If we could amend the consitution to
revise the procedure for removal of
a president, here is a suggestion:
let a 2/3 super-majority of both houses
of Congress remove a president for
any reason. When evaluating this proposed
rule, remember that it is too late to
change the rules for the current
situation, but try to imagine how
this rule would apply to future presidents
and congresses — both those of which you
would approve and those of which you would
disapprove.
In the British parliamentary system of government
the executive (the prime minister) is the leader
of the majority of the House of Commons, and
can be removed by a no-confidence vote of
the legislature. There are advantages and
disadvantages with this system. The United
States government based on the separation of
the executive, legislative, and judicial power
works differently. The president is independent
of the legislative branch. However,
in extreme circumstances, the
constitution’s framers provided for congressional
removal of the president.
The constitution says that a president can be
removed in cases of treason, bribery, or other
high crimes or misdemeanors.
This language means that a president can
only be removed for comitting a crime, but
this is rather vague and there
is no provision for a judicial review
if a president objects to
the grounds that Congress used.
There may be circumstances where
a president should be removed even when
no crime has been committed. For example,
Congress might decide that the president
makes very poor decisions or has become
disabled or has failed to faithfully
execute the duties of the office.
The principle of separation of powers means
that it should not be possible for
a simple majority of Congress to remove the president,
but a president should be removed if a two-thirds
majority in both the Senate and the House vote for
removal. There should not be a need for a trial
or a criminal investigation.
The current rule requires a
semi-supermajority (only the Senate needs
to have a supermajority to remove the president;
a simple majority is enough in the House).
……………..
–Douglas Downing
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