U.S. Presidential Line of Succession

United States Presidential Line of Succession

By: Michael Pollack-Twomey

What could cause this succession?

• Impeachment• Resignation• Death

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The Current 5 in Line

1st: Vice President of the United StatesJoe Biden (D)Age: 69

•First in line behind current President Barack Obama.

•From Scranton, Pennsylvania

•Served as a U.S. Senator forDelaware from 1973 to 2009 upon his election to the vice presidency.

•Served as ranking member of Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years working on criminal justice issues.

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photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/frekur/2969695080/">Lsbentz</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

2nd: Speaker of the HouseJohn 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 Majority Leader (’06-’07)

•Served as Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee (‘01-’06)

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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

•Holds a law degree from The George Washington University Law School

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4th: Secretary of StateHillary 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 during Bill Clinton’s presidency (’93-’01)

•Received a law degree from Yale Law Schoolphoto credit: <a

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>

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5th: Secretary of the TreasuryTimothy 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 Committeephoto credit: <a

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdol/7107268447/">US Department of Labor</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

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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

http://www.clf.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Bald_Eagle-Wingspan-1024x7681.jpg

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

http://media-3.web.britannica.com/eb-media//02/75502-004-47C41965.jpg

Some Insight…“This is an example of how the branches of

government are in fact linked. When all members of the executive branch are unable to serve, the next in line is the leader of the legislative branch. This supports some of the separation of branches that are a part of the constitutional system.”

-Ronald Schurin, Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut

http://www.polisci.uconn.edu/people/faculty/images/shurin.jpg

Sources

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-biden

• http://www.speaker.gov/• http://www.inouye.senate.gov/about-dan/biography• http://www.state.gov/secretary/c27775.htm• http://www.biography.com/people/timothy-geithner-

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