Editing President of the United States (section)

=== Vacancies and succession ===
Under [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Section 1: Presidential succession|Section{{nbsp}}1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment]], ratified in 1967, the vice president becomes president upon the [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|removal from office]], death, or resignation of the president. Deaths have occurred a number of times, resignation has occurred only once, and removal from office has never occurred.

Before the ratification of the Twenty-fifth amendment (which clarified the matter of succession), [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 6: Vacancy and disability|Article II, Section 1, Clause 6]], stated only that the vice president assumes the "powers and duties" of the presidency in the event of a president's removal, death, resignation, or inability.<ref name="FordhamLaw2011">{{Cite journal |last=Feerick |first=John D. |date=2011 |title=Presidential Succession and Inability: Before and After the Twenty-Fifth Amendment |url=http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4695&context=flr |journal=Fordham Law Review |location=New York City |publisher=[[Fordham University School of Law]] |volume=79 |issue=3 |pages=907–949 |access-date=December 13, 2018}}</ref> Under this clause, there was ambiguity about whether the vice president would actually become president in the event of a vacancy, or simply [[Acting (law)|act]] as president,<ref name="ArticleIIessays">{{Cite web |url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/83/presidential-succession |title=Essays on Article II: Presidential Succession |last=Feerick |first=John |website=The Heritage Guide to the Constitution |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |access-date=December 13, 2018}}</ref> potentially resulting in a [[special election]]. Upon the death of President [[William Henry Harrison]] in 1841, Vice President [[John Tyler]] declared that he had succeeded to the office itself, refusing to accept any papers addressed to the "Acting President", and Congress ultimately accepted it.

In the event of a double vacancy, Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 also authorizes Congress to declare who shall become acting president in the "Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the president and vice president".<ref name=ArticleIIessays /> The [[Presidential Succession Act]] of 1947 (codified as {{usc|3|19}}) provides that if both the president and vice president have left office or are both otherwise unavailable to serve during their terms of office, the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]] follows the order of: speaker of the House, then, if necessary, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then if necessary, the eligible heads of [[United States federal executive departments|federal executive departments]] who form the president's [[Cabinet of the United States|cabinet]]. The cabinet currently has 15 members, of which the secretary of state is first in line; the other Cabinet secretaries follow in the order in which their department (or the department of which their department is the successor) was created. Those individuals who are constitutionally ineligible to be elected to the presidency are also disqualified from assuming the powers and duties of the presidency through succession. No statutory successor has yet been called upon to act as president.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/succession-presidential-and-vice-presidential-fast-facts/index.html |title=Succession: Presidential and Vice Presidential Fast Facts |date=October 24, 2017 |access-date=July 19, 2018 |website=CNN}}</ref>