Presidential Line of Succession Explained

What happens if the president dies in office? What happens if both the president and the vice president die? If the Speaker of the House ascended to the presidency, does he really become the next president? Here are answers to the basic and some of the more complicated questions of presidential succession.

The vice president has been called upon to take the place of the president nine times in United States history. Whether due to the death of the president such as when William McKinley died and Theodore Roosevelt assumed office or the case of resignation such as in the case when Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford took his place the process has occurred so many times that it's become reliable. But it wasn't always that way. This video delves into the history of presidential succession.

No one lower on the line of succession (such as Speaker of the House or Secretary of Agriculture) has ever been called upon to serve. If they were no one knows exactly what would happen. Would there be a special election? Would they only serve as acting president?

For your entertainment.

[resyndicated]

CORRECTIONS:
*On October 3, 2023, Kevin McCarthy was ousted as Speaker of the House

[harleybuffington]

I love these types of videos. Just going over the overlooked aspects and procedure of being president. I’d love to see more like this. Great video as always!

[xadamtriplettx]

14:30 mild pronunciation nitpick: it's Strom Thurmond, not Storm Thurmond

[SlyFrye]

3:54 It would have been perfect to reference that Kiefer Sutherland show Designated Survivor right then and there. Even just a picture

[jeffe]

From July 1850, when Zachary Taylor died and Millard Fillmore became president, until March 1857 when James Buchanan and John C. Breckinridge became president and vice-president, the vice-presidency was vacant except for the brief time that William Rufus King served as Franklin Pierce's vp (and never performed any duties). This was a period of nearly seven years without a vp, the longest in history. Also, because there was no 25th Amendment at the time, Thomas R. Marshall could not become acting president as a result of Woodrow Wilson's debilitating stroke and the presidency was effectively vacant for about 18 months until the end of Wilson's term.

[ishmaelaranda]

The fact that there is even a line of succession like this is amazing in my opinion. Its like they thought of everything.

[Official.Prez.Graves]

Kinda crazy to think that in some alternate history, the US has had 41 presidents and 9 actings presidents

[AnkouvBassist]

Enjoy your channel very much. No ads, no sponsorship bullcrap, just great interesting facts about the US. Thank you!

[WhoKnowPaper]

This is one of my absolute favourite channels! Thanks for making these videos, and keep it up!

[jordie]

So in conclusion, John Tyler is the true author of the Presidential Line of Succession and served as the greatest example in every single possibility.

[samhunt]

Suprised you left this out, Grant almost died that night too. He was supposed to be with Lincoln, but due to his wife not liking Mary Todd Lincoln, he declined. Furthermore, both he and his wife attest that the day of Lincoln's murder, a man ran alongside their carrige earlier that day. His wife is certain it was Boothe, who probably decided aginst killing Grant since it would put Lincoln on high alert. But had Grant been with Lincoln, and been killed, it's hard to say who would have succeeded him, especially if Seward had also been killed that night. I'd bet on Colfax.

Side Note: Kennedy picked LBJ thinking he was a conservative, when as it would turn out? LBJ was actually to the left of Kennedy on almost every issue.

[just_gibs]

Very interesting stuff, always love discussing our government like this. Keep it up!

[kevinmoynihan]

Really nice how you go into detail about this. A lot of stuff on presidential succession seems to just discuss the list and doesn’t at all mention how the details are different from the way many people assume it work.

In regards to the question of President vs acting president for those below VP, I don’t think the Tyler precedent can be applied as the constitution, prior to the 25th amendment said of the VP that “the same shall devolve on the Vice President” when referring to cases of Death, Resignation, or Inability of the president, where as all text regarding further successors refer to Congress designating which officer “shall act as president”. The wording “the same shall devolve” is ambiguous as to whether it refers to the office, or merely the powers. The other wording seems weaker and to me it even seems to be the case that Congress could potentially change the line of succession during a crisis, stripping one officer of the power to act as president and designating another. The 25th amendment also seems to make a strong case against the speaker or anyone lower becoming president by the mere fact that it makes a point to clarify regarding the VP but does not do the same for others.

[superduck]

If I were a cabinet official, and I found myself with presidential powers, I’d immediately petition the Supreme Court to issue a decision on whether I was acting president or the true president.

[Seymourbaijan]

At 4:40 it is stated that nobody after the vice president has ever been called upon. That can be easily refuted by David Rice Atchison, who, on March 4, 1849, as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was appointed as the acting President due to Zachary Taylor's term not having started, but Polk's term having already ended. For more context, Taylor was not willing to take oath to office on the Sabbath and therefore neither could his vice president, causing the next in line to serve for one day until Zachary Taylor was ready to take the oath.

[davidslife]

4:36 I think it IS a pressing question if not ONE that should be discussed so we has a country and leader of democracy know what to expect when the unexpected happens, but also we can still keep democracy going and show other countries how to handle said problem.

[angusb]

Did you use the radiation symbol to represent a “bio weapon” attach at 3:49? Shouldn’t you have uses the biohazard symbol?

[black.sasuke.uchiha]

You know what? I have to subscribe. What I find really refreshing, is that unlike a lot of other channels, you just get straight right into it. No introduction, because it’s all there in the title, so why diddle around? Keep it up!😀

[eewag]

Time to update! Speaker McCarthy has been removed from office by his own House

[stampede]

Bet you it won’t be properly fleshed out until it happens