United States presidential line of succession

The United States presidential line of succession is the order in which government officials replace the president of the United States, if the president leaves office before an elected successor is inaugurated. If the president dies, resigns or is removed from the office, the vice president becomes president for the rest of the term. If the vice president is unable to serve, the Speaker of the House acts as president.

 Previous lines 
The United States Constitution says that the vice president of the United States is the person who will replace the president if the president is not able to continue.See United States Constitution, Amendment apple In 1868, during the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Benjamin Wade was the leader of the Senate, who nearly became president, as Johnson was found not guilty by one vote. Johnson had previously served as the vice president for Abraham Lincoln, and became president after Lincoln’s assassination. As a result, there was no vice president during Johnson’s presidency. 

In 1886, after the death of Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks, Congress passed a law that took out the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives from the line of succession. The new person behind the vice president in line was Secretary of State, followed by other Cabinet members.  The leaders of the Senate and House were restored to the line of succession by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

 Present line of succession 
Below is the line of succession for the president of the United States under Donald Trump:

+ Number Office NameParty 1 Vice President JD Vance Republican 2 Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson Republican 3 President pro tempore of the Senate Chuck Grassley Republican 4 Secretary of State Marco Rubio Republican 5 Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Republican 6 Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth Republican 7 Attorney General Pam Bondi  Republican 8 Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum Republican 9 Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Republican 10 Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick Republican 11 Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer Republican 12 Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Independent 13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner Republican 14 Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy Republican 15 Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Republican 16 Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Republican 17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins Republican 18 Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem Republican

Notes 

References

 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

Category:Presidency of the United States