3114 - Presidential succession

In a commercial for the TV show Madam Secretary it shows her being temporarily sworn in as President. That got me thinking where on the list of presidential successors was the Secretary of State. Well here's the list and current office holders (Thanks Wikipedia).

1 Vice President of the United States Joe Biden (D)
2 Speaker of the House John Boehner (R)
3 President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch (R)
4 Secretary of State John Kerry (D)
5 Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew (D)
6 Secretary of Defense   Ashton Carter (D)
7 Attorney General Loretta Lynch (D)
— Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell (D)[a]
8 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (D)
9 Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (D)
10 Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez (D)
11 Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell (D)
12 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro (D)
13 Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx (D)
14 Secretary of Energy   Ernest Moniz (D)
15 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (D)
16 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald (R)
17 Secretary of Homeland Security  Jeh Johnson (D)

a - Not a natural-born citizen (acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization) and thus ineligible for the Presidency.


If you want to read more about all the changes over the years HERE is the Wikipedia article.