The presidential line of succession is a lengthy list. The start of the list reads:
- Vice President
- Speaker of the House of Representatives
- President pro tempore of the Senate
- Secretary of State
and that's the order in which the succession happens. There are many others waiting in line behind the Secretary of State. I chose not to list them because it would make this post way too lengthy.
This list makes sense because it's listing senior members in politics, and those members are part of the political process. On the other hand, members like the Speaker of the House, or president pro tempore of the senate don't really make much sense here. These members may be of a different political party of the president and could contradict the president's goals.
In my opinion, it's best to list out the cabinet members after the vice president. The secretary of state seems like a good cabinet member to start with, then secretary of defense is the next best in line. These two positions deal with foreign affairs which is a handy thing to have in time of crisis. The secretary of treasury is also a good consideration as well since many crises involve money in some way.
