Who Comes Next

For John, BLUF:  This is a quick look at the line of succession for President of the United States.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The US Presidential Line of Succesion

The table below list the statatory line of succession should anything happen to the President, or the President and others on the list of succession.  It is like the TV Show Designated Survivor.

SERIAL	Office	Incumbent	Party
1	Vice President	Kamala Harris	Democratic
2	Speaker of the House of Rep	Nancy Pelosi	Democratic
3	President pro tempore of the Senate	Patrick Leahy	Democratic
4	Secretary of State	Antony Blinken	Democratic
5	Secretary of the Treasury	Janet Yellen	Democratic
6	Secretary of Defense	Lloyd Austin	Unknown
7	Attorney General	Merrick Garland	Unknown
8	Secretary of the Interior	Deb Haaland	Democratic
9	Secretary of Agriculture	Tom Vilsack	Democratic
10	Secretary of Commerce	Gina Raimondo	Democratic
11	Secretary of Labor	Marty Walsh	Democratic
12	Secretary of Health and Human Services	Xavier Becerra	Democratic
13	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Marcia Fudge	Democratic
14	Secretary of Transportation	Pete Buttigieg	Democratic
--	Secretary of Energy	Jennifer Granholm	Democratic
15	Secretary of Education	Miguel Cardona	Democratic
16	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Denis McDonough	Democratic
--	Secretary of Homeland Security	Alejandro Mayorkas	Democratic

Two names have been struck out.  Those two individuals are not native born Americans, and thus are not eligible to be President.

In reviewing the list, which of the first seven do you think are ready to be President?  Who would be better at the job than President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr, and his team? 

We have people expressing concern that President Biden is in ill health.  There are some who talk about use of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to deal with President Biden.  Moving to sucession without thinking about what comes next is poor planning.♠  For example, Senator Leahy is two years older than President Biden.

It is worth while thinking of the top seven in the list above.  Which of them would be a step up from President Biden and his Team.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  For example, before President Nixon was pressured to resign, back in 1974, the system went against Vice President Spiroo Agnew, forcing his resignation, and replacement by the House Minority Leader, Gerald Ford.