This document outlines the current line of succession for the US presidency. It begins with the Vice President, followed by the Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, and Secretary of the Treasury. Brief biographies are provided for the individuals currently holding these positions: Joe Biden, John Boehner, Daniel Inouye, Hillary Clinton, and Timothy Geithner. Causes for succession include impeachment, resignation, or death of the President or higher-ranking successors. Historical examples of past successions are also listed.
2. What could cause this
succession?
• Impeachment
• Resignation
• Death
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3. Presidents who have assumed
office by succession
• Chester A. Arthur – Death of James Garfield
• Calvin Coolidge – Death of Warren G. Harding
• Millard Fillmore – Death of Zachary Taylor
• Gerald R. Ford – Resignation of Richard Nixon
• Andrew Johnson – Death of Abraham Lincoln
4. Presidents who have assumed
office by succession
• Lyndon B. Johnson – Death of John F. Kennedy
• Theodore Roosevelt – Death of William McKinley
• Harry S. Truman – Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt
• John Tyler – William Henry Harrison
6. 1st: Vice President of the United States
Joe Biden (D)
Age: 69
•First in line behind current
President Barack Obama.
•From Scranton, Pennsylvania
•Served as a U.S. Senator for
Delaware from 1973 to 2009
upon his election to the vice
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presidency.
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ba
rackobamadotcom/7798973526/">Bara
ck Obama</a> via <a
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•Served as ranking member of
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href="http://creativecommons.org/lice
Senate Judiciary Committee
nses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a> for 17 years working on
criminal justice issues.
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> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>
7. 2nd: Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R)
Age: 62
•Representative from Ohio’s
8th Congressional District.
•Currently serves as the 61st
speaker of the United States
House of Representatives
•Served as House Minority
Leader (‘07-’11), and House
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Majority Leader (’06-’07)
href="http://www.flickr.com/phot
os/speakerboehner/5913789446/
">SpeakerBoehner</a> via <a
href="http://photopin.com">phot
•Served as Chairman of the
opin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.or
House Education and
g/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a> Workforce Committee (‘01-
photo credit: <a
’06)
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/speakerboehner/5370664963/">SpeakerBo
ehner</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>
8. 3rd: President Pro Tempore
of the Senate
Daniel Inouye (D)
Age: 88
•Currently serves as a U.S.
Senator from Hawaii
•Currently most senior U.S.
Senator and second longest
serving U.S. Senator
•A World War II Medal of
Honor recipient
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pano/4369338323/">kepanok</a> via <a
href="http://photopin.com">photopin</
•Holds a law degree from
a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licen
The George Washington
ses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
University Law School
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ok</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
9. 4th: Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton (D)
Age: 64
•Currently serves as the
United States Secretary of
State
•Served as a U.S. Senator
for the State of New York
(‘01-’09)
•Served as First Lady with
photo credit: <a President Bill Clinton (’93-
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/valstskanceleja/
7459653160/">Valstskanceleja</a> via <a ’01)
href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/2.0/">cc</a>
•Received a law degree
photo credit: <a from Yale Law School
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sskennel/836612585/">sskennel</a
> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a><a
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
10. 5th: Secretary of the Treasury
Timothy Geithner (I)
Age: 51
•Currently serves as the 75th
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
•Served as the 9th President
of the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York
•Worked for the International
Affairs Division of the U.S.
Treasury Department in 1988
•Served as Vice Chairman of
the Federal Open Market
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sdol/7107268447/">US Department of
Labor</a> via <a photo credit: <a
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</a><a 74/">Think Out Loud</a> via <a
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