3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy
in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act
[Emphasis added.]
(a)
If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office,
inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice
President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives
shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act
as President.
The same rule shall apply in the case of the death,
resignation, removal from office, or inability of an individual acting as
President under this subsection.
If, at the time when under subsection (a) of this section a
Speaker is to begin the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of
President, there is no Speaker, or the Speaker fails to qualify as Acting
President, then the President pro
tempore of the Senate shall, upon his resignation as President pro tempore
and as Senator, act as President.
(c) An individual acting as President under subsection (a) or subsection
(b) of this section shall continue to act until the expiration of the then
current Presidential term, except that—
if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is
founded in whole or in part on the failure of both the President-elect and the
Vice-President-elect to qualify, then he shall act only until a President or
Vice President qualifies; and
if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is
founded in whole or in part on the inability of the President or Vice President,
then he shall act only until the removal of the disability of one of such
individuals.
If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office,
inability, or failure to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to act as
President under subsection (b) of this section, then the officer of the United
States who is highest on the following list, and who is not under disability to
discharge the powers and duties of the office of President shall act as
President:
Secretary of State,
Secretary of the
Treasury,
Secretary of Defense,
Attorney General,
Secretary of the
Interior,
Secretary of
Agriculture,
Secretary of
Commerce,
Secretary of Labor,
Secretary of Health
and Human Services,
Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development,
Secretary of Transportation,
Secretary of Energy,
Secretary of
Education,
Secretary of Veterans
Affairs,
Secretary of Homeland
Security.
An individual acting as President under this subsection
shall continue so to do until the expiration of the then current Presidential term,
but not after a qualified and prior-entitled individual is able to act, except
that the removal of the disability of an individual higher on the list
contained in paragraph (1) of this subsection or the ability to qualify on the
part of an individual higher on such list shall not terminate his service.
(3)
The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified
in the list in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be held to constitute his
resignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to
act as President.
Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section shall apply
only to such officers as are eligible to the office of President under the
Constitution. Subsection (d) of this section shall apply only to officers appointed,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to the time of the
death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, of
the President pro tempore, and only to officers not under impeachment by the
House of Representatives at the time the powers and duties of the office of
President devolve upon them.
During the period that any individual acts as President
under this section, his compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law
in the case of the President.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 644,
62 Stat. 677;
Pub. L. 89–174, § 6(a),
Sept.
9, 1965,
79 Stat. 669;
Pub. L. 89–670, § 10(a),
Oct.
15, 1966,
80 Stat. 948;
Pub. L. 91–375, § 6(b),
Aug.
12, 1970,
84 Stat. 775;
Pub. L. 95–91, title VII, § 709(g),
Aug. 4, 1977,
91 Stat. 609;
Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 508(a),
Oct. 17, 1979,
93 Stat. 692;
Pub. L. 100–527, § 13(a),
Oct. 25, 1988,
102 Stat. 2643;
Pub. L. 109–177, title V, § 503,
Mar. 9, 2006,
120 Stat. 247.)
