Presidential line of succession

Presidential Line of Succession

In July 2005, Senate Bill 442: "A bill to provide for the Secretary of Homeland Security to be included in the line of Presidential succession", sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), and House Resolution 1455 proposed: If President George W. Bush was unable to serve, he would be replaced by Vice President Dick Cheney, who would be followed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Associated Press reported July 26, 2005. Last in line of succession would be the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

"The Constitution, however, requires that the president be a natural-born citizen, so Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, born in Cuba—and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, born in Taiwan, would be ineligible," the AP wrote.

1. Vice President Dick Cheney
2. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
3. Senate President Pro Tem Ted Stevens, R-Alaska [1]
4. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
5. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. (then John Snow)
6. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
7. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales
8. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
9. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (then Gale A. Norton)
10. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns
11. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
12. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao
13. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt)
14. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson
15. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters (then Norman Y. Mineta)
16. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman
17. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings
18. Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James "Jim" Nicholson

Background

• Twenty-Fifth Amendment—Presidential-Succession
• U.S. Constitution Online
• dKosopedia
• Wikipedia

Related SourceWatch Resources

• Bush administration
• Bush administration doomsday line of Pentagon succession
• Shadow Government

External links

• Audrey Hudson, "Security chief wanted in line for presidency," Washington Times, July 1, 2003.
• Statement of the Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration and Committee on the Judiciary, Hearing on Ensuring the Continuity of the United States Government: The Presidency, September 16, 2003.
• John C. Fortier, "Ensuring the Continuity of the United States Government. The Presidency," American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 2003.
• Statement by The Honorable Patrick Leahy, U.S. Senator from Vermont, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Ensuring the Continuity of the United States Government: The Presidency, September 16, 2003. Posted by Global Security.
• Matthew Yglesias, "Line Dance. Congress revisits the presidential line of succession. It's about time," The American Prospect, September 24, 2003.
• Deanna Swift, " 'Mark of the Beast' Day Has White House Planning for Rapture," The Swift Report Blog, December 28, 2004.
• "Senate moves up homeland security secretary in line of succession," Associated Press (KCEN-TV NBC), July 26, 2005.
• Charles Babington, "Secret in the Line of Succession," Washington Post, October 16, 2006.