Considering the 25th

Some Thoughts for JD

Dear JD,

I’m using your initials, as I cannot call you Mr. Vice President. With all due respect to the position, you are not my Vice President. Seeing as how you are part of an attempted monarchy, which is exactly what our founders were against when they decided to call George Washington, ‘Mr. President’ instead of something like, ‘Your Highness.’

So JD, before the incumbent is impeached, or when the 25th Amendment to the Constitution is invoked, I have some thoughts to share with you. For this letter, I’ll briefly cover impeachment but will focus on the 25th, section by section.

That 25th Amendment reads as follows.

Section 1

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

I’m guessing that Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, upon being sworn in at the start of the 120th Congress in January 2027, will introduce articles of impeachment. As these things go, the actual impeachment will take some time, but let’s say that you will be president by summer of 2027.

There is a chance, however, that you will take office sooner than that. The stress of carrying around that much hate, resentment, and desire for retribution must be substantial. Stress kills.

In any event, what are your plans? With impeachment, death, or the exercise of the 25th, there will be a number of your colleagues headed to countries that have no extradition agreements with the US. Ironically, Russia, China, and Iran don’t have extradition agreements with the US.

Since most of the cabinet will now be gone, have you developed a shadow cabinet in your mind? You could NOT do a worse job of selecting a cabinet than the incumbent. But will your choices for your cabinet actually be qualified to do the work? And it may be the stuff of dreams, but, do you have the courage to assemble a ‘team of rivals?’

Section 2

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

This is just a warning to watch your back and be kind to your Secret Service detail. It’s clear that by holding a majority in both houses of Congress, the incumbent could dump, disappear you, and place Don Jr. in the fine little house at the Naval Observatory, thus attempting a monarchy.

We all get it that you are a signally superb opportunist with no moral core. We also know that you are moderately intelligent. We are wondering if you have a plan in place as the incumbent spirals into the depths of dementia. Of course you do. I’ll get to this in a moment when I review Section 4.

Section 3

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Zero chance of that happening.

Section 4 is long and involved, so I’ll just focus on the first part of Section 4. The last parts of the section talk about the mechanics of the incumbent appealing the 25th and how Congress is required to handle that appeal.

Section 4

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

JD, if the incumbent acts even more irrationally than we have seen so far, if that is possible, are you ambitious and politically adept enough to send that letter to the Senate? You are certainly ambitious enough to give it a shot. The question of political skills is unanswered.

This first part of Section 4 gives you two ways to go. Let’s start with getting a majority of the Cabinet to sign on.

Here is how I think they might vote on the 25th:

Marco Rubio (State) is a yes. He still smarts from being called ‘little Marco.’

Scott Bessent (Treasury) is a yes. A gay man around people who hate LGBTQ?

Pete Hegseth (Defense) is a no. Too stupid to do anything but what he is told to do.

Pam Bondi (Justice) is a no. Barbie is an extreme loyalist.

Doug Burgum (Interior) is a yes. The ex-ND governor and Stanford MBA appears to be rational.

Brooke Rollins (Agriculture) is a no. Too long a Trump follower.

Howard Lutnick (Commerce) is a yes. He was once a Democrat.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Labor) is a toss-up. Claims to be an independent thinker.

Robert Kennedy (HHS) is a yes. A complete wack job, but an ambitious wack job.

Scott Turner (HUD) is a toss-up. Do football players take on the coach for a better deal?

Sean Duffy (Transportation) is a no. Climate change denier.

Chris Wright (Energy) is a no. Another climate change denier and also a known fracker.

Linda McMahon (Education) is a yes. This ex-wrestling executive could be unemployed.

Doug Collins (VA) is a no. Too right wing.

Kristi Noem (Homeland Security) is a no. Although she did shoot her dog.

Lee Zedlin (EPA) is a no. He’ll try to destroy the EPA.

Russell Vought (OMB) is a no. A project 2025 wonk.

Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) is a yes. Follows the power. Not trustworthy.

John Ratcliffe (CIA) is a no. Another true believer.

Jamieson Greer (Trade Representative) is an unknown.

Kelly Loeffler (SBA) is a no. An election denier.

Susie Wiles (Chief of Staff) is a no. If she voted yes, she would no longer run the country.

Office open at this writing (UN Ambassador)

This unbiased review of the Cabinet suggests the possibility of a majority of the Cabinet voting yes, but it remains a long shot.

Let’s look at the part of the section that says, “…or of other such body as Congress may by law provide,…” So Congress could pass a law establishing a permanent ‘body’ to evaluate the incumbent and any future incumbent who has gone off the deep end. This is going to require political adeptness because you, but more likely, operatives who cannot be tied to you, are going to have to start now to convince Republican lawmakers who are fed up with the incumbent. This action is fraught with intrigue, but the reward is the presidency.

This would be a difficult process because the Republican Congressional invertebrates would have to find a backbone. But if the incumbent, through his incompetence, threatens their re-election, it could happen. Think about it.

Be ready, the 25th looks fairly straightforward as laws go, but the entire implementation of the 25th could take a while. Are you tough enough to handle a sustained battle?

So JD, you might be asking yourself why a person like me, who abhors just about everything you stand for and say, is advising you on how to become president? Simple. I don’t think you are a a sociopath, you are not a convicted criminal, and you are neither stupid nor driven by vengeance, retribution, or concern over the size of your hands.

And a final question JD, do you still believe immigrants are eating pets in Ohio?

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