Presidential Line of Succession
The original Constitution provides that if neither the President nor Vice President can serve, the Congress shall provide law stating who is next in line. Currently that law exists as 3 USC 19, a section of the U.S. Code. This law was established as part of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. There, the following line of succession is provided:
Ø Speaker of the House of Representatives
Ø President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Ø Secretary of State
Ø Secretary of the Treasury
Ø Secretary of Defense
Ø Attorney General
Ø Secretary of the Interior
Ø Secretary of Agriculture
Ø Secretary of Commerce
Ø Secretary of Labor
Ø Secretary of Health and Human Services
Ø Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Ø Secretary of Transportation
Ø Secretary of Energy
Ø Secretary of Education
Ø Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Ø Secretary of Homeland Security (not yet set by law)
The only exception to the line provided in the law states that to ascend to the Presidency, the next person in line must be constitutionally eligible. Any person holding an office in the line of succession who, for example, is not a naturally-born citizen cannot become President. In this case, that person would be skipped and the next eligible person in the line would become President.
Though the statutory list of Presidential succession has only 17 officials, there are conspiracy theories about the existence of a much longer, secret list that lists hundreds of politicians, statesmen and officials, including all governors and senators. Though it is possible a longer list could have been devised as a part of the Continuity of Operations Plan in the anticipation of nuclear war, such a list would be unlikely to have any legal or constitutional standing. To avoid such an unprecedented situation, the government specifically makes sure that there are no occurrences in which the president and all of the potential successors are present in the same place. For gatherings like the State of the Union Address, one cabinet member is randomly selected and is hidden in an undisclosed location. Thus, if for whatever reason catastrophe struck the Capitol, there would still be a person -- the designated survivor -- to assume the presidency.
Deputy secretaries would not be eligible, as the line of succession only applies to full Cabinet members. In the event of the death of their superior, deputy secretaries only assume the responsibilities as "acting secretary" – positions which are not counted in the line of presidential succession. It appears, however, that if Congress were still able to convene then the House could elect a new speaker or the Senate could elect a new President Pro Tempore who would then immediately become acting President. This scenario often occurs at the state level, which lack extensive succession lists to determine who becomes governor in the case of multiple resignations or deaths. However, at the federal level this procedure has the problem that it may be extremely time consuming in case of national emergency, and may not be possible if Congress is unable to meet, as could be the case after a massive terrorist attack. This possibility has caused some discussion on constitutional or legal remedies, although no formal action has been taken.
Presidential Perks (not listed in the Constitution)
Ø Salary: $400,000 a year ($1.6 million per term)
Ø Occupancy (free room and board) at the White House
Ø 3,000 executive agency positions are subject to presidential appointment (only 1,200 are subject to Senate Confirmation)
Ø Two specially designed Boeing 747-200B’s (these aircraft are run by the air force and when the President is on board it is given the call sign “Air Force One”)
o Army One, Navy One, Marine One, and Executive One are the other call signs based on who runs the aircraft
Ø 19 specially designed Helicopters operated by the Marines
Ø Access to a fleet of armored Cadillac limousines, equipped with bullet-proof windows and tires and a self-contained ventilation system in the event of a biological or chemical attack.
Ø A Presidential retreat in Western Maryland called “Camp David”
Ø Protective detail for themselves and their families by the Secret Service during their term in office (and up to ten years after the term ends for any president who was elected after 1997)
Ø Presidents continue to enjoy other benefits after leaving office such as free mailing privileges, free office space, the right to hold a diplomatic passport and budgets for office help and staff assistance.
Ø All Presidents since Harry Truman have received pensions
Ø Presidents receive funding from the National Archives and Records Administration upon leaving office to establish their own presidential library
Ø After a president of the U.S. leaves office, the title "President" continues to be applied to that person the rest of his or her life.