Lets say that hypothetically, some virus/series of terrorist acts/invading army (take your pick) kills not only the US president, but the VP, all of the cabinet, congress, the senate. Who and what position would become the president and VP?
If everybody, including all of Congress (House and Senate) were killed, I don’t think you have to worry about presidential secession. If any of us survive, we’d be answering to a different gvt.
That should be, of course, “succession.” I’ll have to read my posts before I submit them.
Couldn’t John Goodman just take over in a laugh-a-minute comedy japer a la “King Ralph”?
I do know that in events where the President and VP, House, and senate are all in the same location, one cabinet member is not allowed to go and stays in a very secure location. This is so that if the President VP Senate house and cabinet all die in an event, the cabinet member would rule the country.
Hmm…
I’m sure that Cold-War-era FEMA had a plan for something like this…
Noticing the people you don’t kill off in your scenario, I’ll take a WAG on the Chief Justice assuming the nominal presidency while the JCS give the orders.
The 50 state governors would have a lot of weight in the reassembly of the Federal Government, once the immediate threat is contained, as it is they who would reconstitute the Senate by appointment, and who would call their State Legislatures to emergency sessions to do something about constituting a provisional House of Reps, AND/OR to select an emergency Electoral College.
In the Departments of the Executive Branch, the Bureaucracy would stay running with hardly a blink, unless their staff and equipment were physically destroyed.
The circumstances you describe go beyond anything detailed in the Constitution, amendments, or U.S. laws. Therefore there would be no automatic succession to the presidency by anyone.
Without going through the Constitution with a fine-tooth comb, as JDR points out, I think State Governments could legally reconsititute the Congress by appointment, and the Congress could then elect a President and Vice President. I believe this would probably require bending some of the language in the Constitution a good bit, but in such a grave emergency I doubt anyone would contest it.
Actually all the new Congress would have to do is select a Speaker of the House and he would become president automatically.