Amid the continuing debate in some circles over whether US President Joe Biden will be physically or mentally fit to continue in office until the end of his term in 2024, there are doubts and skepticism on both sides of the political aisle about the person who would take over in the event of Biden’s early departure.
The vice president of the United States plays a major role in the executive branch of the federal government.They preside over the Senate, although they do not vote unless there is a tie, in which case they have a casting vote.
Contrary to claims made last year, when Donald Trump urged Mike Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, the vice president does not have that power. Under the Electoral Count Act of 1887, the vice president presides over Congress’s certification votes from the individual states, but may not decide them.
Most importantly, however, according to the 25th Amendment to the US constitution, “in case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office,” the vice president becomes president.
Which brings us to Kamala Harris — the first South Asian/African American woman to hold the office of vice president, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Being the first at something, of course, is not a qualification, unless you are running for office as a Democrat using the obvious “identity politics” strategy. From several qualified candidates, Biden picked his running mate based on “what” rather than “who.”
Harris has failed in every mission Biden has given her, causing her approval rating to plunge even among Democrats. Her lack of leadership was illustrated by her action — or inaction — when she was designated “border czar,” the administration’s face of the US-Mexico border crisis.
For months, she was missing in action and refused to visit the southern US border, or even hold a press conference to discuss one of the most important humanitarian issues in her country. When a TV interviewer pointed out that she had never visited the border, she laughed it off and replied, infamously: “And I haven’t been to Europe.”
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