What if...

[Matt]

The president elect gets assassinated or dies of natural causes? According to the 25th amendment, who becomes the president? Is it VP-elect? Does Congress appoint someone? Is it his opponent from the election? Or is there another election all together?

I ask because I was having this conversation in another thread...and now I can't remember where and I am sort of curious and not up for reading the text of the 25th amendment :csad:

[rdh007]

Don't they just name Morg?

[cookiva]

Oh god no...

[Apollo]

George Bush will come back for another 4 years.

[The Senator]

I actually asked this in my U.S. Politics class a while ago.

The Vice President-elect would become the President. That's part of the reason why two people run together on a ticket. If the main guy (or gal) dies or is forced to withdraw, then the VP candidate automatically takes over the ticket.

Therefore, if the President-elect died, then the VP elect would simply take over. That's why in the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, Meryl Streep's character wants Denzel Washington to assassinate the presidential candidate-- because her son is the VP nominee, and if the president-elect is shot, he'd automatically become the President-elect.