Who Is 4th in Line for President
The 4th in line for president is the Secretary of State, currently Marco Rubio as of 2025. The line of succession follows a fixed order established by federal law and the 20th Amendment, starting with the Vice President, then the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tempore of the Senate, and then Cabinet officers in the order their departments were created. This structure ensures continuity if the president, vice president, and congressional leaders are unable to serve. The current line places the Secretary of State directly behind the Senate president pro tempore, with the Secretary of the Treasury next in line after that. You can read more about the statutory succession framework on the official U.S. Senate website senate.gov.
Presidential succession is governed by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, as amended, and the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. The line moves from the Vice President to the Speaker of the House, then to the President pro tempore of the Senate, and then to Cabinet secretaries in department creation order. The Secretary of State is 4th in line because the State Department is one of the original executive departments. This order applies when the presidency and vice presidency are both vacant, and it requires the designated successor to meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency, including being a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years. The line continues down through the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, and other Cabinet members.
Current Presidential Succession Line
The current presidential succession line is Vice President JD Vance, followed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, then President pro tempore of the Senate, and then Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the 4th in line for president. Each position in the line is tied to a specific office, not a person permanently, so the 4th spot moves to whoever holds the Secretary of State role at the time of a vacancy. The line then continues with the 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, and Secretary of Homeland Security. The order reflects the historical importance and creation dates of each department, with older departments ranking higher. The exact current occupants of these offices can be verified through official White House and federal agency pages such as the whitehouse.gov administration roster.
The Vice President is first in line, followed by the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tempore of the Senate, and then the Secretary of State as the 4th in line for president. The line then proceeds to the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, and other Cabinet secretaries in department creation order. If a vacancy occurs at the top of the line, the next eligible officer in sequence assumes the presidency after resigning from their current position, as required by the Presidential Succession Act. The line is designed to ensure a stable transfer of executive power and to maintain continuity of government during crises, elections, or unforeseen events. The line also reflects the constitutional requirement that the successor must be eligible to serve as president, meaning they must meet the age, citizenship, and residency criteria outlined in Article II of the Constitution. You can explore the full succession statute and related historical context on the congress.gov legislative resources.
How the Presidential Succession Order Works
Statutory Framework and Constitutional Basis
The presidential succession order is