What if the president and vice president die after taking the oaths of office on Inauguration Day?
Next in the line of succession is the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tempore of the Senate and Cabinet secretaries in this order: State, Treasury, Defense, and Attorney General, through Secretary of Homeland Security. One problem: A new president usually does not have his Cabinet assembled until after the swearing in and outgoing Cabinet members often have resigned, leaving several positions in the line of succession vacant. To remedy this, Sherman suggests an outgoing president consider acting on behalf of the next president and submit names to the Senate in December to get early confirmation of the new president’s Cabinet. “We haven’t found any case of a person being confirmed before a president was sworn in,” said Donald A. Ritchie, associate Senate historian. By keeping holdover Cabinet officials, a president can ensure there is someone to lead the government if the president, vice president, House Speaker and President pro tempore all die at the inaugural ceremony. P
