If the President of the United States can no longer serve due to death, resignation, removal, incapacitation, or inability to hold office, the Vice President immediately becomes President. This is established by the U.S. Constitution and clarified explicitly in the 25th Amendment, Section 1

. If the Vice President is unable to serve, the presidential line of succession continues in the following order:

• Speaker of the House of Representatives
• President Pro Tempore of the Senate
• Then the Cabinet members, starting with the Secretary of State, followed by other Cabinet secretaries in the order their departments were created (Treasury, Defense, Attorney General, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security)

All successors must meet the constitutional qualifications to serve as President: being a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years

. The 25th Amendment also provides procedures for temporary transfer of power if the President is incapacitated but expected to recover, allowing the Vice President to serve as Acting President until the President can resume duties

. In summary, the Vice President is the immediate successor to the presidency, and if unavailable, the succession moves down a defined line including congressional leaders and Cabinet members to ensure continuity of government