US President Joe Biden is fielding calls to resign amid harsh criticism of his decisions regarding Afghanistan. Earlier this year, Mr Biden announced he would continue with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. As the US prepared to leave, the Taliban gained momentum, reclaiming the Afghan capital of Kabul earlier this month.
The US is now racing to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31, a deadline which has been emphasised as the last withdrawal date by the Taliban.
Mr Biden said on Tuesday that the US is on pace to finish evacuating by this date, but he said meeting the deadline will be dependent on cooperation from the Taliban.
Mr Biden said: “The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops.”
The frenzied approach to US evacuations in recent weeks has impacted Mr Biden’s popularity amongst the American public.
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This means that under the Constitution, Ms Harris could replace Mr Biden as President if he is impeached.
Three US presidents have been impeached, including Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Donald Trump in both 2019 and 2021.
Although all three presidents were impeached by Congress, they were acquitted by the Senate and therefore remained in office.
If Mr Biden dies or resigns while in office, Ms Harris would also be sworn in as President.
The only president to ever have resigned the office is Richard Nixon in 1974, who faced potential impeachment and removal from office.
Several US presidents have died while in office, including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and most recently John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated during his third year in office and his Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency.
Mr Johnson later won the presidential election in his own right, serving another term.