Robert Byrd will be 4th in line to the President

[Joe Biden 2020]

If the Democrats win the Senate, which looks like they are going to, Robert Byrd will end up being the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.  That means he will be fourth in line to the White House.  If Bush, Cheney, and Pelosi all die, he will probably die of old age in the White House, so that means President Condoleeza Rice.

[© tweed]

In that obscenely unlikely event, no doubt the Democrats are able to get a VP through the senate in time before Byrd would die or resign.

[ag]

In that obscenely unlikely event, no doubt the Democrats are able to get a VP through the senate in time before Byrd would die or resign.

Not to mention that he'd change the Secretary of State.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway? Sounds to me like a immensely stupid idea to elevate a senile fossil to the presidency in the case the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House have all died/resigned/were impeached.

Why not go on with the Secretary of State after the Speaker of the House?

[NewFederalist]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway?
Why not go on with the Secretary of State after the Speaker of the House?

It has to do with the fact that the Secretary of State is not elected. The President pro tem is at least an elected official albeit by only one state. Besides, with the passage of the 25th Amendment it has become increasingly unlikely that anyone other than the Vice President will ever succeed to the presidency. Prior to that (ala the Kennedy assassination) we did have a situation where the Vice President (who had heart trouble) became President and the Speaker and President pro tem were BOTH ancient.

[Lincoln Republican]

Let's look at this situation.

If Bush and Cheney die, Pelosi is next in line, then Byrd after her.

Proper protocol to follow, since Bush was an elected Republican President, and Pelosi and Byrd are Democrats, would be for Pelosi or Byrd, whichever the case may be, to be sworn into office, then as quickly as possibly Pelosi or Byrd, whichever the case may be, should nominate a Republican Vice President for approval by the House and the Senate.  After confirmation, Pelosi or Byrd resigns the Presidency, and the new Republican Vice President then becomes the new President.

Regardless of the current political climate, it was a Republican President elected to serve a 4 year term. 

The same would be true if the roles were reversed, where a Republican Speaker or Republican President Pro Tem replaces a Democratic President.

Democratic Speaker of the House Carl Albert, who was next in line to the Presidency in 1973 after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and again in 1974 before Nelson Rockefeller was confirmed as Vice President, stated that as a Democrat he had no right to the Presidency in which the citizens had elected a Republican as President.  Albert announced that should the need arise for him to become President, he would only do so in an acting capacity, and would resign after both Houses of Congress (in accordance with Section 2 of the 25th Amendment) had approved a Republican Vice President.

The acting President as a member of the other party, should not be making any administration changes, only nominating a new Vice President from the same party that won the last Presidential election.  Upon the confirmation of the new Vice President, the acting President should resign, and the new Vice President, from the same party that won the last Presidential election should become the new President.

In all likelihood, under these circumstances, if a member of the other party, the Speaker or the President Pro Tem may opt not to give up their House or Senate offices for the sake of becoming President only until a new Vice President of the other party is nominated and confirmed.  They may opt to let the Secretary of State, who is likely a member of the same party as the deceased President and Vice President, become President.

[jimrtex]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway? Sounds to me like a immensely stupid idea to elevate a senile fossil to the presidency in the case the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House have all died/resigned/were impeached.

There is no requirement that the President pro tempore be the most senior member from the majority party.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway? Sounds to me like a immensely stupid idea to elevate a senile fossil to the presidency in the case the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House have all died/resigned/were impeached.

There is no requirement that the President pro tempore be the most senior member from the majority party.

I think it's in the Senate rules.  That is how its been since 1913.

[Speed of Sound]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway? Sounds to me like a immensely stupid idea to elevate a senile fossil to the presidency in the case the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House have all died/resigned/were impeached.

There is no requirement that the President pro tempore be the most senior member from the majority party.

I think it's in the Senate rules.  That is how its been since 1913.

'Fraid not, it is merely custom. The senate elects the Pro Tem, but they almost always elect the senior member of the majority party.

[jimrtex]

Who came up with the idea of placing the President pro tempore of the Senate 3rd in the line of succession anyway? Sounds to me like a immensely stupid idea to elevate a senile fossil to the presidency in the case the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House have all died/resigned/were impeached.

Why not go on with the Secretary of State after the Speaker of the House?

President Pro Tempore

The role provided in the Constitution for the Vice President, is as President of the Senate, and secondarily as successor to the President.  The President pro tempore, became the presiding officer over the Senate when the vice president was absent or the vice presidency was vacant (as it often was, either due to death of the President or Vice President).  Until 1890, the post literally was a temporary assignment, while the VP was gone.

The original succession law provided that the President pro tempore would become acting President in case of a double vacancy.  This was logical given that the he was the backup president of the Senate, behind the Vice President.  The original succession law also provided for a special election of president in case of a double vacancy.  The President pro tempore would only act as President until the election was held.

In 1886, both the House Speaker and Senate President pro tempore were removed from the succession, and the cabinet substituted, and in 1890 the Senate President pro tempore was made a permanent position (until a new person was chosen).

The succession order was changed in 1947, to reinsert the House Speaker and the President pro tempore, but the order was reversed.  This was done in part because Truman did not think that it was a good idea for Secretary of State Stettinius, who had never run for elective office to become President.

It was also around this time that the custom became for the longest serving member of the majority party to be President pro tempore.  In part this was due to the development of the positions of Senate majority and minority leader who control the actual business of the Senate.

In 1953, Richard Nixon became the first VP to have his office at the White House, rather than the Capitol, and has led us to think of the VP as part of the executive, rather than the legislature.


In Texas, the Lieutenant Governor is very much in reality the presiding officer of the Senate.  The Texas Constitution also provides for the Senate President Pro Tempore to become the acting Lieutenant Governor.  Under other provisions of the constitution making the Lieutenant Governor the acting governor, the President Pro Tempore is 2nd in line for succession.   The succession beyond that is set by law.  The Constitution also provides for election of a new Lieutenant Governor by the Senate, which was first used when Governor Bush resigned to become President of the United States, and the Lieutenant Governor, Rick Perry, became Governor.

A curiousity in Texas, is that if the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are out of the state, then the President Pro Tempore is the acting governor.  A tradition has been established by which a long-serving senator is elected President Pro Tempore, and then has a day when they are Governor for a Day.

[Bruce Tedder]

As a citizen from West Virginia, I can say that I would move to Canada before that happened!