution would actually allow it: the 22nd Amendment only says that a person can't be elected President more than twice, without saying anything about whether or not a person can serve more than twice. That is, if the Court were to take into account the words exactly as they're written, then the answer to your question would be yes. If they were to take the clear intent of the 22nd Amendment into account, then the answer would be probably not.

But until that happens, who knows?

3 USC 19(e) could preclude this. 3 USC 19 provides the succession in case of a double vacancy.

3 USC 19(e) excludes those not eligible, including those too young, not a natural-born citizen, and presumably those not eligible to be elected.

Didn't see your reply 'til just now, but 3 U.S.C. § 19(e) says nothing of the sort, "apply[ing] only to such officers as are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution," which just circles back to the same exact question that the aforementioned hypothetical Supreme Court case would have to render a ruling on: does a person's preclusion from being elected President more than twice extend to precluding them from serving more than twice?