CRS report via LC – Presidential Succession: Perspectives and Contemporary Issues for Congress, July 14, 2020: “Succession to the office of President of the United States is provided for by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title 3, Section 19 of the U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §19). The Twenty-Fifth Amendment states in Section 1 that when the office of President of the United States becomes vacant due to “removal … death or resignation” of the chief executive, “the Vice President shall become President.” In Section 2, it further provides that, when the office of Vice President becomes vacant for any reason, the President shall nominate a successor, who must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. Sections 3 and 4 of the amendment provide for cases of presidential disability; for further information on this issue, consult CRS Report R45394, Presidential Disability Under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Constitutional Provisions and Perspectives for Congress, by Thomas H. Neale, Presidential Disability Under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Constitutional Provisions and Perspectives for Congress, by Thomas H. Neale. Authority for succession beyond these two offices is provided in Article II, Section 1, clause 6 of the Constitution,which empowers Congress to “by Law provide for the case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President” The Succession Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 380), as amended, found at Title 3, Section 19 of the U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §19), governs this eventuality. The 1947 act provides that if the offices of President and Vice President are vacant simultaneously, the Speaker of the House of Representatives acts asPresident, after resigning from the House and from the office of Speaker….”