Pritzker’s Fast Track To Washington Could Be Appointment To Vice Presidency – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

The scenario is straightforward: Pres. Joe Biden resigns “for health reasons” or is pushed out of office. Vice President Kamala Harris thereby becomes president and, under the 25^th Amendment, submits her nominee for a new vice president to Congress, who takes office if approved by both houses by majority vote.

Who would be that nominee?

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker now appears as likely a possibility as anybody, provided you see it through the lens of progressives now in charge.

Consider what’s been rapidly unfolding politically, aside from Biden’s cognitive deterioration that has rendered him unable even to read a teleprompter correctly.

Like birds flying off a utility line together, Biden supporters in the media and his own party are now questioning his fitness for office. “The age question is catching up to Biden,” said a CNN Monday headline. Politico provided a long list of Democratic power brokers who are jumping ship. Harsh criticism from former allies like the New York Times are easy to find. Most recently, its front page tory on Sunday put it brutally:

His energy level, while impressive for a man of his age, is not what it was, and some aides quietly watch out for him. He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found that nearly two-thirds of likely Democratic primary voters want the party to nominate a candidate other than Biden. Crucially, among young voters (ages 18-29) who are key to the Democratic coalition, a stunningly low 5% want the party to nominate Biden again. His approval rating dropped to a new low of 33%, according to the poll.

Biden continues to insist that he’s staying in office and running again, but that means nothing because no president would label himself a lame duck. He almost certainly sees the writing on the wall and his handlers surely do.

It’s hardly just about age, however. He’s not progressive enough for progressives, who dominate his party. They are particularly unhappy with what they see as Biden’s slow and timid response to the recent Supreme Court abortion decision overturning Roe v Wade and the need for tighter restrictions on assault weapons.

Enter JB Pritzker.

Among other presidential aspirants, he has most aggressively staked out a position as the defender of all things progressive. You can see it in his presidential feeler speech recently delivered in New Hampshire and in his victory address after Illinois’ recent gubernatorial primary.

He’s breathing fire, and that’s what the Democratic base wants.

There’s no worrying by Pritzker about whether the Democratic party is too “woke” or too far to the left, as pragmatic strategists like James Carville and David Axelrod have warned. Not a hint of any need for course correction is in anything Pritzker has said. No apologies. No retreats.

Pritzker has more than that going for him when it comes to getting the nod from his party. He no doubt has countless favors to call from years of political contributions and business dealings. He co-chaired Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, so he’s surely on good terms with her and her friends. Pritzker’s chief of staff also worked for the Clinton campaign, and he doubles her state salary out of his own pocket. He’s presumably on great terms with fellow Illinoisan Barack Obama. His sister, Penny, was Obama’s secretary of commerce and is as connected as they come. Having billions of dollars at his disposal doesn’t hurt, either, and that may be his biggest plus.

When would Biden resign or get pushed out? Before or after a new Congress takes office in January, which is virtually certain to be more heavily Republican? How would that affect a vice presidential nominee like Pritzker?

From Pritzker’s perspective, or that of anybody nominated to become vice president, that gets tricky.

On the one hand, a Democratic nominee’s chances of getting approved by both houses would surely be better with the current Congress. If getting a replacement VP installed is important to Democrats, their chances would be better before January when a new Congress is sworn in.

But maybe that wouldn’t be of any real interest to Democrats — or to Republicans. A Republican dominated Congress after the mid-term elections might well stonewall any nominee, leaving the vice presidency vacant, which is not unprecedented. That might be appealing to Democrats who would ream Republicans for obstruction. But Republicans might be content knowing that a new Republican speaker of the House would then be next in line for succession to the presidency.

Wouldn’t it be a dead end either way for Pritzker because Kamala Harris would become not only president when Biden resigned but the presumptive nominee in 2024?

Not necessarily. Harris’s approval ratings are abysmal, too. If Biden gets pushed out, it would be wise for them to first come to an agreement with Harris. “Congratulations, Kamala,” they might say. “We would like to make you the first woman, and woman of color, to become president. To do that, however, we need your commitment not to run in 2024.”

It’s hard to put odds on any of that, except to say the following: Biden almost certainly will not finish his term because the world sees his mental infirmity, and his political standing with his base is evaporating before our eyes. Pritzker’s interest in the presidency is now covered widely, from the London Times on down, and so far he has been very well received within his own party. Consequently, if Biden leaves, for whatever reason, Pritzker is among those who will be considered for nomination as vice president, which would make him a realistic presidential candidate in either 2024 or later.

Many Illinoisans will find it absurd to think of Pritzker as a presidential or vice-presidential prospect. That’s because his chances of winning in a general election are an entirely different story. But from the viewpoint of progressives at the national level who dominate the Democratic Party, it’s not absurd.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.