U.S. Presidential line of succession
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The United States Presidential line of succession is based on laws that says the order of who replaces the United States President if he leaves office before his term is over. If President dies, quits, or is removed from office before his term ends, the Vice President will become President until the end of the President's term. If the Vice President cannot do it or if there is no Vice President, the next person in the line of succession becomes the new President. As of 2006, only Vice Presidents have succeeded the President.
[change] Prior Lines of Succession
The laws about succession were first created in 1792. The second in line, behind the Vice President, was the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, followed by Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1868, during the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, President pro tempore Benjamin Wade nearly became new president but Johnson was found not guilty by one vote. Johnson, who became President after the death of Abraham Lincoln, had no Vice President. The Chief Justice and other members of the Supreme Court were excluded from the line of succession.
In 1886, after death of Vice President Thomas Hendricks, Congress passed a new law which removed the President pro tempore and the Speaker from line. The new person in line behind Vice President was Secretary of State, followed by other Cabinet members.
[change] Current Line of Succession
The most recent law about the line of succession was passed in 1947. This is the current line of succession:
- Vice President (Dick Cheney)
- Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi)
- President pro tempore of the Senate (Robert Byrd)
- Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice)
- Secretary of the Treasury (Henry M. Paulson)
- Secretary of Defense (Robert Gates)
- U.S. Attorney General (Alberto Gonzales)
- Secretary of the Interior (Dirk Kempthorne)
- Secretary of Agriculture (Mike Johanns)
- Secretary of Commerce (Carlos Gutierrez - excluded because he is a naturalized citizen)
- Secretary of Labor (Elaine Chao - excluded because she is a naturalized citizen)
- Secretary of Health and Human Services (Mike Leavitt)
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Alphonso Jackson)
- Secretary of Transportion (Mary Peters)
- Secretary of Energy (Samuel W. Bodman)
- Secretary of Education (Margaret Spellings)
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Jim Nicholson)
- Secretary of Homeland Security (Michael Chertoff)
Other cabinet-level officials (Chief of the White House Staff, Ambassador to the United Nations) are not included. Their offices are not in line for succession.
[change] Other websites
- Ask Gleaves: Presidential Succession
- Presidential Succession Act of 1792, 1 Stat. 239
- “Presidential Line of Succession Examined”, September 20 2003
- Presidential line of succession at various times in history
- Continuity of Government Commission
- Amendment25.com
