What the Constitution says about State of the Union and impeachment
Paul G. Summers
- Paul G. Summers, lawyer, is a former appellate and senior judge; district attorney general; and the Attorney General of Tennessee.
Editor’s note: This is a regular feature on issues related to the Constitution and civics written by Paul G. Summers, retired judge and state attorney general.
Author’s note: Our Founding Fathers answered questions before they even had an idea about the issues. Our Constitution has guided us since 1789, through success, wars, trials and tribulation. We shall continue our study and conclude this session about the second article, Article II.
The executive branch shall be vested in a president of the United States. He or she shall hold office for a term of four years.
The president “shall from time to time” (usually in the first part of each year) give the State of the Union Address to Congress.
This is most often done in a joint session of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Constitution provides in Section 3 that at such address, the president shall “recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient….”
As a practical matter, the president usually speaks on what his administration has done well in the last year; what challenges and issues are ahead; and what legislation he or she wants implemented going forward.
The president has the power to convene the Congress, or either House, due to extraordinary circumstances. Further, the president can adjourn Congress if both Houses cannot agree.
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The House can impeach, the Senate convicts or acquits
The president has the power to “receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers….” He or she as president is responsible for the faithful execution of all federal laws. The president has the power to commission “Officers of the United States.”
Section 4, the final section of Article II, provides that “(t)he President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Impeachment, or the charging decision, is completed with a majority vote of the House of Representatives.
Conviction by trial in the Senate requires a concurrence of two-thirds of the senators present. These provisions are provided in Article I, which concerns the Legislative branch or Congress.
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Next topic: a look at the Judiciary
Our study of founding documents and American government will continue next session with Article III, the Judiciary.
Please recall that the first two branches of federal government are absolutely political. Representatives, senators, and the president are elected by the people or through an electoral college.
Article I and II officials pay attention to policy, polls, politics and ideology. They come and go.
The third branch, the judiciary, is independent and should not be political. Once appointed and confirmed, they are in office for life or “good behavior.”
Judges interpret federal and state laws and are bound by the Constitution, regardless of their politics. Judges are independent and act as checks and balances against abuse of power by other branches. This independence is the crown jewel our constitutional republic called America.
Read and study the Constitution of the United States. It is time well spent.
Paul G. Summers, lawyer, is a former appellate and senior judge; district attorney general; and the Attorney General of Tennessee. Raised in Fayette County, he resides in Holladay and Nashville.
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2023-01-19 12:00:54