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Pence Was Put on Standby Last Fall to ‘Take Over’

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Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during President Trump’s unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019, according to a copy of Michael Schmidt’s forthcoming book obtained by CNN.

Schmidt writes that “word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized.”

While Pence did not ultimately assume the powers of the presidency the account raises fresh questions about the reason for Trump’s unscheduled visit.

Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President
Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Schmidt, Michael S. (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 473 Pages - 09/01/2020 (Publication Date) - Random House (Publisher)
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goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

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Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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