Presidential Succession: Into the Oval Office

Into the Oval Office

According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, the Senate president pro tempore 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 members of the cabinet, secretary of state first. 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.

Presidential Succession Act of 1947 The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, signed by Harry Truman. The act changed the order to what it is today with the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore added back in. The cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on February 27, 1951 and limited the President to two (four year) terms.

The Constitution and Succession The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, made it clear that the Vice President will become President if the President is removed from office. 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.

Presidential Disability Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment provide procedures to follow when the President is disabled. The Vice President becomes the “acting President” if (1) the President informs Congress, in writing, “that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” or (2) the Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is thus incapacitated.

The Vice Presidency The Constitution only gives the Vice President two duties besides becoming President if the President is removed from office: 1) to preside over the Senate, and 2) to help decide the question of presidential disability. If the office of Vice President becomes vacant, the President nominates a new Vice President subject to the approval of Congress. Today, the Vice President often performs diplomatic and political chores for the President.

Has this process ever been tested? In October, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned and President Nixon nominated Gerald R. Ford to fill the office. Then, in August, 1974 President Nixon resigned, Vice President Ford became President and nominated Nelson Rockefeller as the new vice president. Although the circumstances that caused them were, shall we say, distasteful, the transfers of power went smoothly and with little or no controversy.

Nixon  Agnew  Ford

Nightline “PRESIDENT REAGAN HAS BEEN SHOT”