answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: President pro tempore of the Senate
questions: who succeeds the speaker of the house as president
name: United States presidential line of succession
contexts: The United States presidential line of succession is the order in which persons may become or act as President of the United States if the incumbent President becomes incapacitated , dies , resigns , or is removed from office ( by impeachment by the House of Representatives and subsequent conviction by the Senate ) . The line of succession is set by the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 as subsequently amended to include newly created cabinet offices . The succession follows the order of Vice President , Speaker of the House of Representatives , President pro tempore of the Senate , and then the heads of federal executive departments who form the Cabinet of the United States . The Cabinet currently has fifteen members , beginning with the Secretary of State , and followed by the rest in the order of their positions ' creation . Those heads of department who are ineligible to act as President are also ineligible to succeed the President by succession , for example most commonly if they are not a natural - born U.S. citizen .