President Trump's positive coronavirus test has set off contingency possibilities that center on some key questions: What if COVID-19 renders the president incapable of executing the duties of his office? How would that affect the government — and the election that is now just one month away?
"There are some significant concerns if things were to worsen," says John Fortier, the former executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission, a group set up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.
Some scenarios are clear, such as the president possibly invoking the 25th Amendment to briefly transfer power to Vice President Pence, as many presidents have done with their second-in-command before an elective surgery. But others are very murky.
"What would be a little harder is if the president got sick enough that he wasn't able to make the determination," Fortier tells NPR.
Things would get much more complicated, he adds, if Trump were to disagree with an assessment deeming him unable to perform. The challenges would only multiply if Trump's health also required his removal from the November ballot.
As of Friday, these questions remained hypothetical. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters Friday that the president has "mild symptoms." First lady Melania Trump then tweeted that she too has "mild symptoms."