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History and Government > U.S. Government

Order of Presidential Succession

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 Dick Cheney
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
President pro tempore of the Senate¹ Robert Byrd
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Attorney General Michael Mukasey
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary of Agriculture Edward T. Schafer
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez²
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao³
Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Steven C. Preston
Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff

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.

2. Carlos Gutierrez was born in Cuba and is ineligible.

3. Elaine Chao was born in Taiwan and is ineligible.

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