Caretaker Government

[Jonathan Buhacoff]

Proposal:

The Constitution must explicitly state that the first day of elections for the next President, or 90 days before the end of the President’s term in office, whichever is earlier, marks the end of the President’s elected mandate and the beginning of the President’s duty to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power to the next elected President.

If the next President is not elected by the end of the current President’s term, the current President’s term ends anyway and the Vice President becomes an acting President whose primary duties are to ensure free and fair elections are conducted and to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition of power to the next elected President.

During this period of transition called the Caretaker Government, the President or acting President has limited powers:

The President may not issue pardons while in Caretaker Government without the written consent of the President-elect.

The President may not change executive policies without the written consent of the President-elect.

The President may not authorize the use of military force without the written consent of the President-elect.

Discussion:

This proposal, combined with single-term limit or the non-consecutive terms requirement for elected officials including the President, is intended to ensure the peaceful and orderly transition of power from one administration to the next. It is intended to clearly state that the President’s mandate to lead the country ends before the President’s term ends, and that the end of the President’s term must be focused on the transition of power. However, in order to prevent a situation where the President’s powers are too limited to deal with a disaster, powers limited during Caretaker Government can be temporarily restored for a specific purpose with the written consent of the President-elect. This ensures that the next President, who will be dealing with the aftermath of the proposed action, concurs with it, and that it is not used to disrupt the transition of power.

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