CHAPTER TEn • THE PREsidEnCy 243
president resumes normal duties. If a dispute arises over the return of the president’s abil-
ity, a two-thirds vote of Congress is required to allow the vice president to remain acting
president. Otherwise, the president resumes normal duties.When the vice Presidency Becomes vacant. The Twenty-fifth Amendment also
addresses the issue of how the president should fill a vacant vice presidency. Section 2
of the amendment simply states, “Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confir-
mation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.”
The question of who shall be president if both the president and the vice president die
is answered by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. If the president and vice president
die, resign, or are disabled, the Speaker of the House will become president, after resign-
ing from Congress. Next in line is the president pro tem of the Senate, followed by the
cabinet officers in the order of the creation of their departments (see Table 10–1 below).TABlE 10–1: line of succession to the
Presidency of the united states- Vice president
- Speaker of the House of Representatives
- Senate president pro tempore
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Defense
- Attorney general (head of the Justice
Department) - Secretary of Interior
- Secretary of Agriculture
10. Secretary of Commerce
11. Secretary of Labor
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14. Secretary of Transportation
15. Secretary of Energy
16. Secretary of Education
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18. Secretary of Homeland Security
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