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In the US there is a line of succession should a president be unable to serve due to illness or death. The next in line to serve as president is the Vice President. This was seen when President Nixon resigned and Vice president Ford became president. Should a vice president be unable to serve, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives becomes the new president.

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Q: What is the line of succession should the president not be able to continue in office?
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What amendment covers presidential succession?

20 amendment There have been no Amendments altering Presidential Succession after the Vice President. That is set by Act of Congress. The only Amendments affecting Presidential Succession are the 20th, which provides for the Vice-President-elect to become President should a President-elect die before inauguration, and the 25th, which allows a new Vice-President to be appointed should that office fall vacant.The presidential succession Act of 1947


What will happen if the House of Representatives is forced to elect the President and their choice should die before assuming office?

Their choice of vice-president would take office as the new president if the president-elect should die.


What did the 25th amendment change?

The 25th amendment to the U.S. Constitution clarified questions of succession in the event of a president dies, becomes disabled or leaves office for any reason. It also establishes procedures for replacing the Vice President when he assumes the Presidency. In addition is deals with the situation where the President become medically disabled.


How is the order of succession to the presidency determined?

Vice PresidentSpeaker of the HousePresident Pro Tempore of the SenateSecretary of StateSecretary of the TreasurySecretary of DefenseAttorney GeneralSecretary of the InteriorSecretary of AgricultureSecretary of CommerceSecretary of LaborSecretary of Health and Human ServicesSecretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentSecretary of TransportationSecretary of EnergySecretary of EducationSecretary of Veterans AffairsSecretary of Homeland SecurityNote that that if the vice-president becomes president or otherwise vacates his office, a new vice-president would be chosen as soon as possible. This list would be used only if both the president and vice-president died within a very short time period. Note also that if the holder of one these offices is not qualified to be president, then he will be skipped over in the list.This list is according to congressional guidelines passed in 1947,The Constitution sets forth the guidelines for presidential succession. In the event that the president dies or is removed from office, the vice president takes the oath of office and becomes the new president. He or she then appoints a new vice president, subject to congressional approval.The Constitution gives Congress the right to decide the order of presidential succession in the event that both the elected president and vice president die or are removed from office.The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1967, provides for procedures to fill vacancies in the Vice Presidency; and further clarifies presidential succession rules.However, the 25th Amendment does omit some critical information concerning presidential succession.There are two different concepts here: a person holding the Executive Office of the President of the United States (the actual president), and a person who is an Acting President (allocated presidential powers). Normally, these are the same person. However, there are a number of common cases where a different person occupies each role. This has important ramifications for the presidential succession. Also, note that any person who may potentially become Acting President must qualify for the presidency (i.e. be a natural born citizen, et al), otherwise, they can never be a temporary president. If such a person holds one of the offices on the succession list, they are passed over to the next person should the need arise.The 25th Amendment only somewhat improves the succession process; it does make clear that the vice president is to assume the office of the president (i.e. become the holder of the office of the president) should the current president die or resign. Article II, Clause 6 of the Constitution was not completely clear if the vice president merely became a temporary president, or actually assume the position of President.The 25th Amendment also provides for a method by which the vice president plus a majority of the Cabinet can temporarily force the president to step aside. In this case, the president retains the office of the president, but the powers of the presidency fall to the vice president, who is now the Acting President. The 25th Amendment also indicates how the president can contest this temporary removal, and possibly regain the powers of the presidency (at which time, the vice president is stripped of his/her allocated powers).The rest of the succession is set by federal law, and is not mentioned by the Constitution (or any Amendment). This law is the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, which attempts to define a complete succession. This law is what states that the succession goes to the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then through the Cabinet. However, there are significant ambiguities as to whether the person that now holds the office of the president, or is merely the acting president (while legalistic, this does have some impact on actual law) - most interpretations are they are merely acting president.In addition, none of the documents deal with the all-too-common problems of immediate temporary succession. The 25th Amendment requires a majority of the Cabinet (the principle executive officers of the US) to agree to allow the V.P. to take over should the President still be alive. The Presidential Succession Act mentions "inability" as one qualifier to allow for succession to take place, but that has never been defined:The president is seriously injured, but still aliveThe president is unconscious, but aliveThe president cannot be reached, but is assumed to still be aliveThe president is taken hostageThe president is presumed dead, but there is still the possibility he is aliveThere is not a current majority of the Cabinet available (either enough of them have died, or they cannot be contacted effectively)The president is dead (or alive, but not functioning), and the vice president is unavailable in any way.There is no vice president and the president goes insane (or, suffers a mental breakdown, mental illness, etc.)In all of these cases, there is no functioning Acting President - the current holder of the office of the president has not relinquished it, and no law allows for a quick (temporary) assumption by someone else.These problems are serious. For, with no one as Acting President, the military chain of command has no leader, no legislation can be passed, and other severe consequences.A common example is an attempted Presidential Assassination. For instance: when President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley in 1981, Reagan was immediately rushed to the hospital, unconscious. In the mean time, it took quite a number of hours before Vice President George H.W. Bush (who was flying back to Washington, D.C. on Air Force Two) was able to assemble enough of the Cabinet to allow him to assume the powers of Acting President. Given that this was in the depth of the Cold War, the United States was without a leader for 6-10 hours.The fundamental issue is that there is no current method for allowing the next person in the succession to immediately take over unless the one ahead of them is dead. The rest of the succession policies take considerable time, during which no one has the authority of Acting President.


Who is the next US federal official in line for the Presidency after the Vice-President?

the speaker of the house

Related questions

What is the present line of succession if the president should die in office?

Vice president, speaker of the house, etc.


Does the speaker of the house follow directly behind the vice president in the line of succession?

An appointed Vice-President must be approved by vote of the Senate. At that point the Vice-President has all the rights and responsibilities of the office and is next in line of succession should the President die or become incapacitated.


Why was the amendment added to spell out exactly how presidential succession should be handled?

An amendment was added to spell out how presidential succession should be handled to prevent conflict and confusion if a president died in office. It was intended to make the succession go smoothly instead of becoming contentious.


Is it true that the speaker of the house of representatives is the first in line to succeed the president should he or she become unable to perform the duties of the office?

Yes, that is true. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President, in case of a vacancy in the office of the President.


What happens to the president every for years?

Every four years, the president of the United States is subject to a presidential election. This is when the nation votes to decide if the president should continue in office for another term or if a new candidate should be elected. If the president wins re-election, they continue their duties for another four-year term.


What amendment covers presidential succession?

20 amendment There have been no Amendments altering Presidential Succession after the Vice President. That is set by Act of Congress. The only Amendments affecting Presidential Succession are the 20th, which provides for the Vice-President-elect to become President should a President-elect die before inauguration, and the 25th, which allows a new Vice-President to be appointed should that office fall vacant.The presidential succession Act of 1947


Presidential succession of the president of the senate?

The President of the US Senate is the Vice President of the United States. Only someone holding the Office of the Vice President (NOT even the Acting Vice President) can occupy the President of the Senate.If the V.P. is not currently present in the Senate, the position of President Pro Tempore of the Senate will act in his stead, performing the normal actions that the President of the Senate does, EXCEPTING that the PPT may not cast any tiebreaking vote - that is solely for the V.P. to do.So, to answer your question, there is no succession for the President of the Senate. If the Office of the V.P. is vacant, then no one assumes its powers until a new V.P. is appointed and confirmed. That is, the powers of the Office of the V.P. do not transfer to anyone should it be vacant, and no one automatically fills the V.P. position on its vacancy.


Law that provided for leadership should both President and Vice President die or be disabled?

Presidential Succession Act of 1886


Why is it important to know the order of succession of a president dies in office?

When a president dies, it is important for someone to take his place. That should be the vice president. However, if an attack happened and the vice president dies with the president, there is a protocol for who gets the job next. That person has to have the nuclear launch codes and needs to take charge of the military. A president has a big job and someone needs to be our leader.


What part of the Constitution says that the office of the President should be transferred to the Vice President if the President dies while in office?

The 25th Amendment !


When you refer to the office of the president do you capitalize president?

Yes it should be capitalized.


What will happen if the House of Representatives is forced to elect the President and their choice should die before assuming office?

Their choice of vice-president would take office as the new president if the president-elect should die.