United States presidential line of succession
The United States presidential line of succession is the order in which the vice president of the United States and other officers of the United States federal government assume the powers and duties of the U.S. presidency upon an elected president's death, resignation, removal from office, or incapacity.
Federal judge Sarah T. Hughes administering the presidential oath of office to President Lyndon B. Johnson following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963
Chief Justice Warren Burger administering the presidential oath of office to President Gerald Ford following the resignation of Richard Nixon, August 9, 1974
In April 1841, John Tyler became the first person to succeed to the presidency intra-term upon the death of William Henry Harrison.
1st-in-line of succession, new Vice President Gerald Ford addressed Congress in 1973 in front of 2nd-in-line Speaker of the House Carl Albert, and 3rd-in-line President pro tempore of the Senate James Eastland.
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over the United States Senate, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College. Since the passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, the vice president may also be appointed by the president to fill a vacancy, via majority confirmation by both the Senate and the House.
Vice President of the United States
John Adams, the first vice president of the United States
Though prominent as a Missouri Senator, Harry Truman had been vice president only three months when he became president; he was never informed of Franklin Roosevelt's war or postwar policies while serving as vice president.
1888 illustration of John Tyler receiving the news of President William Henry Harrison's death from Chief Clerk of the State Department Fletcher Webster