Is Congress Preparing for a New POTUS Before 2024? Revisions Made to US Code Have Some Wondering
Although we’re told that President Joe Biden fully intends to run for reelection in 2024, many in his party are clearly opposed to that possibility. In the event he steps aside, Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota top the short list of candidates expected to compete for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.
Given that the next U.S. president could be either a female or a gay man, the House passed a bill on Tuesday that would modernize the “gendered terms” in the U.S. code pertaining to the president and the spouse of a president.
The ‘‘21st Century President Act’’ would change gender-specific terms, such as “wife” and “widow,” to gender-neutral terms, “spouse” and “surviving spouse.”
Specifically, these revisions would occur in 18 U.S. Code § 879, which pertains to “Threats against former Presidents and certain other persons.” The language currently reads, “the wife of a former President during his lifetime, the widow of a former President until her death or remarriage.”
This would be replaced with, ‘‘the spouse of a former President during a former President’s lifetime, the surviving spouse of a former President until the surviving spouse’s death or remarriage.’’
There’s nothing radical in this legislation. The changes are appropriate. Should a woman win the presidency, her husband would be provided for. If a gay individual wins the White House, their spouse would be protected as well.
What has some people wondering is the timing of this bill. Why now?
Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise. – The New York Times https://t.co/AYLFabq3Xc
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 11, 2022
Earlier this month, The New York Times surprised politicos with a bold and widely read piece which asked, “Should Biden Run in 2024?” Their answer? “Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise.”
The Times interviewed four dozen Democratic officials, including members of Congress, who essentially delivered a vote of no confidence in the president. The article gave Democrats the green light to openly admit that Biden should step aside in 2024.
Officials, according to the authors, “are venting their frustrations with President Biden’s struggle to advance the bulk of his agenda, doubting his ability to rescue the party from a predicted midterm trouncing and increasingly viewing him as an anchor that should be cut loose in 2024.
“As the challenges facing the nation mount and fatigued base voters show low enthusiasm, Democrats in union meetings, the back rooms of Capitol Hill and party gatherings from coast to coast are quietly worrying about Mr. Biden’s leadership, his age and his capability to take the fight to former President Donald J. Trump a second time.”
The President’s obvious cognitive decline received no direct mention, but nearly everyone they spoke to referenced his advanced age.
He has presided over the most disastrous presidency in modern memory. The wreckage of his first seventeen months in office cannot be denied, even by Democrats. Biden’s stumbling and bumbling is on him. The unprecedented overreach of his administration and the harm it has inflicted upon America is on whoever it is who is calling the shots in the White House.
But the buck stops with the president, who absorbs either the credit or the blame for the results. He is a living, breathing symbol of every unforced error and bad policy decision his administration has made. He embodies failure. And, although Democrats steer clear of publicly admitting his indisputable cognitive decline, they know he is unfit to serve.
There’s been a distinct shift in the media’s coverage of Biden. Liberal pundits have begun to acknowledge his failures. They no longer provide cover for him as they once did.
He still has 31 more months left in his first term. It’s clear no one is willing to endorse him for a second term. But, is it possible that some in the party want him gone even sooner?
To be blunt, Biden has served his purpose for the party. He defeated former President Donald Trump. There’s nothing more he can do for the Democrats, except hurt them.
Do Democrats feel that by removing Biden from office after the midterms, the party might be able to “reset” and salvage the next two years?
The House’s passage of a bill that would amend the terminology in a tiny portion of the U.S. code relating to the president and the spouse of a president just appears to be oddly timed and feeds into the narrative that Biden may not be completing his first term.
By itself, this measure means nothing. It simply adds to the growing speculation that Biden might be replaced earlier than he had anticipated.
There’s no way for us to know what the Democrats’ strategy is; we can only read the tea leaves and wait.
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