JD Vance Says He’s Ready to Take Over From Trump: How VPs Assume Presidency

Vice President JD Vance said this week he was ready to step into the Oval Office should a “terrible tragedy” befall President Donald Trump, and as speculation about the president’s health went viral this week, many questioned what the actual process for the vice president to assume the presidency looks like.

Newsweek is looking back at the handful of times a vice president has stepped in to serve as president and outlines the process of ascendancy.

Why It Matters

Last month, photos of Trump’s bruised hand circulated on social media, and the White House revealed that the president had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which his physician described as “benign and common.” The diagnosis has only further spurred scrutiny around Trump’s health and fitness.

Then, Trump did not make any on-camera appearances between Wednesday and Friday this week, with his first appearance on Saturday as he was pictured leaving the White House to golf during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

However, that didn’t stop social media from speculating whether that “terrible tragedy” could have actually happened, and many wondered how Vance would actually step in as president should that come to pass.

On Tiktok, a video posted by user w0odada with the caption “Streets are saying donald trump is dead??? And he hasnt been seen publicly since Tuesday???” received over 600,000 likes and 3.5 million views.

What To Know

Vance in an interview with USA Today that published on Thursday stressed that the president is in good health and has “incredible energy,” saying, in part, “I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people.”

He added, however, that “if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days.”

What Is the Presidential Line of Succession?

Congress in 1792 passed the Presidential Succession Act, which provides a clear mechanism to replace the president, which includes a line of succession going through the Cabinet.

In the event that the president is unable to serve, the line of succession progresses to the vice president, then the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, secretary of defense, the attorney general, secretary of the interior, secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce, secretary of labor, secretary of health and human services, and so on.

The secretary of education is 16th in the line of succession, and the secretary of homeland security is 18th in line.

Throughout American history, there have been 15 times that the vice president has gone on to become president, with eight of those times occurring due to the death of the president, and four of those later securing an election, according to the U.S. Senate.

Vice President JD Vance looks at President Donald Trump as he talks in the Oval Office August 22 in Washington, D.C.
Vice President JD Vance looks at President Donald Trump as he talks in the Oval Office August 22 in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
What Is the 25th Amendment?

The 25th Amendment was reintroduced in 1965 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy made clear that there was a need for a precise procedure to determine if the president is unfit to continue serving and how to replace him.

After some disagreement between the House of Representatives and Senate on the final text, Congress ratified the amendment on July 12, 1965, and the amendment was fully ratified on February 10, 1967, after Nevada became the 38th state to ratify the amendment.

The amendment replaced Article II, Clause 6 of the Constitution, which previously laid out the procedure of replacing a president, which had cause confusion in previous instances and uses.

The clearer 25th Amendment states: “In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.”

The amendment also provides a mechanism for the vice president, with support of the majority of the Cabinet, to remove the president from office, although the president can countermand that attempt, forcing Congress to step in and determine the president’s fitness to continue serving.

Which Vice Presidents Succeeded the President After Death?

Known as an “Abrupt Transition,” eight vice presidents have taken over as president following the death of the commander-in-chief—and one time through resignation, famously when Richard Nixon left office due to the Watergate scandal, with Gerald Ford taking over.

John Tyler was first to ascend from vice president to president after William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia a month into his presidency in 1841—and confusion at the time due to the more vague Article II, Clause 6 of the Constitution, since it remained unclear if the vice president was acting president or outright president. Tyler’s insistence on the latter set the precedent for all future presidential crises.

Millard Fillmore in 1850 assumed the presidency after Zachary Taylor died from illness, then Andrew Johnson famously became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 just days after the end of the Civil War.

Chester Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt similarly became president after their commander-in-chief’s assassination—James Garfield in 1881 and William McKinley in 1901, respectively, with Roosevelt being the youngest president at the age of 42 years old.

Calvin Coolidge succeeded Warren Harding after the later suffered a fatal heart attack in 1923, and Harry Truman succeeded Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945 upon the latter’s death.

Lyndon B. Johnson is the last president to take office following his predecessor’s death following Kennedy’s assassination.

This means of the eight presidential deaths; half were by assassination and half were through some illness or health condition.

Update 8/30/25, 1:53 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.