Order Of Presidential Succession

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.

The Vice President Joseph Biden Speaker of the House John Boehner President pro tempore of the Senate1 Patrick Leahy Secretary of State John Kerry Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Attorney General Eric Holder Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson