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61,400 | Is the Republican Party on the decline due to the voting patterns of young voters? | <p>I've seen a lot of questions lately asking if the Republican Party is on the decline. Most people who ask this question focus on the fact that White Anglos are expected to become a minority in a few decades. Most answers I've seen suggest that the Republican party isn't in trouble due to this shift, but all of the ones I've seen completely ignore the fact that in 2020 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/exit-polls-president.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">60% of voters under the age of 30 voted Democrat</a>, the largest margin of any age group, and a margin that has only been widening with each election. Does this mean that the Republican Party really is in trouble, and that the country is on the verge of become a one-party nation, or is it likely that more of these voters will vote Republican as they get older?</p>
 | united states voting republican party demographics | 0 |
61,402 | Why does the fishing industry have such a powerful lobby in Europe? | <p>Fishing has been the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/brexit-talks-continue-to-stall-over-fishing-rights/a-55999528" rel="nofollow noreferrer">last issue</a> blocking the ratification of the Brexit and is seemingly the primary reason why Iceland and Norway have refused to join the EU. But why is the fishing lobby so powerful? It's not a very profitable industry and not that many people are employed there, so on the surface it would seem that they should lack the resources to lobby the government effectively compared to other industries.</p>
<p>So why is the fishing lobby so powerful?</p>
 | european union fishing | 0 |
61,403 | Can a piece of EU legislation have (unrelated) "riders"? | <p>In relation to <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61354/are-there-countries-where-the-legislative-body-is-not-allowed-to-issue-laws-that">this popular q</a>, I don't recall seeing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider_(legislation)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">riders</a> in EU legislation or the matter even being discussed in relation to it, so I'm guessing some form of single-subject rule is enforced even if it's not explicit. But I cannot find any further discussion on this regarding EU legislation (and I don't mean national legislation of member countries). So, are there such anti-rider provisions in EU legislation/treaties or maybe in EU Parliament procedures?</p>
 | european union law european parliament | 0 |
61,408 | What do whips do, exactly? | <p>Whips are senior legislators who enforce what is called "party discipline", but how do they do it, exactly? What is their job? To verbally shame those who don't adhere to the "party line" and vote as they please?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An official of a political party appointed to maintain discipline among its members in Congress or Parliament, especially so as to ensure attendance and voting in debates.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>(a Lexico <a href="https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/whip" rel="noreferrer">definition</a>)</em></p>
 | legislation legislature | 0 |
61,411 | What happens if the Vice-President were to die before presiding over the official electoral college vote count? | <p>The President of the US Senate (who is the Vice-President ) is responsible for presiding over the electoral college's votes formally in a Joint Session of Congress. However, what if the Vice-President dies before doing so?</p>
<p>I would imagine the President would nominate a new Vice-President, who would have to be approved by the current US Senate. But, what if hypothetically, the Senate (maybe controlled by the party of the president) just stalls on the vice-presidential nomination and the day of the current president's term ends and the new president is to be sworn in swings around?</p>
 | united states congress senate electoral college vice president | 1 |
61,416 | What events can occur in the electoral votes count that would overturn election results? | <p>What series of events would specifically need to occur on January 6 (when Congress counts the 2020 electoral votes) so that the election is overturned? I know there's a remote possibility <em>something may happen</em> because major newspapers are covering the electoral vote count intently.</p>
<p>These past three to four days, several reputable newspapers have been publishing articles about Trump's relentless effort to overturn the election results: from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/01/us/politics/mike-pence-louie-gohmert-lawsuit.html?searchResultPosition=2" rel="noreferrer">Gohmert's lawsuit to interfere in the Electoral College count</a> to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/02/cruz-johnson-9-other-gop-senators-say-they-will-not-vote-certify-electors-unless-audit-is-conducted/" rel="noreferrer">GOP senators vowing not to certify Biden</a> to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-kemp-call-georgia/2020/12/05/fd8d677c-3721-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html" rel="noreferrer">ridiculous 1-hour call to the Georgia governor</a>.</p>
<p>I try to brush them aside, but it seems that papers like NYT and WashPost continue covering these things, which worries me.</p>
 | united states presidential election senate republican party | 0 |
61,422 | How are Presidential candidates, who run for the party ticket in Primaries and Caucuses, shortlisted? | <p>I am not from USA and pertaining to some question I am trying to address, I was curious about how the Presidential candidates are selected or shortlisted for Primaries and Caucuses. Because it's not that if a 1000 people want to run for President, they all would appear as options in ballot in Primaries or in Caucuses. That would be neither practical nor desirable.</p>
<p>If one could also answer this for state level, that would be a bonus for me.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
 | united states primaries caucus | 1 |
61,431 | How did Canadian politicians bypass the Canada U.S. border closure in December 2020, to vacation in the U.S? | <p>I'm referring to <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/a-violation-of-trust-alberta-doctors-decry-government-vacations-abroad" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/a-violation-of-trust-alberta-doctors-decry-government-vacations-abroad</a>. I know there are exceptions to the Canada U.S. border closure, like back in Sept. 2020 for NHL players in Calgary and Toronto. But I don't think any of these vacations qualify?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hEi93.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/hEi93.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>If you know other Canada politicians who side stepped the border closure, just edit this post and add them.</p>
 | covid 19 virus canada | 1 |
61,433 | "[W]ithout the stability of Israel, there can be no Palestine" - is this an actual idea? | <p>I've been watching "House of Cards". I understand it is mainly fiction, yet as a non-American, I cannot tell real ideas within the U. S. government apart from made-up ones. In the 1<sup>st</sup> season, we hear one of the characters say —</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Let me further say that I'm a strong supporter of the state of Israel.</p>
<p>As the most stable country in the region and our strongest ally in any peace process, because <strong>without the stability of Israel, there can be no Palestine</strong>.</p>
<p>— <a href="https://subslikescript.com/series/House_of_Cards-1856010/season-1/episode-2-Chapter_2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">HOUSE OF CARDS (2013–2018): SEASON 1, EPISODE 2 - CHAPTER 2 - FULL TRANSCRIPT</a><br />
[Edited for continuity. Emboldening added.]</p>
</blockquote>
<p><del>Is this really something a U. S. politician could say out loud</del> Is this an opinion that US politicians actually have? (the question is no <strong>rant in disguise</strong> - I am not approving or disapproving of those words)? Besides, how could such a belief be backed up?</p>
 | united states israel palestine rhetoric | 0 |
61,434 | Is there a country with a bipartisan Parliament formed in a proportional election? | <p>An idea of a bipartisan Parliament formed in a proportional election seems quite interesting to me. On one hand, in a proportional system, we vote for a party, knowing which ideas it would go forward with. On the other hand, the bipartisan system is always overburdened by ideological unlikeness within both parties. Therefore, when a vote is cast, no one could be sure it would get the candidate of the ideology the voter had in mind on the party list. It seems like such a Parliament would need a highly <strong>machiavellian</strong> Whip.</p>
<p>Is there such a Parliament? If so, am I right to think that it hinges on the Whips?</p>
 | parliament democracy proportional representation | 1 |
61,438 | Does a tie in the Senate require the vice president to always be present in the Senate? | <p>Would the vice president be required to always be in the senate chamber in order to break ties? If not, how often must she be there -- or does she need to be there at all to vote her tie-breaker vote?</p>
<p>I wonder does this make her less effective at what a vice president would otherwise be doing, with diplomacy or other governance.</p>
 | united states senate legislative process vice president | 1 |
61,441 | Senatorial Class I, II, III races; Special Elections; & Georgia | <p>2020 was an unusual year for Georgia elections because they voted on <em>both</em> of their Senate seats after Senator Johnny Isakson's resignation in 2019 triggered an off-year special election between his appointed successor Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock.</p>
<p>Since Isakson was a Class III Senator, and Warnock won the election, does he inherit this position and will need to be re-elected in 2022? If I understand correctly, 2020 was a Class I election, thus Ossoff is good til 2026?</p>
 | united states election senate | 1 |
61,442 | How long might Congress take to certify the 2020 Presidential election? | <p>In 2017, the joint session of Congress certifying Trump's 2016 win took a little over 30 minutes; I watched it. There were a few objections from Representatives, but none were joined by a Senator and so Biden gavelled them into silence.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/15" rel="noreferrer">Section 15</a> of the US Code governs this process, and has this to say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When all objections so made to any vote or paper from a State shall have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the Senate for its decision; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, in like manner, submit such objections to the House of Representatives for its decision...When the two Houses have voted, they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding officer shall then announce the decision of the questions submitted. No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon until the objections previously made to the votes or papers from any State shall have been finally disposed of.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Note the ellipsis, which represents the omission of quite a lot of text, which does not seem to provide the answer.</p>
<p>My question is; given there's likely to be objections signed by at least one Representative and Senator, which will therefore require the Senate to withdraw and a vote to be held, and given it seems that this rigmarole must be repeated <em>for each contested State</em> (6 of them by my count)...how long is all this going to take? Is there some mandated minimum time that the Houses must debate for before voting, or can Pelosi/McConnell simply raise an immediate vote without any debate at all each time?</p>
 | united states presidential election congress | 1 |
61,448 | Even if Democrats have control of the senate, won't new legislation just be blocked with a filibuster? | <p>According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_in_the_United_States_Senate" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote by means of obstruction. The most common form occurs when one or more senators attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill by extending debate on the measure. The Senate rules permit a senator, or a series of senators, to speak for as long as they wish, and on any topic they choose, unless "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn" (currently 60 out of 100) vote to bring the debate to a close by invoking cloture under Senate Rule XXII.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Assuming that 60 out of 100 senators will never agree on the same thing, won't new legislation proposed by the Democrats be blocked in the senate by Republicans? If so, what is the point of gaining control of the senate?</p>
 | united states senate filibuster | 1 |
61,455 | Why was Warnock's election called while Ossoff's wasn't? Aren't they both on the same ballot? | <ol>
<li>Does this mean that a voter voted for Warnock but not Ossoff?</li>
<li>I am confused since I would think they appeared on the same ballot and the tallies for candidates would be made at the same time the ballots are counted.</li>
</ol>
<p>Can someone please clarify?</p>
 | united states election senate georgia | 1 |
61,458 | Is there formal protection against Pence reading arbitrary slates of electors? | <p>Based the answers to <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61416/what-events-can-occur-in-the-electoral-votes-count-that-would-overturn-election">this question</a>, and reviewing <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/60925/can-congress-reject-presidential-electoral-votes-what-majority-is-required-and">this one</a> too, I get that Pence, as President of the Senate, will read each state's slate of electors, and those electors can be eliminated only by a formal process including concurrent approval by both the Senate and House of Reps. This is sufficient to effectively guarantee that Biden slates cannot be eliminated, no matter how many Senate Republicans might try, because the House of Reps has a Democrat majority.</p>
<p>But suppose that Pence reads an arbitrary Trump slate of electors for a state which in fact duly certified a Biden slate. Obviously this will be immediately challenged and taken to votes in both Houses. Now, two things could happen: the Senate could vote <em>not</em> to eliminate this slate, in which case it would not be eliminated, and those Trump electors would go forward. Or, both Houses could reject the slate, in which case, that state gets no Electoral College votes at all.</p>
<p>If done for enough states, this would seem to lead to either (first case) a Trump EC majority, or (second case) no majority, which puts the presidential election back in the Senate, and the V.P. choice back in the H of R.</p>
<p>Is there formal protection against such a development? Not just sanctions against Pence after-the-fact, but some preventive process?</p>
 | united states presidential election senate | 0 |
61,460 | What is the minimum amount of time needed for an impeachment? | <p>Last year's impeachment proceedings were a relatively drawn out process, playing out over a month and a half, and it resulted in an impeachment without removal from office. That is similar to the length of time taken for Clinton's impeachment/non-removal. Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon's impeachments took several months. But what's the <em>fastest</em> it's possible to go through the process?</p>
<p>Ideally, I'd like the answer for two scenarios: What if a large majority of each chamber (including party leaders) wants to impeach and remove, but there are a few Representatives and Senators who object, and what if it's unanimous? Is it even possible to impeach by unanimous consent, or is a full vote required?</p>
 | united states impeachment | 1 |
61,461 | Does the US Congress have an official alternative gathering location in case the Capitol building becomes unavailable? | <p>Right now there are images of the <a href="https://twitter.com/stevennelson10/status/1346909952410062848" rel="noreferrer">US Senate being occupied</a> by protestors, which obviously makes it impossible for the Senators to gather there. Is there an official designated spot for situations like this where Senators could gather in safety and conduct their business? Or perhaps even multiple alternative secure locations?</p>
 | united states senate state of emergency | 0 |
61,467 | Whose responsibility is the physical security of the US Capitol? | <p>It will seem, at first glance, like this question has an easy answer; the US Capitol Police. It might be that that's the answer, but I'm not sure whether it goes more in-depth than that. During the events of this evening Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building causing the evacuation of most of the politicians inside and the temporary delay of the counting of the electoral college votes by Congress. In my mind, that's something that ought never to have happened; it's been pretty clear that something along these lines was on the cards for quite some time, and so those agencies responsible for the protection of Congress ought to have been prepared to deal with it. Despite that, the USCP was clearly unprepared for the scale of the problem they were faced with, and they failed to protect the building and the proceedings inside.</p>
<p>Is it the case that the USCP is supposed to be able to handle events of this kind by themselves, and has the equipment and manpower to do so, but they simply failed to bring that into play? Or are they intended only to have the ability to handle regular policing duties and they're meant to call upon some other agency in the event that they're faced with something outside those parameters? If the latter, what is that agency? Whose responsibility would it be to make the request for help? Who, ultimately, would be authorising the approval of that request for help?</p>
 | united states congress police | 0 |
61,468 | Today, 6 Jan 2021, Twitter deleted three tweets by Donald Trump. What did they say? | <p>What did the three tweets say?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4njZx.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/4njZx.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
 | donald trump social media | 1 |
61,472 | What authority does the Vice President have to mobilize the National Guard? | <p>After the attack on the US Capitol by pro-Trump groups, the DC National Guard was eventually called in to restore order. Strangely, it is being reported that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/national-guard-capitol-army.html" rel="noreferrer">Vice President Mike Pence was the one who approved the orders</a>, not President Trump:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Defense and administration officials said it was Vice President Mike Pence, not President Trump, who approved the order to deploy the D.C. National Guard. It was unclear why the president, who incited his supporters to storm the Capitol and who is still the commander in chief, did not give the order. President Trump initially rebuffed and resisted requests to mobilize the National Guard, according to a person with knowledge of the events. It required intervention from the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, among other officials, the person familiar with the events said.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Mr. Miller [the acting defense secretary] said on Wednesday afternoon that he had spoken with Mr. Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, and Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland about the situation at the Capitol. He notably did not mention Mr. Trump in his statement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since, so far as anyone knows, President Trump has not been incapacitated or removed from office, how was the Vice President able to command the National Guard, without approval from the President?</p>
 | united states military vice president washington dc | 1 |
61,474 | Can the President prevent Amendment 25 removal from office by firing the Cabinet? | <p>Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Can the President prevent this by firing the entire Cabinet, at least until Congress manages to provide for some other body?</p>
 | united states president 25th amendment | 1 |
61,475 | Can a President be impeached after leaving office? | <p>Suppose for the sake of the question that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>hypothetical U.S. President Liam Duke begins to be formally impeached on Jan 19, the day before the next President is sworn in.</p>
</li>
<li><p>President Duke is in fact guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.</p>
</li>
<li><p>There is also a general public and Congressional agreement to the fact of Duke's guilt, but the evidence came a bit late into Duke's term.</p>
</li>
<li><p>The impeachment process takes a while and completes in March, such that Duke is no longer President, but Congress rules to convict Duke.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Is this even possible, and if so what would be the consequences for Duke?</p>
 | united states president impeachment | 1 |
61,480 | How is Massachusetts' requirement to sell only zero emissions vehicles by 2035 being implemented? | <p>Several news outlets are reporting on this story this week:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Hill: <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/532684-massachusetts-to-require-100-percent-of-car-sales-to-be" rel="noreferrer">"Massachusetts to require 100 percent of car sales to be electric by 2035"</a></li>
<li>Car and Driver Magazine: <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35104768/massachusetts-ban-new-gas-cars-2035/" rel="noreferrer">"Massachusetts to Ban Sale of New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035"</a></li>
<li>The Boston Globe: <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/30/science/mass-require-all-new-cars-sold-be-electric-by-2035-part-climate-change-measures/" rel="noreferrer">"Mass. to require all new cars sold to be electric by 2035 as part of climate-change measures"</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Several of these reports reference a plan released by the governor's office: <a href="https://www.mass.gov/doc/ma-2050-decarbonization-roadmap/download" rel="noreferrer">"Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap" (pdf)</a>. This is not legislation or an executive order, and even if it were, it doesn't appear to say anything about vehicle sales in 2035.</p>
<p>Digging deeper, a <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-releases-roadmap-to-achieve-net-zero-emissions-by-2050" rel="noreferrer">press release</a> from the governor's office accompanying release of the plan does include this paragraph (emphasis added):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The transportation sector highlights a renewed focus on the deployment of electric vehicles with new, nation-leading state and regional programs including the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program. Building on that progress, <strong>Massachusetts will join California in requiring that by 2035, 100% of new light-duty vehicles sold in the Commonwealth are zero emission vehicles (ZEVs)</strong> support the continued build-out of statewide charging infrastructure, including additional consumer incentives for residential EV charging systems.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are obviously some words missing between "(ZEVs)" and "support," but again, not enough to explain <em>how</em> this requirement will be implemented. The press release only references the plan, and there is no mention of legislation, an executive order, what office will be working on this, or where to find more detail.</p>
<p>Is there more detail somewhere? <strong>How will the Mass. government implement a ban on sales of non-zero emitting vehicles?</strong></p>
 | united states local government climate change environmental policy | 1 |
61,481 | Can the POTUS forbid the VP from entering the West Wing or the main building of the White House? | <p>After Pence <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/pence-trump-electoral-college-letter/index.html" rel="noreferrer">rejected in writing</a> the idea that he not open some electoral certificates, CNN reported on their live feed that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>President Trump told people he banned Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short from the West Wing today, according to multiple people.</p>
<p>Short was seen going into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Wednesday, which is on the White House campus but is a separate building from the White House and where Pence has his Vice Presidential Office, but Short has otherwise spent the day on the Hill.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, I'm curious if in a hypothetical situation in which the POTUS decides to "break off" with the VP as much as possible, can the POTUS effectively ban the VP from entering anything on the White House campus but the VP's own office (which is in separate building on
White House campus)?</p>
 | united states president vice president | 0 |
61,483 | Did Loefller or other any other senator sign the objection to Georgia's certificate and then withdraw it, or did they not sign it in the first place? | <p>The objections to Georgia, Michigan, Nevada certificates were only signed by members of the House of Representatives, but by no Senator, unlike those regarding Arizona and Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>The objection to Georgia's certificate was said (when it was raised in the joint session) to have been [intended do be] signed by some Senator(s), but Senator Loeffler (previously) said on the floor that following the Trump supporters' breaking into the Congress floor (and offices) she's no longer objecting.</p>
<p>I'm confused about this because I've only seen it discussed on live TV, so I'm unclear on the details. Did some Senator sign the objection to Georgia's certificate, but then got their signature "stricken", either physically or just verbally? Or did they not actually sign the objection, i.e. were they waiting until the last moment to do so and changed their mind before actually, physically signing?</p>
 | united states presidential election senate joe biden | 0 |
61,485 | Seeking a study claiming that a successful coup d’etat only requires a small percentage of the population | <p>I remember coming across a study, possibly featured in a John Oliver segment, that found that a successful coup needs only a surprisingly small percentage of the population; I think it was like 1-3% of the population needs to be motivated to over throw the government for their coup to be successful. Does anyone know what study this was from? If I recall correctly it was authored by a woman.</p>
 | statistics protests reference request coup political research | 0 |
61,489 | How can a state governor send their National Guard units into other administrative districts? | <p>As part of yesterday's insurrection response, <a href="https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2021/01/06/gov-northam-sending-virginia-national-guard-and-200-state-troopers-to-washington-dc/" rel="noreferrer">VA Governor Northam sent his National Guard into D.C.</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Virginia is sending reinforcements to help law enforcement in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Wednesday afternoon that he is mobilizing members of the Virginia National Guard, as well as 200 Virginia state troopers.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This sounds odd to me because <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61472/what-authority-does-the-vice-president-have-to-mobilize-the-national-guard">the National Guard in D.C. is under the President's command</a>.</p>
<p>How does this work in practice? Could a state governor order their National Guard troops into another district/state, and because those orders have been given they stay in effect, or when the NG unit crosses the administrative border, are they subject to the local civilian commander in that region?</p>
 | united states military national security | 1 |
61,492 | What are possible illegal ways Trump can continue to stay in power? | <p>Considering the current events and the firm resolve by Trump to not yield, what are possible illegal ways Trump can continue to stay in power</p>
 | donald trump | 0 |
61,495 | Is the President's authorization to arrest and prosecute those who destroy Federal property still active? | <p>In summer 2020, president Trump has authorized the Federal Government to enforce the law against those who vandalize or destroy monuments or other Federal
property:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent..... — <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1275379758021390336?s=20" rel="noreferrer">Twitter</a><br />
.....This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Further, he has reiterated
it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anarchists, Agitators or Protestors who vandalize or damage our Federal Courthouse in Portland, or any Federal Buildings in any of our Cities or States, will be prosecuted under our recently re-enacted Statues & Monuments Act. MINIMUM TEN YEARS IN PRISON. Don’t do it! @DHSgov — <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1287877621380837378?s=20" rel="noreferrer">Twitter</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I believe Trump was referring to <a href="https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ29/PLAW-108publ29.pdf" rel="noreferrer">Public Law 108-29</a>, although I failed to find any reference to "Statues & Monuments Act".</p>
<p>Recently, armed groups of people have broken into a Federal building, apparently destroying and looting Federal
property:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YPXZC.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/YPXZC.jpg" alt="Looting and vandalizing property in US Capitol" /></a></p>
<p>From <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/q/61467/2984">this question</a> and its answers I learned that the United States Capitol Police is responsible for securing law and order in the Federal building of US Capitol.</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Assuming that the actions that occurred on January 6th fall under the mentioned law, does the Presidential authorization to enforce this law still active?</p>
 | united states protests national security | 1 |
61,497 | Was there a specific order for a muted response to pro-trump rioters' assault on the capital building? | <p>Comparing the response to the recent BLM protests and the scenes last night (06/01/2021), as pro-trump groups made their way into the Capitol building, the reactions don't seem to be proportional. There are pictures of people sitting unhindered in senate chamber. Forcing their way in disrupted the confirmation of Trump's successor, Biden.</p>
<p>What was the reason for this relatively sedate response?</p>
<p>I'm thinking either it came from lessons learned after the disproportionate police response to BLM so things are toned down or perhaps Trump has some influence on the level of force allowed.</p>
<p>Was there a specific order to act differently?</p>
 | united states donald trump congress | 0 |
61,500 | Could UK SMEs set up centers in Northern Ireland to maintain full access to both the EU and the rest of the UK? | <p>Under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Future Relationship, Northern Ireland is in a very advantageous position where it has full access to the EU for goods, and can also send goods <em>to</em> (but not from) mainland UK without checks/tariffs.</p>
<p>Despite the Brexit deal resulting in trade without tariffs/quotas, a lot of small businesses in the UK have complained about the costs of submitting Rules-of-origin and Product compliance forms, which can add up to £20,000. To mitigate against this, some businesses have set up manufacturing/business distribution centers in Eastern Europe.</p>
<p>Instead, could the UK SMEs set up manufacturing/distribution centers in Northern Ireland, where they can have the best of both worlds: Full access to the EU, and Full access <em>to</em> the rest of UK ?</p>
 | european union brexit trade northern ireland good friday agreement | 0 |
61,501 | Has the US government done everything it can to prove the votes were counted correctly? If not, why not? | <p>Some Trump supporters (including Trump himself) claim that votes were counted in an unfair way. Has the US government done everything possible to prove that Biden is the legitimate winner of the election, such as recounts in all contested states? If not, why not, if it could restore <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/dc-protests-trump-rally-live-updates/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">peace</a>? Is it that everything that reasonably could be done to prove that the count was done correctly, has already been done and these people are akin to conspiracy theorists who go buy a different set of logic?</p>
 | united states donald trump presidential election | 0 |
61,502 | What examples are there of federal judges being appointed to the Cabinet? | <p>The media is reporting that President-elect Joe Biden is planning to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/merrick-garland-attorney-general.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">nominate Judge Merrick Garland</a>, who currently sits on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to be his Attorney General.</p>
<p>The linked article above noted that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Moreover, judges are only occasionally elevated directly to the position. The last was Judge Michael B. Mukasey of Federal District Court, whom George W. Bush appointed to run the Justice Department in 2007.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Are there other past examples of a sitting or former federal judge being appointed into the Cabinet?</p>
 | united states cabinet nomination political appointments | 1 |
61,514 | Can an exiting US president curtail access to Air Force One from the new president? | <p>So, suppose a US president whose term is scheduled to end, schedule a long flight on board US Air Force One on the same day that the new president is to be swore in - is he allowed to do that, and if not - who is supposed to prevent this?</p>
<p>The question arises from my understanding that Air Force One is the mobile command center of the head of the US armed forces and thus must always be accessible to the US president in case of a surprise attack. If the exiting president is using the plane in a far away place when the new president takes control of the armed forces - one may surmise that would be problem if Air Force One is several flight hours away.</p>
 | united states president presidential term | 1 |
61,517 | Invoking the 25th Amendment | <p>It seems there is a call to invoke the 25th amendment and remove President Trump from office. I want to know why there would be any political advantage to this - why would they not let Trump leave office with the recent event a real black mark on his record instead of causing new political drama? If they decide to cause such a ruckus, it will distract people from the problem that just happened and the focus will start to turn more on them and the trouble they are making. So, what is the political motivation for this?</p>
<p>In addition, what would be the reason to invoke the 25th Amendment? Trump is not incapacitated. There does not seem to be a basis to this, unless it is always possible to remove the president like this, and any vice president can effectively start a coup.</p>
 | united states president donald trump constitution 25th amendment | 0 |
61,524 | Why continue counting/certifying electors after one candidate has secured a majority? | <p>As I understand it, a presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes to have a majority and thereby officially win the election. As I also understand it, when the joint session of Congress is presented with the electoral votes, they go through each state in alphabetical order, and either certify or object to the allocation of those electoral votes. It is certainly possible, and indeed happened yesterday, that one candidate reaches the 270 vote threshold before all the states were completed. At that point, it would of course be impossible for another candidate to amass 270 votes even if all the remaining states' votes were successfully objected to.</p>
<p>Why, then, do they need to continue through the rest of the states? Why can't they just declare the next president as soon as one candidate reaches the 270 vote threshold? It seems like a waste of time, especially if representatives can still object to states' votes after one candidate has already secured enough votes to win (as indeed happened yesterday when a member of the House of Representatives objected to the votes from Wisconsin).</p>
<p>Is this a mere formality, or is there actually an official rule that a president cannot be declared unless all of the states have been certified?</p>
<p>The relevant sentence in the Constitution (Amendment XII) states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is it that a very literal reading of this means that the president of the senate must open every single certificate before any of them are counted? And if so, what does this rule serve to accomplish?</p>
 | united states congress electoral college twelfth amendment | 0 |
61,527 | How immune are Supreme Court justices or other high ranking judicial officials from punishment for crimes committed during their official duties? | <p>I am aware that members of Congress have some immunities and so do the President and Vice President, but what about Supreme Court justices or federal prosecutors for example?</p>
 | united states law impeachment separation of powers justice | 0 |
61,528 | If the VP resigns, can the 25th Amendment still be invoked? | <p>There is current news of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-resignations.html" rel="noreferrer">several of Trump's cabinet members resigning</a> with Trump only having 13 days left in his presidency.</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> If <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pence" rel="noreferrer">Mike Pence</a> were to resign his vice presidency, with such a small amount of time left in Trump's presidency, what significance would that have on the probability of the invocation of the <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxv" rel="noreferrer">25th Amendment</a>?</p>
<h2>Why, context, sub-questions, or whatever you want to call it...</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi" rel="noreferrer">Pelosi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer" rel="noreferrer">Schumer</a> are threatening another impeachment and even <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9123033/Republican-congressman-Adam-Kinzinger-demands-Mike-Pence-remove-Donald-Trump-25th-Amendment.html" rel="noreferrer">called Pence but put on hold for 25 minutes</a> and told Pence would not come to the phone, it makes me wonder what this would mean if Pence steps down next.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Would that mean <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi" rel="noreferrer">Pelosi</a> becomes vice president or does that mean Trump get's to pick anyone else to fill in that spot which he chooses or does that spot stay vacant for the remainder of the term.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Would there even be enough time to go through the normal process to properly fill this position per protocol.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Would this mean less leverage for Trump to dissuade his own picked cabinet members from invoking it.</p>
</li>
</ul>
 | united states president cabinet vice president 25th amendment | 1 |
61,531 | Did the FBI inform the US Capitol Police on the level of possible threat on Jan 6? | <p>It's been <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/07/954489692/in-wake-of-insurrection-lawmakers-call-for-removal-of-top-capitol-security-offic" rel="noreferrer">reported</a> that following the rioting and break-ins from Trump supporters at the Capitol, both the (acting) chief of the US Capitol Police and the Seargents at Arms of both chambers have resigned.</p>
<p>The USCP has more than 2,000 employees and it <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-riots-police-coronavirus-pandemic-9c39a4ddef0ab60a48828a07e4d03380" rel="noreferrer">reportedly</a> turned down offers of help from the DoD in the days preceding the Jan 6 "failed insurrection" (to use McConnell's <a href="https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=A8024D6F-DCAA-4E4F-9AD8-AF2C986E0EC0" rel="noreferrer">descriptor</a> of the events).</p>
<p>On the other hand, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/07/954671745/on-far-right-websites-plans-to-storm-capitol-were-made-in-plain-sight" rel="noreferrer">reports</a> that prior talk of such action wasn't hard to find:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On forum boards like TheDonald and antigovernment and militia movement group chats, those conversations included plans to surround the Capitol on all sides, alongside maps of the U.S. Capitol complex marked with locations of tunnels and entry points. "And there was discussion specifically of overwhelming police with large crowds and doing that in order to violate laws against carrying weapons and against entering federal buildings," Holt [a fellow with the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, where he's been focused on extremist online activity] says.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since I suspect the USCP isn't normally monitoring such boards, but the FBI <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-extremists/u-s-intelligence-reports-warn-of-extremist-threat-around-election-idUSKBN26K2J7" rel="noreferrer">probably is</a>, did the FBI inform the USCP on the level of threat the could have expected on Jan 6, specifically?</p>
 | united states congress police fbi | 1 |
61,535 | Does the President have the power to pardon "persons unknown"? | <p>If a President wanted to pardon "persons unknown who were involved in [a particular activity or event]", would they have the power to do so? Or can a President only pardon named individuals?</p>
 | united states president pardon | 1 |
61,540 | What is the significance of the light blue "ribbon" style lapel pins worn by Cuomo and Schumer? | <p>I saw this photo of NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Chuck Schumer, both of them are wearing the same or similar lapel pins:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TghKD.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TghKD.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>There was no date given for the picture.</p>
<p>The other people visible in the photo don't seem to be wearing these also (including Joe Biden).</p>
<p>Unfortunately searching for "blue ribbon" turns up lots of irrelevant results since that is a common term. I haven't found any reference to what these mean with any searches I can think of. There are some articles about "Cuomo lapel pin" but they are older and not related.</p>
<p>What is the significance of these pins?</p>
<p>(<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/nyregion/chuck-schumer-majority-leader.html" rel="noreferrer">source</a>)</p>
 | united states symbols new york | 1 |
61,541 | Comparing the summer of 2020's BLM protests to the events at the Capitol on 6th January, 2021 | <p>I realize that this is a contentious matter and do not want to start a heated discussion. In fact, having just come from one, I don't want a discussion at all - just some dispassionate, neutral, statements of facts.</p>
<p>As I am sure many others have, I have had a "full and frank exchange of views" with my partner about the recent events at the Capitol.</p>
<p>It began with a discussion of this picture, taken at the Lincoln Memorial during last summer's Black Lives Matter protests:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Yswf.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Yswf.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>and why we saw nothing similar on the 6th, and segued into Kamala Harris's support for BLM protesters. After that, the "discussion" grew heated, so, like mature adults, we agreed to disagree and broke off the discussion before <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law" rel="noreferrer">Godwin's law</a> was invoked.</p>
<p>So, can anyone, in a purely factual way, compare the two events (possibly difficult, since the BLM protests were not a single event)? Possible topics might include damage done, casualties, number of arrests, reaction by notable political figures, the media, etc. but I feel too involved to provide a list and suggest that this could be better done by someone disinterested.</p>
<p>Please, facts only, rather than opinion, insomuch as these happenings can be compared. This might give my partner and me some starting points for a calm and reasoned discussion.</p>
<hr />
<p>Note: this question is related to <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61497/was-there-a-specific-order-for-a-muted-response-to-pro-trump-rioters-assault-on">Was there a specific order for a muted response to pro-trump rioters' assault on the capital building?</a>, but is a superset thereof, and not a duplicate.</p>
 | united states congress police blm | 0 |
61,544 | Is there a way to force an incumbent or former president to reiterate claims under oath? | <p>At the moment, a substantial percentage of US citizens reportedly believes that the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was substantially affected by fraud of one sort or the other. (NOTE: whether or not those persons are correct is completely off-topic for this question)</p>
<p>The main reason for these beliefs is a series of unproven claims made by the incumbent president (Donald Trump) and his staff.</p>
<p>These claims are now so widespread that they form a political movement in their own right, whether or not the actual claims have any truth to them, thereby seriously affecting politics in the coming year by undermining the respect for elected officials and their decisions. Conversely, the number of people believing that the election was indeed correct (an even larger number) forbids any concession to the fraud-believers.</p>
<p>It seems to me like there are only two ways that any government can gain full legitimacy in the eyes of the people in such a situation:</p>
<p><em>Either</em> (supposing that the election actually was skewed by substantial fraud), those claims of fraud are proven and confessed, the apparent winner resigns in shame after which a new and presumably fair election takes place.</p>
<p><em>Or</em> (supposing that the claims of widespread fraud are without merit), said claims must be unequivocally renounced by the incumbent/former president, effectively admitting that they were lies or at least gross exaggerations.</p>
<p>So, is there any way to force an incumbent or former US president to account for sweeping claims of voter fraud under oath (and threat of perjury)? To either state on record that the claims were groundless or present actual proof?</p>
 | united states president | 1 |
61,547 | How many presidents had decided not to attend the inauguration of their successor? | <p>Pres. Donald Trump announced that he will not be attending the inauguration of Joe Biden.</p>
<p>How many presidents have not attended the inauguration of their successor?</p>
 | united states president history inauguration | 1 |
61,549 | Why was there a man holding an Indian Flag during the protests at the US Capitol? | <p>Why was there <a href="https://twitter.com/varungandhi80/status/1347060127845634053" rel="noreferrer">a man holding an Indian Flag during the protests</a> at the US Capitol?</p>
<p>Is there any connection between Indians and Trump supporters?</p>
<p>Both India and the U.S are democratic counties.</p>
 | united states india protests washington dc | 1 |
61,553 | What happens with Power transition (Inauguration) during Emergency | <p>Suppose Biden is undergoing the Presidential Inauguration and some emergency event (Fire alarm, alert to potential disruptive crowds/hostiles) makes the President incapable of performing the formalities and complete his oath, who would be the de-facto president then?</p>
<p>At Noon, the Previous President(Trump) would already be out of his office and Biden is not exactly "Incapacitated" which would have allowed for <code>Section 3 of the 20th Amendment</code>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Which would yield VP to gain power. But Biden won't be 'dead', merely incapicated. This seems confusing - Trump would officially have resigned but Biden wouldn't have been officially been made President. Would Kamala Harris be then the Temporary President?</p>
<p>What happens in this case? Who would hold the power? What are the legal provisions to prevent misuse of power by the Previous President (Trump) during this time, or his aides?</p>
<p><strong>Edit:</strong> There was a simple misunderstanding - I meant that the emergency happened <em>before</em> the Inaugaration posing problems regarding the formalities involved and deciding who would the President in power.</p>
 | united states president state of emergency inauguration | 1 |
61,560 | Can the impeachment II happen before January 20? | <p>In the (very) recent news, due to the violent January 6 events at the Capitol, the Speaker of the House threatened impeachment if the President doesn’t resign soon.</p>
<p>According to her, "<em>the President is unstable and needs to be removed from Office</em>" (<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/pelosi-prevent-trump-from-launching-nuclear-strike.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Today, following the president’s dangerous and seditious acts, Republicans in Congress need to follow that example and call on Trump to depart his office — immediately,” she wrote. “If the president does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action.” (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/08/us/trump-biden" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An "impeachment" is usually a long process. How can this be put in place before January 20, in less than 2 weeks?</p>
 | united states donald trump house of representatives trump impeachment | 0 |
61,562 | Can the US Senate convict an impeachment after the impeached has left office? | <p>It has been widely reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump following the rioting in the Capitol on Wednesday. However, it is unlikely that the Senate would be able to reach a verdict on the impeachment before his term ends in 12 days.</p>
<p>When President Trump's term ends, does that automatically end any impeachment trials that may be under way? Or would the Senate be able to continue with the trial, and then (in the event of conviction) disqualify Trump from future office?</p>
 | united states president impeachment | 0 |
61,565 | Could the Republican Party refuse to allow Donald Trump to run in the US Presidential Election 2024? | <p>There are many rumors saying that Donald Trump would like to rerun for president in 2024. Many Republicans argue that Donald Trump has destroyed the image of the GOP and after republicans blamed Donald Trump for the US Capitol mob. Since these circumstances and Negativity towards Trump, could the Republican Party refuse to allow Trump to run on their platform and probably a nomination?</p>
 | united states donald trump presidential election republican party | 1 |
61,568 | Who would rule on the validity of a self pardon if there were one? | <p>Supreme Court, Congress, State Court?</p>
<p>Or would there be no ruling?</p>
 | united states president pardon | 1 |
61,574 | Does the Speech and Debate clause protect members of Congress from prosecution for violent threats made during congressional debates? | <p>The first amendment has been interpreted to have exceptions that don’t protect violent speech, but what about this clause, could Congress members get away with saying literally anything during debates such as inciting violence or revealing classified information?</p>
 | united states congress constitution freedom of speech | 1 |
61,577 | Can the Senate Majority Leader change during a Congressional term? | <p>With the change to the Alaska primary rules, and her recent denunciation of President Trump's actions inciting the recent violent riot/insurrection, a few (although I have yet to see particularly serious suggestion, hence my question) people have questioned whether Lisa Murkowski might leave the Republican caucus and sit as an independent. Obviously given the Republican Party has a 51-seat majority currently in the Senate, it wouldn't change the Senate leadership today, but the scenario does make me wonder about the question:</p>
<ol>
<li>Supposing the majority party's majority dropped below 50 seats because one or more senators became independent or switched parties (and therefore the scenario is different to a senator's death and presumably a re-election of the same parties candidate in a special election), does the majority leader change automatically?</li>
<li>Or does there have to be some sort of particular vote?</li>
<li>Is the position of "Majority Leader" legally enshrined in the same way "Speaker of the House" is, or is it a position more of convention?</li>
</ol>
 | united states congress senate senate rules | 1 |
61,578 | How does the new President secure the nuclear football during a "contested" transition | <p>Following on to <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61514/can-an-exiting-us-president-curtail-access-to-air-force-one-from-the-new-preside">this question</a>... since a military aide is always near the President with the Football, how does the new President get the football if that aide with the football is with the now-former President over -- for example -- the South Pacific in formerly-Air Force One?</p>
<p>Would these aides somehow conspire to <em>not</em> be in the plane with the President? Or would "they" tell the President that the Football is staying in Washington?</p>
 | united states president nuclear weapons political transitions | 1 |
61,580 | Which aspects of US Senate structure 18th and 19th century can be seen as “concessions to the planter class” and to slavery? | <p>From the recent interview of Adam Jentleson, former deputy chief of staff to Democratic Sen. Harry Reid by NPR reporter Audie Cornish <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/07/954562125/former-senators-staffer-on-what-senate-might-do-in-response-to-riot-at-u-s-capit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Former Senator's Staffer On What Senate Might Do In Response To Riot At U.S. Capitol</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>CORNISH: One of the striking things about this week was seeing the Confederate flag inside the Capitol, brought in by some of the violent rioters who had broken in. What was that like for you, given the racial history you write about in the book?</p>
<p>JENTLESON: It was incredibly depressing. There is a very ugly racial history underlying the Senate. I think that's true, you know, for so many institutions in American life but, really, especially so for the Senate. So much of the structure of the body itself exists due to concessions to the planter class and the slave power back in the 18th and 19th centuries, and then even through the 20th century, many of the rules that are currently in place that we're operating under were put in place in service of segregation of senators from the South.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Slavery was well established by the time the US Constitution was written in the 17th century, but the numerical structure of the US Senate; two members from each state — independent of the size of the population of each state — may not have been a concession to the "planter class".</p>
<p>Jentleson mentions "So much of <strong>the structure of the body itself</strong> exists due to concessions to the planter class and the slave power back in the 18th and 19th centuries, and then even through the 20th century.</p>
<p>Before I can ask if this is true or not, I need to know what aspects of the "structure" of the Senate (which I assume refers at least in part to Senate rules and procedures) can be seen as "concessions to the planter class" and to slavery "back in the 18th and 19th centuries, and then even through the 20th century."</p>
<p>My guess is that Jentleson's premise here isn't completely novel and there are established arguments for this. Is it possible to identify a few of the main ones?</p>
 | united states senate senate rules procedure slavery | 0 |
61,583 | Could the US military legally refuse to follow a legal, but unethical order? | <p>For example, if the president ordered the military to launch nukes to attack a country that poses no real threat, assuming its legal, can the military refuse to follow through on it on the grounds that it is immoral?</p>
 | united states president military ethics | 1 |
61,588 | Who chooses the ‘Designated Survivor’ at events such as the State of the Union? | <p>A ‘Designated Survivor’ is chosen for major events that most Cabinet members attend, such as the State of the Union addresses. This is done to ensure the continuity of government during emergencies.</p>
<p>Who chooses the designated survivor for such events? Is it the president, secret service or the cabinet itself?</p>
 | united states congress senate house of representatives succession | 1 |
61,590 | What did the framers have to say about the idea of a self pardon? | <p>Did they not explicitly state in the Constitution that it isn’t allowed because they thought it was ok or because the idea of that happening was too ridiculous to warrant their attention?</p>
 | united states president constitution pardon founding fathers | 1 |
61,592 | Is there any situation where a person who admitted to breaking the law in the interest of the United States can not be convicted legally? | <p>For example when the bombs were dropped on Japan which killed innocent civilians, but the people in the military responsible for it was not punished seemingly because ending the war was believed to be in the public interest. Is this in law or did no one decide to try to jail them because they were ok with what was clearly a war crime.</p>
<p>I am referring to United States law.</p>
 | united states law impeachment world war ii war crime | 1 |
61,593 | Can the Supreme Court strike down an impeachment that wasn’t for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ or is Congress the sole judge? | <p>If an impeachment for something clearly not a ‘high crime or misdemeanor’ were to go though for example for increasing tariffs, would the Supreme Court have the power to overturn their judgement?</p>
 | united states congress supreme court impeachment separation of powers | 1 |
61,605 | Presidential pardon before legal proceedings in the USA | <p>In the Constitution with Annotations the following is written in Footnote 6 (<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1-1/ALDE_00001132/#ALDF_00002646" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"A pardon may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I was in surprise when reading those lines.
Isn't it plausible to argue a pardon can only be only decided on, when the full extent of a crime is known
i.e. has been looked at by the judiciary? On the other hand a pardon before legal proceeding probably makes sense, when it is for the greater good of the nation. For example thinking back, to prevent the outbreak of a civil war. (interesting answers I found in that context: <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44047/35704">https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44047/35704</a>, <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/35915/35704">https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/35915/35704</a>, <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44085/35704">https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44085/35704</a>, <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44114/35704">https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/44114/35704</a>)</p>
<p>The only case I found so far where a pardon was given before legal proceedings was to the former president Nixon.</p>
<p><em>Questions:</em></p>
<ul>
<li>Are there other known cases? What details are known regarding the reasoning?</li>
<li>Regarding the former president Nixon, are there credible attempts looking at possible consequences if the pardon would not have been given?</li>
</ul>
 | united states president pardon | 0 |
61,610 | Quickly prevent POTUS from initiating military or nuclear operations? | <p>As <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/8/pelosi-spoke-to-us-general-about-blocking-trump-nuke-access" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pelosi warns Trump could be impeached for a second time</a> if he does not leave office imminently and willing, she has expressed in a letter about two things which stems this question...</p>
<ol>
<li>Taking "<em>available precautions for preventing an unstable president from
initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and
ordering a nuclear strike</em>"; and also</li>
<li>Her having "<em>had spoken to the top United States military commander about
taking precautions to ensure Republican President Donald Trump
cannot initiate hostilities or order a nuclear attack in his
remaining 12 days in office</em>".</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Given there is only 11 days left in the current presidency, are there any legal/technical methods that could prevent the President from his powers as Commander in Chief, or from being able to initiate any correlated military or nuclear actions?</p>
<p><strong>Context Related Stuff</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Is congress' mere "pursing impeachment" of a POTUS enough to prevent him from the correlated duties of initiating these sort of operations, or does he actually need to be convicted first to get this outcome.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is Pelosi's (and/or majority of congress) letters and talks with top military commanders actually effective in doing something here that could actually prevent this.</p>
</li>
<li><p>To do such a thing "quickly" would that require VP, Senate, and House all to work together or any combination perhaps, etc.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Per the US Constitution it seems there isn't anything that can prevent this so are there other avenues and such that can be explored for this sort of outcome in a timely manner.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Would any of the recent "extraordinary" events help open any technical loopholes for this outcome.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h3>Supporting Resources</h3>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/file/20626/download#:%7E:text=I%2C%20%C2%A7%202%2C%20cl.,the%20Army%20and%20the%20Navy." rel="nofollow noreferrer">Presidential Authority as Commander in Chief of the Air Force</a></p>
<ul>
<li>The document citing "U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 1" and a few others too</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><p><a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/article-ii/clauses/345" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Commander in Chief Clause</a></p>
<ul>
<li>"<em>would only prohibit Congress from literally placing someone other than the President atop the U.S. military hierarchy, it presumably also means that Congress cannot insulate parts of the military from the President’s superintendence or interfere with the President’s supervisory role, lest Congress have the power to effectively undermine the President’s command authority</em>"</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
 | united states president congress nuclear weapons military law | 1 |
61,611 | What checks and balances are there to stop the Supreme Court from grossly misinterpreting the constitution? | <p>If the Supreme Court were to rule that they have the power to impeach and convict the president because they are supposed to make sure the constitution is not violated or ruling that the first amendment only applied to members of popular political groups, would there be anything anyone could do about it or would the police just start being able to jail members of 3rd parties?</p>
 | united states law constitution supreme court separation of powers | 1 |
61,612 | If a president is impeached and removed from power, do they lose all benefits usually afforded to presidents when they leave office? | <p>It is my understanding that there are a number of benefits bestowed to presidents when they leave office. These include a lucrative pension, $1 million travel budget per year, personal protection etc. Can someone clarify what these benefits are and whether or not presidents lose them if they are impeached and removed from power.</p>
 | united states president impeachment | 1 |
61,613 | Can members of the military resign if they do not want to follow an order without punishment? | <p>If a solider were ordered to go to war and they thought the war was very bad for the country, could they just resign or would they still be punished for not following the order?</p>
 | united states law crime justice military law | 1 |
61,618 | Would Mike Pence become President if Trump was impeached and removed from office? | <p>Let's assume President Trump is successfully impeached and removed from office on Monday/Tuesday (before his term expires and he leaves office on the 20th).</p>
<p>Would Vice President Pence take over and become president (in lists of presidents and numbered 46th president) for one week/less than a week?
Would there be an inauguration for him?
Would he get all benefits of a president/ex-president (even if his "term" as president was only some days)?</p>
 | united states donald trump impeachment vice president inauguration | 0 |
61,623 | Would an impeachment process automatically end with the end of a president's term? | <p>Currently, it is being considered to impeach president Trump with less than two weeks of his term remaining. To me, it does not appear to be very plausible that such a process could be completed in such a short time-span. Does that mean that the idea behind such plans is "well, we cannot succeed, but we also cannot just sit here and do nothing", i.e., just symbolical? Or would an impeachment process possibly be continued beyond the duration of the term? While this could no longer have the effect of "firing" the president, it might have other effects such as disallowing later re-election (though presumably not denial of other benefits for ex-presidents even if they would be denied in case of a mid-term impeachment?)</p>
 | united states impeachment | 0 |
61,624 | Can members of congress carry weapons into the chamber? | <p>Congresswoman Boebert has stated that she will bring a loaded glock into the DC. The article <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/05/republican-lauren-boebert-gun-congress-washington" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> says that weapons can be carried around the streets of Washington D.C but a permit is required. However on the grounds of the capitol itself, members of congress, but not the public, can carry weapons without a permit as it is federal land.</p>
<p>My question is, whilst Boebert may be allowed to carry weapons in and around the grounds of the capitol, does this extend to her being able to bring her glock into the chamber itself? (I'm sure there's a pun in there somewhere). I have looked, but haven't found if there is a law that distinguishes whether members of congress can carry arms into a sitting session / chamber or laws regarding open carry in a crowded indoor place.</p>
<p>A follow up question I have is, should Boebert be allowed to carry her weapon in, and is deemed to be acting dangerously with it, can the sergeant at arms remove her from the chamber and does such an act only come from the authority of the Speaker?</p>
 | united states congress police guns washington dc | 0 |
61,635 | Pardoning US military commanders | <h2>Question</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Can a future president fully pardon any military commanders convicted of or charged with insubordination or any similar crime for refusing to follow orders of a current POTUS to take military or nuclear action that they deem as extreme or illegal?</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Correlated Sub-question:</strong> And is there anything illegal or that'd disallow a certified president-elect from making a public statement before their inauguration that they would consider fully pardoning any military commander charged with or convicted of such correlated crimes?</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Why</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Wasn't sure if the presidential power of pardon has any limits such as being prohibited from being used to pardon a military official or commander that's charged or convicted while actively serving, etc.</p>
</li>
<li><p>As per the the post "<a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61610/quickly-prevent-potus-from-initiating-military-or-nuclear-operations">Quickly prevent POTUS from initiating military or nuclear operations?</a>" and the answers received there, it seems the only "quick" solution for that concern is for military commanders to weigh the risks of disobeying the current Commander in Chief which they could be charged with a crime and decide to take such action of not.</p>
</li>
<li><p>As per the post "<a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61528/if-the-vp-resigns-can-the-25th-amendment-still-be-invoked">If the VP resigns, can the 25th Amendment still be invoked?</a>" and answers received there, the only other way to prevent the POTUS from taking military or nuclear action would be to invoke the 25th Amendment. However, this is unlikely to happen since it requires both Pence and either the majority of Trump's cabinet or majority of Congress with Pence being the main driving factor in invoking it.</p>
</li>
</ol>
 | united states president law military military law | 1 |
61,651 | Was the timing of the armed response to defend the Capitol within the requirements specified in security protocols? | <p>The Department of Defense posted a detailed planning & execution timeline¹ for the National Guard’s involvement in the deadly siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.</p>
<p>What struck me most was apparently slow response of the law enforcing agencies (SECARMY and DCNG) to direct call for help. Here's excerpt which took my attention:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>1334</strong>: SECARMY phone call with Mayor Bowser in which Mayor Bowser communicates <strong>request for unspecified number of additional forces</strong></li>
<li><strong>1500</strong>: SECARMY directs DCNG to prepare available Guardsmen to move from the armory to the Capitol complex, while seeking formal approval from A/SD for deployment. […]</li>
<li>1702: Departure of 154 DCNG from D.C. Armory in support of USCP. <strong>Arrive at Capitol at 1740</strong>, swear in with USCP, and begin support operations.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>After the Capitol Police <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-riots-police-coronavirus-pandemic-9c39a4ddef0ab60a48828a07e4d03380" rel="nofollow noreferrer">failed</a> to sustain the Capitol defense, Mayor Bowser requested Secretary of Army (SECARMY) for armed support.<br />
Which took him merely 1 ½ hours to direct the National Guard (DCNG) to the place.<br />
Who arrived there more than 2 ½ hours later and full 4 hours after the initial request.</p>
<p><strong>Question: was the armed response timely?</strong></p>
<p>By "timely" I understand whether the response time matches the requirements specified in security protocols, and by "security protocols" I understand documents available to public (contrary to any secret ones that surely exist).</p>
<p>From <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/q/61497/2984">this question</a> and its answer I learned that the Capitol Police (and Muriel Bowser <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1346530358674792466" rel="nofollow noreferrer">herself</a>) had only prepared for peaceful protesting and did not anticipate the violence that occurred. However, once the events took a tragic turn, could they react faster to avoid further casualties?</p>
<p>I'm sure the rest of the operation was timely enough. For example, VP Pence and the Congress have been evacuated almost instantly (1326), even before the call for help.</p>
<hr />
<p>¹) <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2467051/planning-and-execution-timeline-for-the-national-guards-involvement-in-the-janu/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Complete report</a>, relevant pages below (full size on click):</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AkxJf.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/AkxJfm.jpg" alt="Page 2" /></a> <a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/50PR2.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/50PR2m.jpg" alt="Page 3" /></a></p>
 | united states national security | 0 |
61,654 | How can a non-US resident best follow US politics in a balanced well reported manner? | <p>I hope this is a valid question for this SE. At the heart of politics must be reporting of the political process, and in every country of whatever system, the reporting of politics is seen as very important.</p>
<p>I'm outside the USA, and would like to follow US political news much closer than I do - more detail, more analysis. But having not grown up in that country, I don't have a clue how to be sure I'm seeing either a reasonably balanced view, or multiple views that together are reasonably balanced. Whatever source one goes to, one side or the other will claim if it's not telling their story, it's "fake", and that's a big part of the political debacle.</p>
<p>I know generally SE isn't just for links to sources, and many people will have opinions. An ideal answer would probably list good places to begin or learn, and why the writer thinks they are good places - the attributes and positive features that make them so. I don't do social media so I'm more looking for traditional methods?</p>
<p><strong>Tl;Dr - How can I, as an overseas resident, identify which sources are big or small, reputed or not (in different quarters), and overall able to meet my goal of good quality US political self-informing?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Updates:</strong><br />
I'm in the UK.</p>
<p>The BBC is easy but its scope and depth isn't that satisfactory. I feel more "meaty" US sources would have more in-depth follow-up, not just the kinds of "overview" level as carried by the BBC, and also it covers major stories only. Its enough to familiarise, but not in much depth really. A good orientation to US news, but not much more.</p>
<p>I know of a few US papers, but not most, nor how a person who's grown up with US media would intuitively place even the few I know about, nor how to avoid choosing sources that leave me by mistake in an echo chamber of my own making. I don't want purely extreme wild fringe, but I don't want just to match my own political views either. I want to "get" how mainstream both sides see things, I guess.</p>
<p>Part of what I'm after is 2 things within that main goal -</p>
<ol>
<li>To not shy away totally from the partisan views, for example to have at least some awareness how right/trump leaning or left-leaning media that isn't of an extreme kind, sees events, not just how a "neutral observer" sees them, because the US * is * that polarized.</li>
<li>Not just get the "huge headline item" news that overseas sources like BBC and Al Jazeera would report, but the lesser, kinda 2nd tier, news, or more in-depth followup, that a US source might report, and the extra depth or articles a US paper would publish.</li>
</ol>
<p>If I want to go further I can look up primary sources, but that's not often needed for my interest.</p>
 | united states media fake news | 1 |
61,660 | Can the US president be thrown out of office via a Constitutional convention? | <p>Say a very corrupt president were able to use threats to make Congress do as they said and committed many impeachable offenses, but Congress wouldn’t get rid of them, could 3/4ths of the state legislatures remove him from office using an amendment?</p>
 | united states president constitution impeachment amendment | 1 |
61,663 | What powers do British constituency presiding officers have during elections? | <p>I've been following a lot over the past several months, how US elections are conducted and the steps that are taken between an election and a new President being sworn in. Particularly, how the states have responsibility to certify, and should a state not certify, the results aren't counted and this could prevent a majority in the Electoral College.</p>
<p>My question today how elections are conducted in the UK, especially the role that the presiding officer has when announcing results. I have checked online and have found some sources regarding their job description in that they manage and ensure polling places are functioning and impartial etc. But do UK election presiding officers have any powers in having a say whether the results are valid or not? Could they refuse to certify a result, as the states can do in the US for example? Or is this office merely a formality and less partisan than across the pond.</p>
 | united kingdom election member of parliament | 0 |
61,673 | If a US president is convicted for insurrection, does that also prevent his children from running for president? | <p>In my country, there have been more than a few attempts at a coup d'etat, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-coup" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em><strong>auto-coup</strong></em></a>, etc. We have legislation in place to prevent insurrectionists <em><strong>and their immediate family</strong></em> from running for president ever again as the children of the insurrectionists are often complicit in
the criminal acts of their father/mother.</p>
<p>Assuming that Trump is impeached and convicted...</p>
<p>Is there anything in place in the US legal code to deal with this type of situation?</p>
<p>Can his children be prevented from running for Federal office?</p>

<hr />
<p>...shameless self-promotion See on EL&U,SE: <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/553846/are-there-any-publications-which-would-indicate-that-american-journalists-unders">Are there any publications which would indicate that American Journalists understand the concept of self-coup i.e. <em>auto-golpe</em>?</a></p>
<p>See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_D._Snyder" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Timothy Snyder</a>'s answer.</p>
 | united states presidential election impeachment | 0 |
61,675 | Can an impeachment be undone? | <p>If a president is impeached, removed from office, and barred from running again, could a future congress or president reinstate his ability to run for office again?</p>
<p>I'm imagining a case in which both houses are dominated by Party A, the president, from Party B, is impeached and removed, and then some time later control of both houses goes back to Party B. Could Party B reinstate his ability to hold office again?</p>
 | united states president impeachment | 0 |
61,677 | What gives the Supreme Court the authority to restrict free speech? | <p>I am confused as to how they can prevent certain kinds of speech from being used. Doesn't the Constitution say it can't be limited?</p>
 | united states constitution supreme court freedom of speech | 0 |
61,684 | Why is there no Vice Presidential line of succession? | <p>Congress can confirm a new Vice President, but if Congress couldn't operate due to an emergency like the attack on the Capitol, then there would be no one to fill in the the Vice President. Why is there no Vice Presidential line of succession?</p>
 | united states vice president | 0 |
61,685 | Is "corruption of blood" contravening the UDHR? | <p>It's been mentioned in a <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/61673/if-a-us-president-is-convicted-for-insurrection-does-that-also-prevent-his-chil">recent question</a> here that in Guatemala offspring can be disqualified from running for office for the deeds of their parents, specifically for [parental] insurrection. (As pointed out by Obie below, that's Article 186 of the Constitution of Guatemala, and it seem to extend to 4 generations.)</p>
<p>But what I want to ask here, is such a law not contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Granted, since there's no ultimate arbiter of the latter (as is the case with most international law), opinions may vary, <strong>but has the topic (of "corruption of blood") been addressed by scholars of international law from a UDHR perspective</strong>?</p>
<p>(I could find one <a href="https://fee.org/articles/the-human-rights-deception/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">article</a> on the US libertarian FEE website, which lambasts the UDHR for lacking such explicit prohibitions.</p>
<p>Ironically, it seems the 4th Geneva Convention does have something that would more obviously apply, perhaps,--the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention#:%7E:text=the%20most%20infamous.-,Article%2033%3A%20Individual%20responsibility%2C%20collective%20penalties%2C%20pillage%20and%20reprisals,she%20has%20not%20personally%20committed.&text=Reprisals%20against%20protected%20persons%20and,punishment%20is%20a%20war%20crime." rel="nofollow noreferrer">prohibition of collective punishment</a>: "No protected person may be punished for any offense he or she has not personally committed." But for the Convention to apply, there needs to a war or war-like situation first...)</p>
 | international law human rights guatemala | 0 |
61,687 | 25th Amendment with acting cabinet members | <p>With the resignation of the presidential cabinet members in the past week and already a few of those positions being held by folks in acting capacity, do people in an acting capacity have the power to sign on to invoking the 25th amendment?</p>
 | united states president 25th amendment | 0 |
61,691 | Timeframe for impeachment | <p>Last time the House impeached President Trump, it took a while to put together the articles of impeachment and to vote on them. Right now there seems to be a much more limited time frame. When is the soonest the House could vote on impeachment articles, and when is the soonest the Senate could vote? Are there rules about how long the 'trial' has to be?</p>
<p>To generalize this question - is there a time frame that sets the <strong>minimum</strong> amount of time impeachment proceedings can take in the US?</p>
 | united states impeachment trump impeachment | 0 |
61,692 | Is there any legal procedures the President has to follow to resign or can they do it immediately? | <p>With the threat of impeachment and with that the threat of conviction and prevention from holding federal office imminent, resigning could be an effective way for the President to avoid these problems. If the House of Representatives were right about to impeach the President, could they resign immediately or would some paperwork prevent that?</p>
 | united states president | 1 |
61,694 | Can the House of Representatives vote to impeach an acting President after the elected president was removed via the 25th Amendment? | <p>If the Vice President in the form of an obviously unjust attempt to remove a fully capable President via the 25th Amendment were to become acting President would they be eligible for impeachment as the Constitution allows a President to be impeached?</p>
 | united states president impeachment corruption vice president | 0 |
61,699 | What powers does the speaker of the House of Representatives have? | <p>What official and unofficial powers does the speaker have personally and what powers do they have that require other members’ approval?</p>
 | united states house of representatives power speaker | 0 |
61,708 | What are the powers of the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee? | <p>There is a lot of buzz about Senator Bernie Sanders becoming the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. The question is, though, what powers does he actually gain when he takes up the Chairmanship?</p>
 | united states senate | 1 |
61,710 | Are there states in the US where Trump supporters are in overwhelming majority? | <p>Elections are over, Biden has been elected, as we know. But there are about 75 millions of americans, who vote for Trump in 2020. It is interesting for me, how they are allocated - county voting map do not give the full picture, because it is two-colored (I've tried, but couldn't find gradient/density map).</p>
<p><strong>Are there states in the United States, where people, who vote for Trump in 2020 are in overwhelming (more than 75%) majority?</strong></p>
 | united states donald trump presidential election joe biden | 1 |
61,712 | Have there been any instances where both of a state's Senate seats flipped to the opposing party in a single election? | <p>The Democratic candidates flipped both of Georgia's Senate seats, previously held by Republicans, in the 2021 runoff elections.</p>
<p>Such a situation where both Senate seats of a state change party in <em>a single election</em> should be rather uncommon since:</p>
<ol>
<li>both Senate seats have to be up in a single election (meaning that at least one has to be a special election)</li>
<li>both Senate seats have to flip</li>
</ol>
<p>So, has this happened before? If so, how many times?</p>
 | united states election senate history | 1 |
61,714 | Statistics on US political affiliation by industry? | <p>Are there any statistics available on political affiliation/preferences by industry? I got curious when wondering how much the Democrat / Republican split would differ between industries like Primary Industries (farming etc) vs Information Technology.</p>
 | united states statistics | 1 |
61,715 | If the senate cannot remove a federal official already out of office, how can they disqualify said person from running for office again? | <h1>Background</h1>
<p>House Majority Whip James Clyburn has stated that the House may wait until after Biden's 100 days to send articles of impeachment to the senate as reported by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/10/politics/james-clyburn-impeachment-senate-trial-biden-cnntv/#paragraph_E8E72D86-37BA-EC27-E7B1-EF47A6C49AF6" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CNN</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"We'll take the vote that we should take in the House, and (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) will make the determination as to when is the best time to get that vote and get the managers appointed and move that legislation over to the Senate," Clyburn told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."
"It just so happens that if it didn't go over there for 100 days, it could -- let's give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running, and maybe we'll send the articles sometime after that," the South Carolina Democrat added.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This would seem to render the trial moot, as at that point the officeholder whom the articles were introduced against is no longer holding office. Indeed, one reason being floated around is to deny Donald Trump the benefits of being an ex-president as described in the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/about/laws/former-presidents.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Former Presidents Act</a>, which states the following:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(f) As used in this section, the term “former President” means a
person--</p>
<p>(1) who shall have held the office of President of the United States
of America;</p>
<p><strong>(2) whose service in such office shall have terminated other than by
removal pursuant to section 4 of article II of the Constitution of the
United States of America; and</strong></p>
<p>(3) who does not then currently hold such office.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However.....for point 2, if the trial was held after president Donald Trump left office....then that means his service in office was not terminated by section 4 of article II of the constitution and therefore still qualifies as a former president. Separately (and more to the point of the question), you cannot be <em>disqualified from running for office</em> until after you are <em>removed</em> <a href="https://politics.stackexchange.com/a/19095/19306">according to this Politics.SE answer</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="7">
<li>Following the Verdict of Guilty or Not Guilty, or the Pronouncement
of Judgment, and the Disposition of the Disqualification From Holding
Office of Trust or Profit, If Presented, the Senate Sitting as a Court
of Impeachment Adjourned Sine Die.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>However...if the person being impeached is no longer in office, then they cannot be removed from an office they no longer hold. This reality is what prompted me to ask...</p>
<h1>Question</h1>
<p>If a federal officer cannot be removed from office because their term has already ended, how can the Senate proceed with subsequent punishments related to impeachment as outlined in the constitution?</p>
 | united states impeachment | 1 |
61,718 | Why did postal voting favour Joe Biden so much? | <p>In the recent US presidential election, there were several states which looked almost certs for Donald Trump until the postal votes were counted, after which there was a huge swing towards Joe Biden.</p>
<p>But why is this? I know Trump raised concerns before the election that postal voting would somehow allow fraud. But why would this mean that his supporters would avoid voting by post?</p>
<p>And furthermore is it known whether this damaged his chances? i.e. that some of his supporters were so worried about the potential fraud that he alleged, but didn't make it to the polling station for whatever reason, that they did not vote at all?</p>
<p>Or is it simply that they made the extra effort to make it to the polling station? (or that less of Biden's supporters went to the polling station, being fully confident in the validity of postal voting)</p>
 | united states presidential election demographics joe biden vote by mail | 0 |
61,728 | Is there precedent for Puerto Rico being admitted as state with such high levels of internal disagreement? | <p>In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum#Reaction_from_Congress,_presidential_candidates,_and_political_parties" rel="noreferrer">the most recent (nonbinding) 2020 referendum</a>, Puerto Ricans voted for statehood by a 52.5% to 47.5% margin. Including abstentions, the margin was 50.8% to 49.2%. And of course, you have to account for the fact that nearly half of eligible voters didn't vote. But in any case, the views of Puerto Ricans seems to have only slightly shifted since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Puerto_Rican_status_referendum" rel="noreferrer">1998 plebiscite</a> where statehood was defeated 50.3% to 46.6%.</p>
<p>Several commentators and <a href="https://twitter.com/aseitzwald/status/1346857308484218880" rel="noreferrer">at least one senator</a> have suggested admitting Puerto Rico as a state in the coming Congress, when Democrats will have control of both chambers. My question is, has there ever been a case of Congress admitting a U.S. state where there were such high levels of internal disagreement within the would-be state?</p>
<p>(For the sake of argument, let's posit that support for statehood in Puerto Rico is a majority but not a supermajority, i.e. 55% for and 45% against, and a hypothetical binding referendum would have a similar breakdown)</p>
 | united states history statehood puerto rico | 0 |
61,732 | Does all military authority come from the President? | <p>If the President were to order it person who reports directly to them, it would be expected that they follow that order assuming it's legal and ethical, but does the President have the power to give orders to people far below them such as a 1st year solider?</p>
<p>Or are there checks and balances in the military that would prevent a President from doing something that would clearly lead to Americans dying like refusing to activate nuclear defense systems when faced with an imminent attack?</p>
 | united states president law military checks and balances | 1 |
61,733 | Does the Senate need supermajority or just a regular majority to prevent a convicted President from running for office again? | <p>The Constitution allows the Senate to punish an impeached President with prevention from holding an important office in the future, do they need 2/3rds of the Senate to do this or 2/3rds for a conviction but only a regular majority for assigning a punishment?</p>
 | united states president constitution senate impeachment | 1 |
61,740 | Why do politicians often say that they cannot comment on individual cases? | <p>Often you hear politicians say, "I cannot comment on individual cases".</p>
<p>I could understand if it is in court proceedings already so that politicians should avoid influencing the result, but even if it is not, they still say the same. So what's stopping them from giving out comments?</p>
<p>Or should I ask, why does the public accept this as a valid response? You don't hear news reporters pressing on to ask "Why can't you comment on it?", as though it's common sense that individual cases are not to be commented on.</p>
 | media rhetoric | 1 |
61,748 | How did Trump's January 6 speech call for insurrection and violence? | <p>It wasn't easy, but I just read <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6" rel="noreferrer">a transcript</a> of Trump's January 6 speech.</p>
<p>It's nearly all the usual rambling talk about election fraud and people that betrayed or supported him.
This could cause people to become angry, but is hardly an incitement to commit violence.</p>
<p>There are a few places where he does talk to and about the crowd though, and while he does ask the crowd to march to the Capitol, what he says is: "marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".</p>
<p>Where are people finding evidence of insurrection and incitement to violence <em>in this speech</em>?</p>
 | united states donald trump presidential election trump impeachment | 1 |
61,749 | What would a Green Party's position be when their country is under military invasion? | <p>This question is referring to political parties that advocate green politics in general, rather than any specific party in a particular country.</p>
<p>While I understand that pacifist and anti-war policies are close to their heart, I am curious what would their position be when they are under imminent invasion?</p>
<p>For illustration, are there any historical examples of green parties having to juggle this dilemma?</p>
 | war military foreign policy green party | 0 |
61,752 | Which ten States did Trump want to contest? | <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EoLug0n0KM" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Giuliani's voicemail message</a> intended for Senator Tommy Tuberville mentions that Trump wanted to contest ten States, which is a lot more than the States the court cases were about. Which States is Giuliani referring to?</p>
 | united states presidential election contested election | 0 |
61,770 | Can Impeachment votes be filibustered? | <p>If a few members of the House of Representatives who opposed impeachment were to attempt to filibuster the impeachment, could they or are there any internal house rules that would prevent this?</p>
 | united states president impeachment house of representatives house rules | 1 |
61,771 | How does the Speaker of the House know who's who? | <p>In the US House of Representatives, when a member rises to be recognized the Speaker (or whoever is presiding at the time) always addresses the member as the gentleman/woman from (a particular state). How do they know from which state the member is from?</p>
<p>Do they memorize everyone's face? How do they identify them if they are wearing masks?</p>
 | united states house of representatives speaker | 0 |
61,773 | How would a vote in US congress taken under duress be later invalidated? | <p>My question is inspired by the hypothetical actions of some of the recent insurectionists, one of whom was pictured below:</p>
<p><img src="https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2021/01/zip-cuffs-capitol-1-featured-scaled-e1610132753871.jpg?resize=1200,630&quality=65" alt="" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zip-cuffs-capitol-riots/" rel="noreferrer">https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zip-cuffs-capitol-riots/</a></p>
<p>At least 2 men raiding the Capitol bought restraints with them, as if they were preparing to take hostages.</p>
<p>Now this didn't eventuate, and we wont know their motivations for a while, if ever (they may have wanted some human shields, they may have been planning executions, or worse unspeakable things). But combining this with what was happening on the floor and Trump's rhetoric at the time, a crazy plan seems to emerge where they weren't hoping to just delay Biden's confirmation, but actually hold politicians hostage until they made Trump president.</p>
<p>Now this seems like something out of a bad action movie, but I also understand that the US constitution and procedural laws formalised many of these processes - x must occur on day y by process z - leaving little room for "we need to retake the vote because half to room was under duress" style concerns.</p>
<p>So if this insurrection plan succeeded, far fetched as it was, and they got everyone to say the right words to make Trump "win", how would that mess be cleaned up politically / legally?</p>
<p>How do you invalidate a congressional decision due to duress?</p>
<p>(If there is a "undo last action" ability of Congress, or "person A was out of position, therefore everything was invalid" ability, that sounds like it could be abused in the course of normal politics. Trump still has allies in Congress so such corrective action wouldn't be unanimous - some politicians would object to reverting the outcome)</p>
 | united states congress legislative process contested election | 1 |
61,774 | Why does the 2021 resolution to abolish the electoral college explicitly allow voting for a candidate of one's own state? | <p>A January 11, 2021 <a href="https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hjres14/BILLS-117hjres14ih.xml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Congressional resolution</a> proposes to amend the U.S. Constitution to abolish the electoral college. The resolution contains a clause explicitly allowing voting for candidates who belong to the same state as the voter:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>No elector shall be prohibited from casting a vote for a candidate for President or Vice President because either candidate, or both, are inhabitants of the same State as the elector.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This seems an odd thing to call out, which makes me feel that there must be historical precedent for the opposite — that prohibitions exist preventing voting for candidates of the same state.</p>
<p>What is the significance of this clause? Are there or have there been such prohibitions?</p>
 | united states presidential election constitution electoral college | 0 |