George W Bush resigns over Katrina fallout...

Oct 5, 2005

Deeply troubled by his inability to deal with the post-Katrina crisis in New Orleans, President Bush has unexpectedly resigned. VP Cheney has taken office and calls for a time of "national healing" echoing former President Ford upon taking over from Nixon in 1974.....
 
Nah, Cheney would resign or wouldn't even take the helm of president. He's made that obvious. We would probably end up with the first long term Acting President cause I think only the Vice-President is eligible to take on the term of President upon the death, assassination, or resignation of the original president. I think I read that somewhere, it'd be an awkward situation.
 
Bush's appointment came from "God (read: shenanigans in Florida thanks to brother Jeb)," not the people, which is why he wasn't overly concerned by his loss of the popular vote. Dubya would never have resigned, especially considering that if Cheney also resigned, then Denny Hastert would be president. The line of succession in late 2005 was:

Dubya
Cheney
Denny Hastert
Robert Byrd (Senate Pro-tem)
Condi
et al... following the rules of succession through the Cabinet.
 
Or, I don't know, Cheney would resign beforehand and Bush picks a VP to become President when Bush steps down.

Oh, and by 04 Bush already won the Presidency in his own right, with the popular vote.
 
President George W. Bush would not have resigned over the Hurricane Katrina fallout. FEMA director Michael D. Brown resigned and that is as far as it could have gone.
 
Nah, Cheney would resign or wouldn't even take the helm of president. He's made that obvious. We would probably end up with the first long term Acting President cause I think only the Vice-President is eligible to take on the term of President upon the death, assassination, or resignation of the original president. I think I read that somewhere, it'd be an awkward situation.

Cheney takes the oath then resigns...

So Dennis Hasbert would take then become the first House Speaker to become President through succession

That would be interesting.....
 
Cheney takes the oath then resigns...

So Dennis Hasbert would take then become the first House Speaker to become President through succession

That would be interesting.....
The only reason Hasbert would become President through would be if Bush chose him as his successor. The chain of succession is in place for sudden loss of the head of state, such as from a decapitation strike. When it becomes a pre-mediated affair, the President (working with his current VP) has more than enough time to pick whoever he wants to become President by selecting him (or her) to be step into the position of VP.
 
The only reason Hasbert would become President through would be if Bush chose him as his successor. The chain of succession is in place for sudden loss of the head of state, such as from a decapitation strike. When it becomes a pre-mediated affair, the President (working with his current VP) has more than enough time to pick whoever he wants to become President by selecting him (or her) to be step into the position of VP.

Mmm, not quite. Much like a judicial nominee, any VP selection made by a sitting president needs to be approved by a majority of both the House and the Senate. If the post-Katrina situation had devolved so badly that there was legitimate pressure on Bush to resign, even the then-Republican Senate would be unlikely to give him carte blanche, and his hand would hardly be free. Bush could appoint a hand-picked successor as acting VP, but until confirmed by the Senate, that individual would not be included in the line of succession.

Bush might try to pick a noncontroversial figure for the role, in hopes of getting Congress to act quickly on confirmation. But I can't think of any really acceptable candidates who would've been able to sail through Democratic opposition who wasn't already in the line of succession, at which point it becomes considerably easier for Bush to arrange things informally with Cheney, Hastert, Stevens, et al. for each of them to step aside and make way for a chosen successor. Under these circumstances, I think the most logical choice would have been SecState Rice (fourth in line). But it's hard to say what Bush and Cheney's strategy would have been, under the circumstances, or whether or not Denny Hastert or Ted Stevens would've been willing to cooperate with a president so unpopular he was facing resignation.

Also, to correct a comment made upthread, Robert Byrd was not President Pro-Tempore of the Senate in 2005. The Democrats were in the minority in both houses of Congress, so the position was then held by Ted Stevens (R-AK).
 
Cheney's first act in office would be to select a VP. Shocking nearly everyone, President Cheney asks Colin Powell to become Vice President. Powell accepts, and is confirmed. Two days later, Cheney resigns. 2005 becomes known as the year of three presidents.
 
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