As House Democrats seek to progress their efforts Thursday to impeach President Donald Trump, CNN is speculating whether one unintended consequence could see Vice President Mike Pence also sidelined, leaving the way clear for Nancy Pelosi to take the reins of office.
The fantasy outcome is contained in an opinion piece by Paul Callan, a contributor and CNN legal analyst.
He speculates Trump and Pence could possibly both be drawn into the Ukraine inquiry, leaving the way clear under constitutional law for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to ascend the White House steps as Commander-in-Chief. He writes:
What might follow could be a double impeachment scenario that would make heads spin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the president of the United States. After Pence, she’s next in the line of succession.
He then immediately concedes this may be just a dream because if Trump and Pence were both implicated in the scandal and Pence’s resignation or removal from office occurred first, “Trump could nominate a new vice president under the 25th Amendment.”
This is not the first time left-wing commentators have sought to elevate Nancy Pelosi to the highest office in the land.
Last month the Washington Post examined the same possible scenario in an opinion piece. It stated: