Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Agriculture

The order sets a fixed succession chain of seventeen officials within the Department of Agriculture who, in ranked order, may serve as acting Secretary when both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary have died, resigned, or become unable to perform their duties. The chain runs from the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation down through various Under Secretaries, the General Counsel, Assistant Secretaries, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief of Staff, State Executive Directors for Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa (ranked by seniority), the Director of Budget and Program Analysis, and finally the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. It revokes Executive Order 13612 from May 21, 2012.

The order bars anyone already serving in an acting capacity in a listed office from using this order to become acting Secretary, and preserves the President's discretion to depart from the succession chain as permitted by law.

Senior officials within the Department of Agriculture whose roles now carry formally ranked acting-Secretary responsibilities, and federal employees, farmers, and other stakeholders who interact with USDA leadership during any period when the Secretary and Deputy Secretary are both unavailable.

USDA has a clear, pre-set chain of command during any leadership gap, removing ambiguity about who can authorize departmental actions, sign orders, or issue guidance when both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary seats are empty or incapacitated.