One Sentence in Article II, Three Federal Laws to Fill It In
The Constitution gives Congress the power to decide who acts as president if both the President and Vice President can't serve, but it doesn't say who that should be. Congress has answered that question three times since 1792, each time in a different order.
The Full Line of Succession Today
Set by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, as amended in 2006. If the President can't serve, the office passes down this list until it reaches someone able and eligible to take it.
Vice President
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
Added in 2006, the most recent change to the line
Two Catches Worth Knowing
Sources & Further Reading
- National Archives: The Constitution, Amendments 11-27 (25th Amendment)
- U.S. Senate: The Presidential Succession Act
- U.S. Senate: Presidential Succession, 1792
- Congress.gov, Constitution Annotated: Presidential Succession Laws
- Cornell LII: 25th Amendment, Presidential Succession Laws
- National Constitution Center: The 25th Amendment
- Reagan Presidential Library: Who's in Charge? The 25th Amendment and the 1981 Assassination Attempt
- Reagan Presidential Library: The 25th Amendment, Section 3 and July 13, 1985
- USA.gov: Order of Presidential Succession
This page draws on the National Archives' published text and history of the 25th Amendment, the U.S. Senate's official history of the Presidential Succession Act, the Library of Congress's Constitution Annotated, Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, the National Constitution Center, and the Reagan Presidential Library's published historical analysis of the amendment's use in 1981 and 1985.