Presidential Line of Succession: Who Is Next After the President?

The presidential line of succession is the legal order that decides who takes over the powers of the presidency if the president dies, resigns, is removed from office or cannot do the job. First in line is the vice president. After that come the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate and then 15 members of the Cabinet, beginning with the Secretary of State and ending with the Secretary of Homeland Security.

The list is set by the U.S. Constitution and federal law, not by the president. Here is the full order, the rules that decide who is eligible, how the 25th Amendment fits in and why the difference between “becoming president” and “acting as president” matters, based on official text from the National Archives, the U.S. Code and USAGov.

What is the presidential line of succession?

USAGov, the federal government’s official information site, explains that if a president cannot carry out the duties of the office, those responsibilities pass to another government leader in a specific order. It lists five situations that can trigger a change: the president becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, is unable to hold office or is removed from office.

Two legal sources work together. The Constitution, mainly through the 25th Amendment, covers what happens to the presidency and vice presidency. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 fills in the rest of the list for the rare case in which both the president and the vice president are unavailable at the same time.

The full order of presidential succession

USAGov publishes the current order. The Cabinet positions appear in the order in which their agencies were created. That is why the Secretary of State comes first among the Cabinet and the Secretary of Homeland Security comes last.

The list names offices, not people. Whoever holds each office at the moment a vacancy occurs is the person in line, provided that person meets the eligibility rules described below.

The vice president: the only true successor

The 25th Amendment, passed by Congress on July 6, 1965, and ratified on February 10, 1967, settles the first step. Section 1 says that if the president is removed from office, dies or resigns, “the Vice President shall become President.” In that case the vice president does not simply fill in. He or she becomes president for the rest of the term.

Section 2 of the amendment deals with the empty vice presidency that follows. When there is a vacancy in the office of vice president, the president nominates a replacement, who takes office after confirmation by a majority vote of both the House and the Senate. That process keeps the first slot in the line filled, so a second vacancy is far less likely to push the presidency down to Congress or the Cabinet.

Acting president vs president

Anyone below the vice president who steps in does so as acting president. The federal succession law, codified at 3 U.S.C. 19, repeatedly uses the words “act as President.” That person exercises the powers and duties of the office, and the statute says an acting president is paid at the rate then provided by law for the president.

The 25th Amendment also uses the acting president label for temporary situations. If the president is unable to serve for a period of time, the vice president takes over the powers and duties as acting president and hands them back once the president is able to resume, as explained in the next section.

How the 25th Amendment handles presidential inability

Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment address cases in which the president is alive and still in office but cannot carry out the job.

Section 3: the president steps aside voluntarily

The president may send a written declaration to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House stating that he or she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office. The vice president then serves as acting president until the president sends a second written declaration saying the inability has ended.

Section 4: the vice president and Cabinet act

The vice president and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments, or of another body Congress may create by law, can send the same two congressional leaders a written declaration that the president is unable to serve. The vice president immediately becomes acting president.

If the president then declares in writing that no inability exists, the president resumes the office unless the vice president and that majority send a new declaration within four days. Congress then decides the question. It must assemble within 48 hours if not in session, and the vice president stays acting president only if, within 21 days, two-thirds of both the House and the Senate vote that the president is unable to serve. Otherwise, the president resumes the powers and duties of the office.

What happens if both offices are empty

The Presidential Succession Act covers the situation in which there is neither a president nor a vice president able to serve, whether because of death, resignation, removal, inability or failure to qualify. The rules in 3 U.S.C. 19 work in three tiers.

• Speaker of the House. The Speaker acts as president, but only after resigning both as Speaker and as a member of the House.
• President pro tempore of the Senate. If there is no Speaker, or the Speaker fails to qualify, the President pro tempore acts as president after resigning both as President pro tempore and as a senator.
• Cabinet officers. If neither congressional leader can act, the highest-ranked eligible Cabinet officer on the statutory list acts as president. Taking the presidential oath counts as that officer’s resignation from the Cabinet post.

The law also sets how long each person serves. In general, a Speaker or President pro tempore acting as president serves until the end of the current term. If the vacancy stems from the inability of the president or vice president, the acting president serves only until that disability is removed. A Cabinet officer acting as president serves until the end of the term but not after a qualified and prior-entitled individual is able to act. A Cabinet officer ranked higher on the list who later becomes available does not end that service.

Who is eligible to be in the line

Being on the list is not enough. Section 19(e) says the law applies only to officers who are eligible to be president under the Constitution. According to USAGov, Article II requires a president to be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for 14 years. An officeholder who falls short is skipped, and the duty passes to the next eligible person.

The statute adds two limits for the Cabinet. The officer must have been appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate before the vacancy arose, and the officer cannot be under impeachment by the House of Representatives at the time the powers of the presidency would pass to him or her.

How the succession list has changed over time

Congress updates the list when it creates or reorganizes departments. The official notes to 3 U.S.C. 19 record these changes:

• 1965: the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development were added.
• 1966: the Secretary of Transportation was added.
• 1970: the Postmaster General was removed from the list.
• 1977: the Secretary of Energy was added.
• 1979: Health and Human Services replaced Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Secretary of Education was added.
• 1988: the Secretary of Veterans Affairs was added.
• 2006: the Secretary of Homeland Security was added at the end.

The Constitution also covers a related gap before a term even begins. Section 3 of the 20th Amendment says that if the president-elect has died by the start of the term, the vice president-elect becomes president. For more on that period, see our guide to how the presidential inauguration process works. Any change to the 25th Amendment itself would have to follow the process outlined in our explainer on how the Constitution is amended.

Common questions about presidential succession

Does the president choose the order?

No. The order is written into federal law by Congress. The president’s role is limited to nominating a new vice president when that office is vacant, subject to confirmation by both chambers.

Can someone serve as acting president without leaving their current job?

Not under the statute. The Speaker and the President pro tempore must resign from Congress first, and a Cabinet officer’s oath as acting president counts as resignation from the Cabinet.

The bottom line

The presidential line of succession is designed so the country is never without someone holding the powers of the presidency. The vice president is the only person who becomes president outright. After that, the Speaker, the President pro tempore and 15 Cabinet secretaries form a backup list, each of whom must meet the constitutional requirements and, for the Cabinet, must have been confirmed by the Senate. Together, the 25th Amendment and 3 U.S.C. 19 turn a potential crisis into a set of written rules.

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Sources

• USAGov (U.S. General Services Administration), Order of presidential succession, and Presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies
• U.S. Code, 3 U.S.C. 19, Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act (GovInfo), including amendment notes
• National Archives, The Constitution: Amendments 11-27 (20th and 25th Amendments)