Reply #61: Presidential Succession Act of 1947 and 25th Amendment

[imenja]

The chain of secession is not negotiable. It was established by law in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 and modified through the 25th Amendment to the constitution. (Homeland Security Director was recently added to the end of the list). An impeachment of Bush and Cheney would mean Hastert would be president, and Tom Delay would then pull all the strings. That would be even worse than Bush. You can't secure a change in the party running the country through impeachment and conviction. The only conceivable way a Democrat could become president in this scenario is with a Democratic landslide in the House in 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act

Unless you are planning a military coup, this is what you are stuck with. Go down far enough and you get Rumsfeld and then Gonzalez. Not a Democrat in sight.

Vice President
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/government/national/succession.html