Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense
Executive Order 13963, signed by President Donald J. Trump on December 10, 2020, provides a formal order of succession for the Department of Defense (DoD) to serve as Acting Secretary in the event of the Secretary’s death, resignation, or inability to perform duties. The order establishes a clear line of succession beyond the typical “acting” roles, specifying a long list of DoD officials who would step into the Secretary’s duties, in a defined sequence, and subject to certain conditions. It revokes the previous succession order (EO 13533, 2010) and states that the order does not create any legal rights. The intent is to ensure continuous leadership and smooth functioning of the DoD during periods of vacancy or incapacity, while carefully limiting who may act under this order (emphasizing that acting officials already serving in their roles cannot also act under this succession order) and linking eligibility to the requirements of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
Key Points
- 1Establishes a formal order of succession for the Secretary of Defense, listing officials who would act in the Secretary’s place during vacancy or incapacity, in a specific priority sequence (from the Deputy Secretary down through various Under Secretaries, Deputy Under Secretaries, and senior DoD officials, including General Counsel, Assistant Secretaries, and certain department-wide leaders).
- 2Within the same subsection of the order, precedence is determined by the order in which offices were appointed; if appointment dates are the same, precedence is determined by the oath-taking order.
- 3Section 2 lays out important exceptions and eligibility rules:
- 4- (a) An individual serving in an acting capacity in any of the listed offices cannot act as Secretary under this order.
- 5- (b) Those listed may act only if they were appointed in a manner that requires presidential appointment with Senate confirmation and the individual is otherwise eligible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.
- 6- (c) The President retains discretion to depart from the order as allowed by law.
- 7Revocation: Repeals Executive Order 13533 (2010), which previously provided a DoD order of succession.
- 8General provision: The order does not create any legal right or entitlement in any person or party.