[headstamp 2]

Did a chief justice do the oath on the plane with LBJ after the JFK assassination?

[Cheburashka]

Did a chief justice do the oath on the plane with LBJ after the JFK assassination?

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Since the person administering the oath in the famous picture is a woman, the answer is, “No.”

While flying back to Washington they feared that the assassination might be the first blow in a nuclear surprise attack, so it was felt that the oath should be administered immediately. I have no knowledge whether there was a “do over” later.

My personal feeling is that taking the oath in the presence of witnesses is adequate, and that no one need administer the oath, but that is my opinion. Since the exact words of the oath are specified in the Constitution, I think the "do over" was appropriate.

The constitution specifies the exact wording of the oath, but not who should administer it.

When President Harding died, Vice President Calvin Coolidge was visiting his father in Vermont. When word of the death arrived, Coolidge senior, a notary public, administered the oath to his son. There WAS a “do over” a few days later, since it was questioned whether a notary public was adequate.

[Mila]

"Did a chief justice do the oath on the plane with LBJ after the JFK assassination?"

No. The lady administering the oath to Lyndon Johnson in the now famous picture below, is Federal District (Texas) Judge Sarah T. Hughes. As a side note, Johnson's hand rests on a Catholic missal (prayer book) found on a side table in Kennedy's airplane bedroom.

[ichabod1]

I believe it was the nearest federal judge they could find.