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Who was officially the president of the US at 12:01 PM EST?
Question
#102491. Asked by dj168. (Jan 20 09 10:29 PM)
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McGruff
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I believe "technically" it was Joe Biden. Bush's term expired at 12:00 PM, Biden had been sworn in, but Obama had not, as the ceremony was running late. I was thinking to myself at the time, this will be a trivia question some day.
This commentary claims "no one" was president.
 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168156/posts
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McGruff
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My link has two points:
The Constitution is explicit. The president-to-be must take the oath and the outgoing president's term of office ends at 12 Noon. This is not a monarchy where the transfer of power takes place strictly by operation of law. The new president must agree to take on the job by saying so.
Article II, section 1, provides:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The 20th Amendment sets the end of a presidential term at Jan. 20 at 12 Noon: "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January..."
If something tragic had happened in the five or six minutes after Bush's term expired and Obama took the oath, I think the VP would have constitutionally been President. It harks back to whether Atchison was President for a day. I'm hardly an expert in Constitutional law and I suppose we could argue it until we're blue in the face.
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/atchison.asp
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star_gazer
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Biden had been sworn in as Vice President, for him to have been President he would have needed to then been sworn in as President. The ceremony was running late but Obama was obviously safe and prepared to take the Presidential oath although it was a few minutes late. If a Presidential decision was needed in a hurry then Obama could have been sworn in quickly and he would have made the decision.
Although I do agree it makes for a good Constitutional debate.
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McGruff
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I was thinking along the lines of a greater tragedy, such as Obama suffering a fatal heart attack or assassination in those few minutes before being sworn it, rather than the need for a presidential decision. I'm sure there are Constitutional provisions for most any contigency now to determine the finer points in the line of succession.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession
Going back to the question, I agree Obama was "officially" president at 12:01 PM, although you can argue he wasn't sworn in yet, putting Biden first in line had something prevented Obama from taking the oath.
That being said, having won the election, Obama would still be the one holding the 44th spot on the "list of US Presidents" and Biden succeeding him would come in at 45th, I guess. What do I know?
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zbeckabee
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While Article 2 of the the United States Constitution states that the president must take the oath before he enters office, this requirement was superseded by the 20th Amendment which states that the terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January and the terms of their successors shall then begin, regardless of whether the oath has been taken.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
That aside, I would think the VP oath is given first, so that if something happens to the President, the VP is in line for the office AND the Presidential Oath. That way, it's covered.
The Presidential Oath of Office -- The oath to be taken by the president on first entering office is specified in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0878064.html
I ran into something that basically said that the swearing in/Oath is a formality which grants him his presidential power...not the office itself.
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queproblema
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The New York Times said,
"Because the ceremony ran slightly long, Mr. Obama did not recite the oath of office until just after noon, the moment when he officially became president."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/20web-inaug2.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Yahoo News says,
"Technically, Obama was already president anyway — the Constitution says the term of the incoming president begins at noon on Jan. 20."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_flubbed_oath
MTV (MTV??) says,
"By constitutional law, Obama was officially recognized as the new president at noon, despite not yet being sworn in at that time."
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1603090/20090120/story.jhtml
That's not exactly how I parse the Constitution, but I've read the whole thing a number of times, including within the past four months, and notice the framers weren't nearly the picky legalese lawyers we have to have today. A great deal is written broadly and somewhat ambiguously, which is exactly why it's a small volume easily read by anyone, why it's lasted so long and served us so well, and...why the Supreme Court so rarely votes unanimously.
But I would have thought that by 1932 when Amendment XX was written they would have been more specific. As near as I can tell, we're supposed to understand that when one president's term ends the next one begins.
"3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President,"
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/amend1.asp#20
"The transition is seamless - the new President must take the Oath of Office before he can act as President, but even before the oath is given, he (or she) is the President."
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_term.html
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McGruff
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That's what I meant when saying that any contigency is prepared for now, as history shows us that there were times when it was very unclear. Still makes for good trivia. Maybe someone will be discussing it again 25 years from now.
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