ORDER OF PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION

According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, the Senate president pro tempore1 was next in line after the vice president to succeed to the presidency, followed by the Speaker of the House.

In 1886, however, Congress changed the order of presidential succession, replacing the president pro tempore and the Speaker with the cabinet officers. Proponents of this change argued that the congressional leaders lacked executive experience, and none had served as president, while six former secretaries of state had later been elected to that office.

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, signed by President Harry Truman, changed the order again to what it is today. The cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established.

Prior to the ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967, there was no provision for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency. When a president died in office, the vice president succeeded him, and the vice presidency then remained vacant. The first vice president to take office under the new procedure was Gerald Ford, who was nominated by Nixon on Oct. 12, 1973, and confirmed by Congress the following Dec. 6.

CURRENT ORDER OF PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION

1. Vice President of the United States - Dick Cheney
2. Speaker of the House - Denny Hastert
3. President pro Tempore of the Senate - Robert Byrd
4. Secretary of State - Condoleeza Rice 
5. Secretary of the Treasury - Henry Paulson Jr.
6. Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
7. Attorney General - Alberto Gonzales-resigns Sept. 17th
8. Secretary of the Interior - Dirk Kempthorne 
9. Secretary of Agriculture - Mike Johanns
     Secretary of Commerce - Carlos Gutierrez (ineligible
     Secretary of Labor - Elaine Chao (ineligible)
10. Secretary of Health & Human Services -Mike Leavitt 
11. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development - Alphonso Jackson 
12. Secretary of Transportation - Mary Peters 
13. Secretary of Energy - Samuel Bodman
14. Secretary of Education - Margaret Spellings
15. Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs - Jim Nicholson 

16.  Secretary of Homeland Security-Michael Chertoff (2)

 

 

NOTE: An official cannot succeed to the Presidency unless that person meets the Constitutional requirements. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and Elaine Chao are ineligible because they are not natural born citizens
1. The president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. By tradition the position is held by the senior member of the majority party.
2. May move to number 8 on the list pending legislation.

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