Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

If Congress Diappears?

What procedures should be in place if the terrorists are successful next time and wipe out the entire Congress?

Remember this could happen in an Obama Administration too. I am looking for ideas.

What I want to know is what actions should the states and Federal government take in such a situation as the Presiednt is now the lone power. Having just read The Broken Branch by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, I was a little disturbed that there is no plan and worse, election officials cannot even forsee holding an election until they have had over 75 days to plan it. The English can do one in a month and we can't hold a quick one in two?

10 Answers

Relevance
  • Favorite Answer

    Great question! The governors could appoint senators. There is a line of succession for the presidency. But there is NO provision for appointing temporary members of the House - the seats would be vacant until there were 435 special elections around the country. And that would probably come at a time when such elections were the most difficult to hold.

    There would be a huge gap. And the president would have to step in to the extent he or she could. Not a good situation - neither the president nor the Senate has the constitutional power to initiate spending bills, for example. The government might be without funds. Or certain provisions of the Constitution would have to be suspended or ignored, again at the worst possible time. Scary.

    I think we need to add a constitutional amendment or law allowing some procedure to appoint temporary congressmen.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Is this a trick question like -- "What do you call 300 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?"

    If it is a trick question, then the answer is the same --"A good start".

    Given the current state of confusion, fraud, lies, deceit and hypocrisy that is our congress, I don't think we would have a serious problem. Perhaps the answer is still "a good start" to better government.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I agree with the first poster.

    However, I doubt that the declaration of martial law would last very long with 50 state governors to contend with, and I doubt that every single member of Congress would be wiped out.

  • 1 decade ago

    They wouldn't get them all, they are rarely all there at once to begin with, except during the State of the Nation Address.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • bs b
    Lv 4
    1 decade ago

    Hey takes a long time to rig all those Diebold machines.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    gov in each state will either appoint or the people will elecet new members of congress..thats the plan..

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Someone would declare martial law, and we would all be in trouble

  • 1 decade ago

    yes, they all use depends, to get them through those long sessions.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    that might be a blessing in disguise

  • 1 decade ago

    We should be so lucky.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.