What if - Hypothetical Executive Branch Takeover

[Danno]

Let's say for whatever reason we have a President who decides to order the military to take-over the rest of the government and seize total power. Do our higher-level military officers receive any training/guidance to respond to this? Is there a plan in place for this sort of scenario?

 

(note this is not meant to be political or partisan in any way)

[Guest aevans]

To train for such a thing would be to admit that it was possible. I don't think anybody is going to do that.

 

Having said that, one would presume that to even attempt such a thing, a President would have several very senior officers on his side, probably some of them at least motivated by the notion that the rest of the government had become domestic enemies of the Constitution, which they are sworn to defend. Those that would oppose would do so also on the grounds that they were defending the Constitution against domestic enemies. Who knows which way any given body of troops would swing or why. Much confusion would ensue.

[binder001]

"Seven Days In May" is fiction that is 45 years old, but still chilling! It's a good starting point for this kind of scenario.

[Cromwell]

If my US Political science degree serves me right:

 

1. US Military and Naval officers swear allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, not to the President.

2. It would be an illegal order under the UCMJ in and therefore would not be carried out on bane of court martial.

3. The President can order what he likes, but Congress raises taxes and pays for everything including military salaries and gasoline allowances.

4. Not very long ago, in fact 5 years before my grandfather was born, A former Secretary of War was once declared President of a kind of alternative confederation of States that had the temerity to think they could actually leave the Union.

The odd thing about this, was it was done to maintain a rather odd system whereby one human being could actually own another. I kid you not, this actually happened.

Of course this ridiculous idea was seen for what it was - a rebellion and was stamped out with some severity. Although the offenders were not hanged their home states lost their sovereignty and occupied by federal troops for a decade.

 

 

Curiously the UK constitutional tradition poses the oposite academic idea, the only thing holding back the tyranny of a runaway Parliament is the unelected head of the armed forces - The Queen!

[George Newbill]

That was a number of decades.

 

But that was some of the States against the other States in the end we ended up with the super powerful central government that had not existed prior to that.

 

That is the question is it not? If the Military came to see the govenment as an enemy. The government would last minutes in a fight with the military. I stayed late at night and watched the Second Russian Revolution on CNN, it lasted 30 minutes. Same in DC I bet.

[R011]

Is there a plan in place for this sort of scenario?

 

Impeachment.