KAMALA HARRIS. In the event of a defeat of the Democratic camp in the midterms, will Joe Biden’s vice-president have to leave her post?
The midterms are approaching in the United States and the ballot does not seem in favor of Democratic President Joe Biden and his Vice-President, Kamala Harris. Historically the midterms (mid-term elections, editor’s note) often mark the disapproval of voters against the policy of the president in place. These elections make it possible to renew the 435 seats of the House of Representatives as well as a third of the American Senate. These two chambers make up the United States Congress, whose mission is to draft, discuss and vote on legislative texts.
This Tuesday, November 8, the American Congress could change political sides, losing its Democratic colors in favor of the Republicans, Donald Trumpo’s party, opposed to Joe Biden’s policy. These elections are local elections in the same way as legislative or senatorial elections in France. National estimates are therefore only an indicator. However, the US site 270towin, which compiles the predictions of six polling institutes (Sabato’s Crystal Ball, The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, FiveThirtyEight, Split Ticket), specifies that the Republicans could well regain control of the House of Representatives that they had lost since 2018 To obtain a majority in the House of Representatives, the Democratic (or Republican) party must sit with at least 218 deputies. According to the latest projections, they would get 223 seats. As for the results for the Senate, they are announced even tighter, but in favor of the Democratic president who could maintain a slight lead there according to 270towin.
In view of these estimates, can the possibility of a Republican victory in the House of Representatives lead to the resignation or dismissal of Vice-President Kamala Harris? No. Indeed, no American law obliges the vice-president to resign in the event of a different political majority in the Senate or in the House of Representatives. Also reinforcing his legitimacy in the United States, the vice president is elected by the same Electoral College that elected the president for four years. Unlike the French mixed regime, the American regime is a presidential regime where Congress, which has a monopoly on legislative texts, cannot overthrow the executive, which bases its legitimacy on universal suffrage.
Moreover, cohabitation is an institutional habit in the United States. Marie-Christine Bonzom, former French journalist for the BBC and Voice of America told Internet user that “the president lost the majority in the House of Representatives 36 times out of 40”, during the midterms. The vice-presidents did not resign following these electoral defeats. In total, among the 49 vice presidents of the United States, only two have resigned: they are John C. Calhoum in 1832 and Spiro Theodore Agnew in 1973; the first for different politics with the president of the time and the second accused of corruption.
In France, which is a mixed system borrowing from the presidential and parliamentary system, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic. The latter can choose the person of his choice under article 8 of the Constitution. However, in a period of cohabitation (majority in the National Assembly opposed to the President), the Head of State appoints, as is customary, a Prime Minister from the majority party in the Assembly. Indeed, in this French mix, the head of government must have the confidence of the parliamentary majority to lead the country. Otherwise, he must resign.