http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession
{| ! # ! Office ! Current Officer ! 1 | Vice President and President of the Senate Joe Biden ! 2 | Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ! 3 | President pro tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd ! 4 | Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ! 5 | Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner ! 6 | Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ! 7 | Attorney General Eric Holder ! 8 | Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar ! 9 | Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack !
| Secretary of Commerce Vacant[2] !
| Secretary of Labor To Be Confirmed[3] !
| Secretary of Health and Human Services Vacant[4] ! 10 | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan ! 11 | Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood ! 12 | Secretary of Energy Steven Chu ! 13 | Secretary of Education Arne Duncan ! 14 | Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki ! 15 | Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano |}
If the vice president is unable to fulfill the president's position, the line of succession in the United States goes as follows: Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, and then members of the presidential cabinet in the order of their respective department's creation.
The President is the Head of State of the United States of America, and fills the same symbolic position that the Queen of Great Britain fills for Great Britain. In addition, the President is the chief executive officer of the government, filling the functional position filled in great Britain by the Prime Minister.
The Vice President is known as the President of the Senate, so currently, Joe Biden fills the position. The President of the Senate may vote on a measure only when the vote is tied.
Vice President
The President pro tempore
the vice president.
the vice president.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives (John Boehner)
The Presidential Succession Act
After John Kennedy's assasination, the 25th Amendment was enacted stating tha the President would nominate a replacement which would have to be approved by a majority vote of the House of Representatives and Senate. Previously, the position was left unfilled.
The President
political party leader