MICROBYTE: DUMPING A PRESIDENT.

Knowing that someday Americans may need to dump an elected official before his or her term is up, our founders gave us the gift of Impeachment. Besides the president, the U.S. Constitution allows the impeachment of the vice president and all "civil officers of the United States." This specifically includes federal judges and high-level executive branch officials such as Cabinet members.

Historically, impeachment has most often targeted federal judges—15 out of about 20 impeachments have involved judges, and all officials removed so far by the Senate have been judges. Cabinet secretaries have also been impeached; for example, Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.

Members of Congress (Senators and Representatives), however, are not considered "civil officers" and are not subject to impeachment; they may be expelled by a vote of their own chamber instead.

Okay, they made it possible. But at the same time, they made it difficult. Here’s how the process crawls along: All it takes is one member of the House to stand up and accuse the president of treason, taking bribes, or other ugly stuff.

That starts an official inquiry by the House Judiciary Committee. If that committee votes guilty, it goes to the entire House for a vote. 

If a majority of the House votes guilty, the accused goes off to the Senate to face a regular full-blown trial. 

If 2/3rds of the Senate votes guilty, the President packs up his stuff and goes home, and the Vice President moves into the Oval Office.

Now, in 250 years, only three presidents have been impeached, you know who, twice. And, for the record, none have ever been convicted.

MICROBYTE: THERE’S ANOTHER WAY TO DUMP A PRESIDENT.

I’m willing to bet that not more than a handful of people know that, besides Impeachment, there’s another way to get rid of a President. 

The 25th Amendment, Section 4, to the United States Constitution establishes the procedures for presidential succession and addressing the inability of a president to perform the duties of the office. Key provisions include:

• If the president dies, resigns, or is removed, the vice president becomes president.

• If the vice presidency becomes vacant, the president nominates a replacement, subject to confirmation by both Houses of Congress.

• It details processes for transferring presidential powers temporarily in the event of disability or incapacity, whether voluntarily (by the president themself) or involuntarily (by other government leaders if the president cannot or will not acknowledge their own incapacity).

• Section 4 is intended only for situations where the president is truly unable to fulfill their role due to physical or mental incapacity.

It should be noted that Section 4 has never been used to remove a president against their will. But I never say never anymore, so, as I outlined in the video, here’s how it would work: If the president loses it, I mean like Looney Tunes loses it, the Vice President, together with a simple majority of the Cabinet, can get together and declare him or her unfit to be president. 

All they have to do is sign a declaration to that effect, hand it to the President Pro Tem of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, and just like that, the Vice President moves into the Oval Office. 

Now, the Looney Tunes president has the right to send his own declaration over to Congress, saying that he’s the one who’s okay, and that it’s the Vice President who’s gone nuts. 

Then it’s up to Congress to decide which of the two is the nuttiest.

THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO. An American Family.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

(Author: Annette Gordon-Reed Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company. 667 pages)

“Thomas Jefferson often described his slaves at Monticello as ‘My Family.’ Annette Gordoin-Reed has taken that description seriously. Surely more seriously than Jefferson ever intended. The result, the story of the Hemings family, is the most comprehensive account of one slave family ever written. It is not a pretty story, but it is poignant beyond belief. And it demonstrates conclusively that we must put aside Gone With the Wind forever and begin to study Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom.”

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“Trump was barnstorming the Capitol to give a pep talk about his ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ The Congressional Budget Office says it will explode the deficit and kick millions off healthcare—but hey, it’ll eliminate sales tax on gun silencers. Their solution to gun violence is to make it quieter. It’s about time!”

Jimmy Kimmel