If the President Tests Positive for the Virus, What Happens?
There’s precedent for a temporary handoff of power to the vice president—but also potential for constitutional chaos.
President Donald Trump tours a Honeywell International Inc. factory producing N95 masks in Phoenix on May 5.
Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The news last week that President Trump’s valet and Vice President Pence’s press secretary had both contracted the coronavirus sent a scare through the White House. While officials said both leaders subsequently tested negative, the episode raised a worrisome possibility: What happens if Trump or Pence is stricken—or, worse, if both became ill at the same time?
The result could be anything from a temporary disruption to a full-blown constitutional crisis with competing claims on the presidency. What’s critical, experts say, is that the identity of the commander-in-chief be clear in any situation. At least one scenario could arise where it wouldn’t be.