the speaker of the house
The Speaker of the House of Representatives becomes President.
secretary of state
The Vice-President rarely becomes President, and then it is usually because the previous President died while in office.
Whomever he choses.
Johnson kept his cabinet in place as to ensure continuity
Once the current president has died then the vice president becomes president. The vice president and president are never near each other no matter whats going on.
Do you mean the "president"? In the United States, if the president dies while in office, the vice president becomes president. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, for example, Harry Truman (the vice president at the time) became president.
The Vice-President rarely becomes President, and then it is usually because the previous President died while in office.
The speaker of the house of representative becomes president.
Which ever cabinet secretary does not attend
The Vice-President rarely becomes President, and then it is usually because the previous President died while in office.
If the President dies, the Vice President becomes President and under the terms of the 25th Amendment, he would nominate a new Vice President. If he were to die before the new VP could be confirmed by Congress, the Speaker of the House would become President. The line of Presidential succession is much longer : after the Speaker, there is the President pro tempore of the Senate, and then the eligible members of the President's Cabinet, beginning with the Secretary of State. (see related question)