There is no historical precedent since it’s never gotten to this point yet before in U.S. history, but suppose that the Senate does vote 2/3 to convict Trump. I assume this means that Trump becomes ex-president the moment the gavel bangs down on the desk. Pence is in, and is administered the oath.
Now, does Secret Service (which would have been watching on TV as well) promptly begin packing up Trump’s possessions and putting them in boxes and evict him out of Oval Office, etc. that very minute?
A normal impeached president, presumably, would have long since anticipated such a possibility and would have already planned out his “life after presidency,” including where the helicopter ought to take him next, but Trump isn’t typical. Does Secret Service also then send a few trucks to move Pence’s stuff from Number One Observatory Circle into the White House that day?
2 different things, Trump is no longer president in that instant (Yay!), but he can stay at the White House at the discretion of the President as a guest, so no he doesn’t have to leave, however the decision would not be up to him. If he just stayed, it would be up to the president to act to remove him or allow him to stay.
On August 8, 1974, Nixon announced he would be resigning effective noon the following day. That morning he got aboard Marine One from the White House Lawn and then transferred to Air Force One which flew him to California. During the flight, his resignation took effect, Ford was sworn in. Air Force One reverted to it’s normal designation to when the President is not aboard. He was considered to be a guest of the new President on the plane at that point.
The biggest concern the WH insiders had around that time was that Nixon was going to try and kill himself. Leaving more or less gracefully was assumed if he decided to resign or was removed from office.
As there is no law really other than the order of succession I believe it all comes down to what the POTUS (former V-POTUS) wishes. My bets would be for a lot of someone’s people calling a lot of someone else’s people and things going from there. Possibly all concerned would be thinking about the precedent they set but we are talking elected candidates after all; the next election will probably be a big part of their concern.
Remember – Nixon was by choice. We have no idea what some future situation may be.
Given that Pence would be the new president, I’m now picturing him letting Trump stay indefinitely. Well, indefinitely until Trump is moved to Club Fed, anyway. (Club State?)
It would probably be like throwing your mother in law out if she refuses to leave after the Christmas festivities are over. First a polite suggestion, then a polite invitation, then a firm invitation and after an appropriate amount of time (whatever that is) you tell her to get the fuck out.
Appointing Trump to a post or some such would be a separate issue from letting him stay in the WH. Since that’s not part of the OP, I won’t address it.
People staying in the WH are supported by US tax dollars. There’s a lot of service involved. It seems okay that PotUS can have a spouse and children staying there as well as occasional guests. The Lincoln Bedroom for some reason is very desirable and allowing a stay there is used for various diplomatic and political reasons. (The later is true of all recent Presidents, not just one.)
I’ve tried searching but have not found anything that says that Jimmy Carter’s mother Lillian lived there during his presidency. Maybe some spouses of children have lived there at times.
I would think a President letting an ousted ex-President stay there without a lot of people being unhappy about it is a fantasy in general. But things have gotten so weird with regard to what is considered acceptable the last few years that all bets are off.
Well, this is all fantasy. I like to think of him being dragged out kicking and screaming that this is all unconstitutional. Or having NY State have him extradited and then hello Sing Sing. But none of this will happen.
The White House is just a building. Trump’s presence in it signifies nothing. If President Trump wants to allow Trump to live there, he can do so.
If President Pence decides he doesn’t want Trump to stay and Trump refuses to leave, then Trump becomes a trespasser and the police will remove him. By arresting him and physically carrying him out if necessary.
I do not know but a part of the senate’s job is deciding whether the person being impeached can hold office again. The constitution says, “…disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States…”
It is up to the senate to decide if that is part of the conviction. If it is I am not sure how far that extends. I mean, Pence can consult with anyone he wants but can Trump collect a paycheck from the government if the senate included the cannot hold any office of honor bit?
President Trump will be dragged out of the White House, just like; Clinton was during his Term. In other words, your Liberal Politicians are far more corrupt than Trump. " Support Slavery vote for Democrats".