Although it has never happened in the United States history, it could happen that the outgoing president would refuse to leave the presidency and the White House if he lost the election.
WASHINGTON D.C. (Times Media Mexico) – Never in U.S. history has it happened, but with Trump, everything could happen. What would happen if the outgoing president refused to leave the presidency and the White House if he lost the election?
Several experts have said that this would generate a constitutional crisis. However, according to the 20th constitutional amendment, the outgoing president must hand over the office by noon on January 20 following the election. “The mandates of the president and vice president will end at noon on January 20, and then the mandates of their successors will begin,” he points out.
The Secret Service, responsible for presidential security, redoubled its operations this week to protect the newly elected president and former vice president Joe Biden as the election ballot counts progressed.
If Trump refuses to leave, the Secret Service itself would physically remove him from the White House by the deadline.
Trump’s only option for extending his term would be if any of the multiple lawsuits he warned he would file were successful. However, to be successful, he would need to present evidence and proof of the fraud he is accusing.
Now some Republicans have begun to express their disagreement with the president’s intention to remain in power, such as Senate President Mitch McConnell, who tweeted that “the winner of the November 3 election will be sworn in on January 20. There will be an orderly transition, as there have been every four years since 1792”. Others, however, like Senator Lindsey Graham, support Trump’s accusations.
For Times Media Mexico
Ian Michael Ealy – Washington D.C.
