‘Total Vacuum’: Dems Admit Sede Vacante in Oval Office

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Who’s in charge of the executive branch? We have been asking that question ever since the Easter Bunny ordered Joe Biden off the spectator line at the White House Easter event in April 2022. More began asking the question when Biden’s cognitive impairments became clear in the June 27 presidential debate. 

And now Politico reports that even Democrats wonder who’s in charge. Neither Biden nor Kamala Harris are showing up, and their absence has left a “total vacuum” of leadership. It is essentially a sede vacante White House until January 20:

Biden’s low profile since the election has contributed to the sense of rudderlessness that’s taken hold across swaths of Washington, as lawmakers, aides and party officials brace for Trump’s return to power and seek a new direction and vision ahead of the midterms and 2028.

The White House and Biden, they say, has shown little interest in helping chart the party’s future beyond Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Biden has focused his aides’ energies largely on managing the presidential transition and tending to a few final items meant to burnish his legacy, including a speech on the economy Tuesday. And Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast herself on the campaign trail as the future of the party, has all but disappeared from the scene.

“There is no leadership coming from the White House,” one Democrat close to senior lawmakers stated bluntly. “There is a total vacuum.”

For those unfamiliar with the term, “sede vacante” means “empty seat” in Latin and refers to the period when popes die (or retire on rare occasions). The Vatican organizes a caretaker government to ensure continuity while the cardinals make their way to Rome for the next conclave. I personally reported from the last conclave in 2013 and bought stamps produced by the Vatican in this sede vacante period, mainly as commemorative editions. I framed these and hung them in my office:

The point is that The Vatican has a process to deal with the absence of its chief executive and head of state. It also usually resolves the issue within a few weeks, not two-plus months. And The Vatican doesn’t command armies currently participating in conflicts, either. 

That’s not the case here in the US, however. Presidential transitions are already awkward enough, and too long to boot, but at least the lame-duck president and vice-president usually show up. When presidents can’t do so, vice-presidents exist to assume power and manage affairs. And that’s not just in terms of charting the strategy for the Democrat Party, but in actual governance. What else explains this sudden clarity from anonymous sources?

“In conversations that I’m having, they don’t even mention the president. It’s kind of sad,” said the Democrat close to senior lawmakers. “It feels like Trump is president already.”

Many party officials and staffers no longer track Biden’s daily activities or are even aware that he’s spent much of the last month out of the country. …

There’s some question of whether Biden’s presence has been missed, even if only to tout his accomplishments.

It feels like Trump is president already because Trump is president already. Trump is acting to keep American interests in the forefront and attempting to project American power to keep dangerous adversaries from taking advantage of the sede vacante Oval Office. That vacuum is clear to our allies and our antagonists, who now are scrambling to conduct their diplomacy with a man who is not yet legally head of state or government. Why? Because they can’t afford to live in a “total vacuum” of leadership in the US, and they recognize it even if we do not. 

This is why we can’t afford to elect people to the presidency or vice-presidency who suffer from cognitive impairments. But it also points up another risk in our system: a presidential transition that simply takes too much time. Even under the best of circumstances, these ten weeks create gaps and ambiguities that are unnecessary and potentially provocative. In this circumstance, we will be fortunate if it doesn’t create a much more dangerous situation in Europe and the Middle East, or even on our own borders, before the chains of command become official and fully assumed. 

We need to recalculate the transition accordingly. The original date in March at the founding reflected the transportation technology of the time, and so did the amended date of January 20. Congress should open a debate about amending the Constitution to employ the same transition time that some states use, usually a month or so, to reduce the risks inherent in transitions. We simply cannot afford another ten-week sede vacante, and we’ll be lucky if we get through this one without significant damage to American interests.