Order of Presidential Succession

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff Updated by an Factmonster Editor on February 21, 2017

According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, the Senate president pro tempore¹ was next in line after the vice president to succeed to the presidency, followed by the Speaker of the House.

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

NOTE: An official cannot succeed to the Presidency unless that person meets the Constitutional requirements.

1. The president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. The president pro tempore is elected by the Senate, but by tradition the position is held by the senior member of the majority party.

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Executive Departments