United States order of precedence - wikipedia United States order of precedence Part of a series on the Orders of precedence Argentina Australia Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Brazil Canada Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon China Hong Kong Macau Denmark Finland France Germany Guatemala Holy See India Indonesia Israel Italy Jamaica Malaysia Johor Kedah Kelantan Malacca Negeri Sembilan Pahang Penang Perak Perlis Sabah Sarawak Selangor Terengganu Malta New Zealand Nepal Norway Pakistan Poland Poland - Lithuania ( hist. ) Portugal Philippines Romania Russia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Singapore Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland United States The United States order of precedence lists the ceremonial order for domestic and foreign government officials ( military and civilian ) at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. Former Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, Second Ladies, and Secretaries of State and retired Supreme Court Justices are also included in the list. The order is established by the President, through the Office of the Chief of Staff, and is maintained by the State Department 's Office of the Chief of Protocol. It is only used to indicate ceremonial protocol and has no legal standing ; it does not reflect the presidential line of succession or the co-equal status of the branches of government under the Constitution. The Office of the Chief of Protocol posted an updated order of precedence on December 6, 2016. Details as of October 16, 2017 Except as otherwise noted, positions in the list are from the following two sources. President of the United States ( Donald Trump ) Vice President of the United States ( Mike Pence ) Governor ( of the state or territory in which the event is held ) Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives ( Paul Ryan ) Chief Justice of the United States ( John Roberts ) Former Presidents or their widows / widowers ( ordered by term ) : Jimmy Carter ( January 20, 1977 -- January 20, 1981 ) George H.W. Bush ( January 20, 1989 -- January 20, 1993 ) Bill Clinton ( January 20, 1993 -- January 20, 2001 ) George W. Bush ( January 20, 2001 -- January 20, 2009 ) Barack Obama ( January 20, 2009 -- January 20, 2017 ) Former Vice Presidents or their widows / widowers ( ordered by term ; note that George H.W. Bush, who would otherwise appear in this list, already appears above as a former President ) : Walter Mondale ( January 20, 1977 -- January 20, 1981 ) Dan Quayle ( January 20, 1989 -- January 20, 1993 ) Al Gore ( January 20, 1993 -- January 20, 2001 ) Dick Cheney ( January 20, 2001 -- January 20, 2009 ) Joe Biden ( January 20, 2009 -- January 20, 2017 ) Ambassadors from the United States ( at the Ambassador 's post ) Secretary of State ( Rex Tillerson ) Ambassadors to the United States ( ordered by the presentation of their credentials ) Associate Justices of the Supreme Court ( ordered by appointment ) : Anthony Kennedy ( February 18, 1988 ) Clarence Thomas ( October 18, 1991 ) Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( August 10, 1993 ) Stephen Breyer ( August 3, 1994 ) Samuel Alito ( January 31, 2006 ) Sonia Sotomayor ( August 8, 2009 ) Elena Kagan ( August 7, 2010 ) Neil Gorsuch ( April 10, 2017 ) Retired Chief Justices of the United States ( ordered by appointment ; currently none ) Retired Associate Justices of the Supreme Court ( ordered by appointment ) : John Paul Stevens ( December 19, 1975 -- June 29, 2010 ) Sandra Day O'Connor ( September 25, 1981 -- January 31, 2006 ) David Souter ( October 9, 1990 -- June 29, 2009 ) Members of the Cabinet ( in the order of the creation of the respective departments ; note that the Secretary of State already appears above ; the creation date for the Secretary of War is used as the date for the Secretary of Defense 's position in the precedence. Cabinet - level appointees are ordered by presidential Cabinet precedence. ) : Secretary of the Treasury ( Steven Mnuchin ) Secretary of Defense ( James Mattis ) Attorney General ( Jeff Sessions ) Secretary of the Interior ( Ryan Zinke ) Secretary of Agriculture ( Sonny Perdue ) Secretary of Commerce ( Wilbur Ross ) Secretary of Labor ( Alexander Acosta ) Secretary of Health and Human Services ( Eric Hargan ) ( Acting ) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( Ben Carson ) Secretary of Transportation ( Elaine Chao ) Secretary of Energy ( Rick Perry ) Secretary of Education ( Betsy DeVos ) Secretary of Veterans Affairs ( David Shulkin ) Secretary of Homeland Security ( Elaine Duke ) ( Acting ) White House Chief of Staff ( John F. Kelly ) Trade Representative ( Robert Lighthizer ) Director of National Intelligence ( Dan Coats ) Ambassador to the United Nations ( Nikki Haley ) Director of the Office of Management and Budget ( Mick Mulvaney ) Director of the Central Intelligence Agency ( Mike Pompeo ) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency ( Scott Pruitt ) Administrator of the Small Business Administration ( Linda McMahon ) President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate ( Orrin Hatch ) Senate Majority Leader ( Mitch McConnell ) Senate Minority Leader ( Chuck Schumer ) Senate Majority Whip ( John Cornyn ) Senate Minority Whip ( Dick Durbin ) Current U.S. Senators ( by seniority ; see Seniority in the United States Senate ; note that the President pro tempore and Senate leadership appear above. ) Current state governors ( of states other than that in which the event is held, by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution ) : Governor of Delaware ( John Carney ) Governor of Pennsylvania ( Tom Wolf ) Governor of New Jersey ( Chris Christie ) Governor of Georgia ( Nathan Deal ) Governor of Connecticut ( Dannel Malloy ) Governor of Massachusetts ( Charlie Baker ) Governor of Maryland ( Larry Hogan ) Governor of South Carolina ( Henry McMaster ) Governor of New Hampshire ( Chris Sununu ) Governor of Virginia ( Terry McAuliffe ) Governor of New York ( Andrew Cuomo ) Governor of North Carolina ( Roy Cooper ) Governor of Rhode Island ( Gina Raimondo ) Governor of Vermont ( Phil Scott ) Governor of Kentucky ( Matt Bevin ) Governor of Tennessee ( Bill Haslam ) Governor of Ohio ( John Kasich ) Governor of Louisiana ( John Bel Edwards ) Governor of Indiana ( Eric Holcomb ) Governor of Mississippi ( Phil Bryant ) Governor of Illinois ( Bruce Rauner ) Governor of Alabama ( Kay Ivey ) Governor of Maine ( Paul LePage ) Governor of Missouri ( Eric Greitens ) Governor of Arkansas ( Asa Hutchinson ) Governor of Michigan ( Rick Snyder ) Governor of Florida ( Rick Scott ) Governor of Texas ( Greg Abbott ) Governor of Iowa ( Kim Reynolds ) Governor of Wisconsin ( Scott Walker ) Governor of California ( Jerry Brown ) Governor of Minnesota ( Mark Dayton ) Governor of Oregon ( Kate Brown ) Governor of Kansas ( Sam Brownback ) Governor of West Virginia ( Jim Justice ) Governor of Nevada ( Brian Sandoval ) Governor of Nebraska ( Pete Ricketts ) Governor of Colorado ( John Hickenlooper ) Governor of North Dakota ( Doug Burgum ) Governor of South Dakota ( Dennis Daugaard ) Governor of Montana ( Steve Bullock ) Governor of Washington ( Jay Inslee ) Governor of Idaho ( Butch Otter ) Governor of Wyoming ( Matt Mead ) Governor of Utah ( Gary Herbert ) Governor of Oklahoma ( Mary Fallin ) Governor of New Mexico ( Susana Martinez ) Governor of Arizona ( Doug Ducey ) Governor of Alaska ( Bill Walker ) Governor of Hawaii ( David Ige ) House Majority Leader ( Kevin McCarthy ) House Minority Leader ( Nancy Pelosi ) House Majority Whip ( Steve Scalise ) House Minority Whip ( Steny Hoyer ) Current members of the U.S. House of Representatives ( by seniority ; see Seniority in the United States House of Representatives ; note that the Speaker of the House and House leadership appear above. ) Current Delegates to the House of Representatives ( ordered by seniority ; if the same, by the territory 's date of entering U.S. jurisdiction or alphabetically by territory ) : Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia ( January 3, 1991 ) Madeleine Bordallo of Guam ( January 3, 2003 ) Gregorio Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands ( January 3, 2009 ) Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa ( January 3, 2015 ) Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands ( January 3, 2015 ) Jenniffer González of Puerto Rico ( January 3, 2017 ) Current territorial governors ( of territories other than that in which the event is held, ordered by territory 's date of entering U.S. jurisdiction or alphabetically by territory ) : Governor of Puerto Rico ( Ricky Rosselló ) Governor of Guam ( Eddie Baza Calvo ) Governor of American Samoa ( Lolo Matalasi Moliga ) Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands ( Kenneth Mapp ) Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands ( Ralph Torres ) Senior Advisors to the President ( ordered by appointment ) : Jared Kushner ( Strategic Planning ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Stephen Miller ( Policy ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Mercedes Schlapp ( Strategic Communications ) ( September 12, 2017 ) National Security Advisor ( H.R. McMaster ) Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway White House Deputy Chiefs of Staff Joe Hagin ( January 20, 2017 ) Rick Dearborn ( January 20, 2017 ) Kirstjen Nielsen ( September 6, 2017 ) Chief of Staff to the First Lady ( Lindsay Reynolds ) Chief of Staff to the Vice President ( Nick Ayers ) Assistants to the President ( ordered by appointment ) Director of National Drug Control Policy ( Richard Baum ) ( Acting ) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers ( Kevin Hassett ) Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality ( Vacant ) Chief of Protocol ( Mark E. Walsh ) ( Acting ) ( when with the President or for a White House event ) Chargés d'Affaires to the United States ( ordered by assumption of office ) Former Secretaries of State ( ordered by term ) : Henry Kissinger ( September 22, 1973 -- January 20, 1977 ) George Shultz ( July 16, 1982 -- January 20, 1989 ) James Baker ( January 20, 1989 -- August 23, 1992 ) Madeleine Albright ( January 23, 1997 -- January 20, 2001 ) Colin Powell ( January 20, 2001 -- January 26, 2005 ) Condoleezza Rice ( January 26, 2005 -- January 20, 2009 ) Hillary Clinton ( January 21, 2009 -- February 1, 2013 ) ( note that Hillary Clinton would appear above when in attendance with her husband, former President Bill Clinton ) John Kerry ( February 1, 2013 -- January 20, 2017 ) Former Members of the U.S. Cabinet ( ordered by term ) Former U.S. Senators ( ordered by leadership position, then by term ; if same, then by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution ) Former governors of the state or territory in which the event is held ( ordered by term ) Former governors ( of states other than the state in which the event is held, by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution ) Former U.S. Representatives ( ordered by leadership position, then by term ; if same, then by date of statehood or ratification of the Constitution ) Deputy Secretaries of Executive Departments ( in the order of the creation of the respective departments or presidential appointment as for Cabinet above ) : Deputy Secretary of State ( John J. Sullivan ) Deputy Secretary of the Treasury ( Vacant ) Deputy Secretary of Defense ( Patrick M. Shanahan ) Deputy Attorney General ( Rod J. Rosenstein ) Deputy Secretary of the Interior ( David L. Bernhardt ) Deputy Secretary of Agriculture ( Stephen Censky ) Deputy Secretary of Commerce ( Vacant ) Deputy Secretary of Labor ( Vacant ) Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services ( Eric Hargan ) Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( Pam Patenaude ) Deputy Secretary of Transportation ( Jeffrey A. Rosen ) Deputy Secretary of Energy ( Dan Brouillette ) Deputy Secretary of Education ( Vacant ) Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs ( Thomas G. Bowman ) Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security ( Elaine Duke ) Deputy Trade Representative ( Vacant ) Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence ( Susan M. Gordon ) Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations ( Michele J. Sison ) Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget ( Vacant ) Principal Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency ( Gina Haspel ) Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency ( Mike Flynn ) ( Acting ) Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration ( Althea Coetzee ) Chair of the Federal Reserve ( Janet Yellen ) Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ( Nancy Berryhill ) ( Acting ) Heads of independent federal agencies at Level II of the Executive Schedule ( ordered by creation date, if same, then by term ) Director of the National Science Foundation ( France A. Córdova ) Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. ) ( Acting ) Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development ( Mark Andrew Green ) Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States ( Vacant ) Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( Kristine Svinicki ) Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management ( Kathleen McGettigan ) ( Acting ) Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation ( Jonathan Nash ) ( Acting ) Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( Richard Cordray ) Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve ( Vacant ) Governors of the Federal Reserve ( ordered by term ) Lael Brainard Jerome Powell Randal Quarles 2 seats vacant Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ( Vacant ) Principal Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy ( Vacant ) Director of the National Counterterrorism Center ( Nicholas J. Rasmussen ) Secretaries of the military departments ( by creation order of branch ) : Secretary of the Army ( Ryan McCarthy ) ( Acting ) Secretary of the Navy ( Richard V. Spencer ) Secretary of the Air Force ( Heather Wilson ) Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( Joseph Dunford ) Under Secretaries of State and departmental positions of equivalent rank ( ordered by departmental line of succession ) Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs ( Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. ) Under Secretary of State for Management ( Vacant ) Remaining Under Secretaries of State, ordered by date of appointment : Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs ( D. Bruce Wharton ) ( Acting ) ( December 8, 2016 ) Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights ( Vacant ) Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment ( Vacant ) Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs ( Vacant ) Counselor of the United States Department of State ( Vacant ) Under Secretaries of Executive Departments and departmental positions of equivalent rank ( ordered as Cabinet above and then by departmental line of succession ) Heads of departmental federal agencies ( ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession ) Heads of independent federal agencies at Level III of the Executive Schedule ( ordered by creation date, if same, then by term ) Deputy Heads of independent federal agencies at Level III of the Executive Schedule ( ordered by creation date, if same, then by term ) Postmaster General ( Megan Brennan ) Former Chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( ordered by term ; note that Colin Powell, who would otherwise appear in this list, already appears above as a former Secretary of State ) Hugh Shelton ( October 1, 1997 -- October 1, 2001 ) Richard Myers ( October 1, 2001 -- October 1, 2005 ) Peter Pace ( October 1, 2005 -- October 1, 2007 ) Michael Mullen ( October 1, 2007 -- October 1, 2011 ) Martin Dempsey ( October 1, 2011 -- October 1, 2015 ) Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( Paul Selva ) Joint Chiefs of Staff ( ordered by appointment ) : Chief of Staff of the Army ( Mark Milley ) Chief of Naval Operations ( John Richardson ) Commandant of the Marine Corps ( Robert Neller ) Chief of Staff of the Air Force ( David Goldfein ) Chief of the National Guard Bureau ( Joseph Lengyel ) Commandant of the Coast Guard ( Paul Zukunft ) Combatant Commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands of four - star grade ( ordered by appointment ) : Central Command ( Joseph Votel ) Pacific Command ( Harry Harris ) Transportation Command ( Darren McDew ) Southern Command ( Kurt Tidd ) Special Operations Command ( Raymond Thomas ) European Command ( Curtis Scaparrotti ) Northern Command ( Lori Robinson ) Africa Command ( Tom Waldhauser ) Strategic Command ( John Hyten ) Lieutenant governor ( of the state in which the event is held ) Mayor ( of the city in which the event is held ) Ambassadors from the United States to foreign governments ( on official business in the United States or another country ) Chief of Protocol ( when at the Department of State or at events outside the White House, otherwise appears above ) Ambassadors from the United States to international organizations ( on official business in the United States or another country ) Career Ambassadors Chief of Staff to the National Security Council ( Keith Kellogg ) National Security Advisor to the Vice President ( Andrea Thompson ) Chief of Staff to the Second Lady ( Kristan King Nevins ) Deputy Assistants to the President ( ordered by appointment ) Chief Judges and Circuit Judges of the United States Courts of Appeals ( by length of service ) Chief Judges and District Judges of the United States District Courts ( by length of service ) Chief Judge and Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ( by length of service ) Scott W. Stucky ( December 20, 2006 ) Margaret A. Ryan ( December 20, 2006 ) Kevin A. Ohlson ( November 1, 2013 ) John E. Sparks ( April 19, 2016 ) 1 seat vacant Chief Judge and Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ( by length of service ) Robert N. Davis ( December 4, 2004 ) Mary J. Schoelen ( December 20, 2004 ) Coral Wong Pietsch ( June 28, 2012 ) Margaret Bartley ( June 28, 2012 ) William S. Greenberg ( December 28, 2012 ) Michael P. Allen ( August 3, 2017 ) Amanda Meredith ( August 3, 2017 ) Joseph Toth ( August 3, 2017 ) Chief Judge and Judges of the United States Tax Court ( by length of service ) Chargés d'Affaires from the United States ( ordered by assumption of office ) Under Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force ( ordered by date of appointment ) Under Secretary of the Army ( Ryan McCarthy ) ( August 2, 2017 ) Under Secretary of the Air Force ( Matthew Donovan ) ( August 4, 2017 ) Under Secretary of the Navy ( Thomas P. Dee ) ( Acting ) ( February 17, 2017 ) Assistant Secretaries, Chiefs of Staff to the Head of an Executive Department, Ambassadors - at - large, Special Envoys / Representatives, Assistant Attorneys General, and Legal Advisers of Executive Departments ( ordered as Cabinet above and then as by departmental line of succession ) Special Assistants to the President, including White House Social Secretary and Senior Directors of the National Security Council ( ranked by date of appointment ) Heads of independent federal agencies at Level IV of the Executive Schedule ( ordered by creation date, if same, then by term ) Director of the Selective Service System ( Don Benton ) Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( Martin J. Gruenberg ) Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights ( Catherine E. Lhamon ) Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission ( Robert G. Taub ) President of the Inter-American Foundation ( Robert N. Kaplan ) Commissioner of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation ( Christopher J. Bavasi ) Chairman of the Federal Election Commission ( Steven T. Walther ) Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority ( Patrick Pizzella ) ( Acting ) Special Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel ( Carolyn Lerner ) Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency ( Nancy M. Ware ) Chairperson of the Chemical Safety Board ( Vanessa Allen Sutherland ) CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau ( John F. Lansing ) Chairman of the Election Assistance Commission ( Matthew Masterson ) Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( Andrew G. McCabe ) Deputy Heads of independent federal agencies at Level IV of the Executive Schedule ( ordered by creation date, if same, then by term ) Assistant Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrators of the United States Agency for International Development Assistant Trade Representatives Associate Administrators of the Small Business Administration Comptroller General of the United States ( Eugene Louis Dodaro ) Members of the Council of Economic Advisers ( ranked alphabetically ) Members of the Council on Environmental Quality ( ranked alphabetically ) American ambassadors - designate ( in the United States ) Mayors of U.S. cities and District of Columbia ( when not in own city ; if multiple mayors present, rank by length of service ) Vice Chiefs of Staff ( ordered by appointment ) : Vice Chief of Naval Operations ( William F. Moran ) ( May 31, 2016 ) Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force ) ( Stephen W. Wilson ) ( July 22, 2016 ) Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps ( Glenn M. Walters ) ( August 2, 2016 ) Vice Chief of Staff of the Army ( James C. McConville ) ( June 16, 2017 ) Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau ( Daniel R. Hokanson ) Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard ( Charles D. Michel ) Assistant Secretaries and General Counsels of the Department of the Army, Navy, and Air Force ( by date of appointment ) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force ( Financial Management & Comptroller ) ( Doug Bennett ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) General Counsel of the Navy ( Anne M. Brennan ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force ( Acquisition ) ( Darlene Costello ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ( Steffanie B. Easter ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force ( Installations, Environment & Energy ) ( Richard K. Hartley ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Navy ( Energy, Installations and Environment ) ( Steven R. Iselin ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Civil Works ) ( Douglas W. Lamont ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Navy ( Manpower and Reserve Affairs ) ( Scott W. Lutterloh ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Navy ( Financial Management and Comptroller ) ( Joseph B. Marshall, Jr. ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) General Counsel of the Air Force ( Joseph M. McDade, Jr. ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) General Counsel of the Army ( Levator Norsworthy, Jr. ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Manpower and Reserve Affairs ) ( Diane M. Randon ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Installations, Energy and Environment ) ( J. Randall Robinson ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force ( Manpower & Reserve Affairs ) ( Daniel R. Sitterly ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Financial Management and Comptroller ) ( Caral E. Spangler ) ( Acting ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Assistant Secretary of the Navy ( Research, Development and Acquisition ) ( Allison F. Stiller ) ( January 20, 2017 ) Four - star military officers ( in order of seniority : retired officers rank with but after active - duty officers ) Executive Secretary of the National Security Council ( Keith Kellogg, appears above as Chief of Staff to the National Security Council ) Officers of the U.S. Senate : Chaplain ( Barry Black ) Secretary for the Majority ( Laura Dove ) Secretary for the Minority ( Gary B. Myrick ) Secretary of the Senate ( Julie E. Adams ) Sergeant at Arms ( Frank J. Larkin ) Parliamentarian ( Elizabeth MacDonough ) Officers of the U.S. House of Representatives : Chaplain ( Patrick J. Conroy ) Chief Administrative Officer ( Philip J. Kiko ) Clerk of the House ( Karen L. Haas ) Sergeant at Arms ( Paul D. Irving ) Three - star military officers ( in order of seniority : retired officers rank with but after active - duty officers ) State Senators ( when in own state ; ranked by length of service, when the same, by alphabetical order by surname ) State Representatives ( when in own state ; ranked by length of service, when the same, by alphabetical order by surname ) Former American Ambassadors / Chiefs of Diplomatic Missions ( in order of presentation of credentials at first post ) Chairmen or Heads of other federal Boards, Councils and Commissions not previously listed Librarian of Congress ( Carla Hayden ) Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution ( David J. Skorton ) Chairman of the American Red Cross ( Bonnie McElveen - Hunter ) Deputy Chiefs of Protocol ( ranked by date of appointment ) Minister - rank officials assigned to foreign bilateral diplomatic missions in Washington, D.C. Notes and references ^ Jump up to : `` U.S. State Department Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 2 Section 320 `` Precedence '' ``. Retrieved December 13, 2015. Precedence Lists establish the order or ranking of a country 's government, military, and, in some cases, civic leaders for diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events, at home and abroad. The President, through the Office of the Chief of Staff, establishes the United States Order of Precedence. Jump up ^ `` What Does the Office of the Chief of Protocol Do ? ''. U.S. State Department. Retrieved June 25, 2009. 21. Maintain and update the United States Order of Precedence List. Jump up ^ `` Protocol : Order of Precedence ''. Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2009. Use this list when developing seating charts, speaking programs, and announcements. Jump up ^ `` Order of Precedence ''. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009. The following list is an abridged, unofficial version but conforms to established, customary rules of precedence. External links Office of the Chief of Protocol from the U.S. State Department website Diplomatic List : Order of Precedence and Date of Presentation of Credentials ( for foreign diplomats ) from the U.S. State Department website Order of precedence in the United States of America * The President The Vice President The Governor ( of the state in which the event is held ) The Speaker of the House The Chief Justice Former President Carter Former President GHW Bush Former President Clinton Former President GW Bush Former President Obama Ambassadors of the United States The Secretary of State The Associate Justices Retired Justice Stevens Retired Justice O'Connor Retired Justice Souter The President 's Cabinet The President Pro Tempore of the Senate The Senate The Governors of the States ( by order of statehood ) Former Vice President Mondale Former Vice President Quayle Former Vice President Gore Former Vice President Cheney Former Vice President Biden The House of Representatives * not including acting officeholders, visiting dignitaries, auxiliary executive and military personnel and most diplomats Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_order_of_precedence&oldid=808600926 '' Categories : Orders of precedence Politics of the United States Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from October 2017 Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Polski 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 3 November 2017, at 21 : 57. 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Question: who ranks higher secretary of state or chief of staff
Answer: Secretary of State