Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Homeland Security
Headline: Establishes Succession Order for Department of Homeland Security Leaders
What it does: Department of Homeland Security officials listed must serve as acting Secretary in the prescribed order when senior leaders cannot perform their duties.
- Clarifies who will lead the Department of Homeland Security during sudden vacancies.
- Prevents officials already serving in acting roles from becoming acting Secretary.
- Revokes a prior succession order and updates internal leadership rules.
Summary
This order names the officials who will act as Secretary of Homeland Security if the Secretary and other top leaders die, resign, or cannot perform their duties. The line includes the head of the Transportation Security Administration, the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, the director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Region 3 administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
It bars officials serving in an acting role from becoming acting Secretary, requires eligibility under the Vacancies Act, allows presidential discretion where law permits, and revokes a prior Department of Homeland Security succession order.
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