# Order of Presidental Succession

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 24, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496 "2001-01-24T01:45:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496/1 "2001-01-24T01:45:38Z")

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I was looking at the list of successors to president [on this page.](http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/national/succession.html)  
It accounts for 17 successors from the VP all the way to Secretary of Veteran Affairs. What I am wondering is what happens if all of the ones on that list are killed? Is there any such plan to deal with this? Would they then draft the Surgeon General or maybe even the Postmaster General?

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**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496/2 "2001-01-24T02:07:38Z")

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I believe that when there’s a gathering where the majority of sucessors are going to be in the same place, a Cabinet member stays in a “secure location”, just in case.

Looking up cites though.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496/3 "2001-01-24T02:28:57Z")

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There were a couple of threads dealing with this a few days back.

No, there is no defined succession beyond the Cabinet department heads. But in case of Apocalypse, the way to get a successor is simple: All the House has to do is elect a new Speaker, he automatically becomes President as being next in line when there is a vacancy in the Presidency and VP, and then appoints a new Vice President and Cabinet, subject to confirmation.

If the President, Vice President, Cabinet, and entire Congress were wiped out, the government could constituionally be reconstituted because the state governments have the capacity to fill vacancies in the Congress by appointment. Once there is a Congress, the House can elect a Speaker and reconstitute the executive branch.

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**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496/4 "2001-01-24T03:40:10Z")

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During the inauguration on Saturday, Defense Secretary William Cohen was off site in case anything happened. I think they rotate the cabinet posts whenever there’s a State of the Union address or the President speaks to the full congress.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-presidental-succession/51496/5 "2001-01-24T04:00:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Oblong \*  
> \*\*I think they rotate the cabinet posts whenever there’s a State of the Union address or the President speaks to the full congress. \*\*

Yeah, but you notice the Secretary of State and Treasury and the other big names are always there. It’s always some poor, forgotten Cabinet member like HUD, Transportation or HHS that draws the deathwatch duty.