Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary of the Air Force

This executive order establishes the line of succession for who may act as Secretary of the Air Force in cases of death, permanent disability, resignation, absence, or temporary disability. It designates the Under Secretary, then Assistant Secretaries and General Counsel (by seniority), then the Chief of Staff as successors, while clarifying that such succession is temporary and does not vacate the successor's original statutory position.

Federal Register 59 FR 21909

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Key directives

Designate Under Secretary of the Air Force as first acting Secretary in vacancy/permanent disability/resignation
Designate Assistant Secretaries and General Counsel as second tier, ordered by length of service as permanent appointees
Designate Chief of Staff of the Air Force as third tier
Apply same order for temporary absence/disability cases
Specify that Secretary may continue exercising powers during temporary absence despite this order
Authorize Secretary to determine precedence among same-date appointees
Prohibit acting officers from serving as Acting Secretary

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Order takes effect upon signing; succession rules are now operative for any vacancy or disability event

Near term (90d)

No specific actions required; order is self-executing

Long term

Establishes permanent succession framework for Air Force Secretary position unless superseded

Risks & tensions

Order revokes/supersedes prior succession arrangements without explicit mention of predecessor order
Same-date seniority determination left to Secretary's discretion, creating potential ambiguity in crisis moments
Distinction between 'permanent' and 'temporary' disability may be factually difficult to apply in emergent situations
Chief of Staff (military officer) placed third in line for civilian Secretary role, raising civil-military boundary questions though historically precedented