- '', Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown. This bears a striking resemblance to the reimagined '' Battlestar Galactica ,'' where Secretary of Education Laura Roslin is sworn in when all other in the line of succession are killed in the nuclear Sneak Attack on the colonies.
- '' resigns following a sex scandal, National Security Advisor Jack Ryan is appointed to fill the position for the remainder of the term. During a Joint Session of Congress , he is confirmed by unanimous voice vote. Before he is sworn in, however, a vengeful Japan ese pilot crashes his fuel-laden 747 into the Capitol (an event strikingly similar to the September 11, 2001, Attacks ), killing almost everyone inside, including the President. Ryan, who barely escapes, is sworn in as the new President, but the legitimacy of his administration is challenged by the former Vice President, who claims he never really resigned.
- ''Full Disclosure'' by ed by an Assassination attempt while at a Summit Meeting in the Soviet Union . In time, several members of his Cabinet come to believe that his blindness renders him unable to discharge the duties of his office, and they vote to replace him with the Vice President under the terms of the 25th Amendment . The President survives this vote but realizes that his political effectiveness is virtually at an end. He prevails upon the weak-willed Vice President to resign, and then promptly resigns himself, elevating the Speaker of the House to the Presidency.
- ''Line of Succession'' by Brian Garfield (1972): During the period between the election and Inauguration Day , the President-elect and the Vice President-elect are both killed by terrorists, along with the Speaker Of The House . The President ''pro tempore'' of the Senate is totally unsuitable for the Presidency. The Incumbent President, defeated for re-election in November, wants to use the situation to stay in office.
- '' and half of the Cabinet. The Secretary Of The Interior assumes the Presidency and continues to fight World War III. The real President is found to still be living; however, the Secretary of the Interior refuses to relinquish his new office. Thus, the nation, for several hours, has two Presidents giving conflicting orders during a time of great peril.
- '', much of the United States is destroyed, including Washington. The Deputy Secretary Of The Treasury is eventually found, and deemed to be the highest-ranking politician to survive the war. He is installed as President, but insists that he is merely a Caretaker and refuses to use the full title of the office.
- '', all but two male mammals on the planet simultaneously die of a mysterious plague. As a result, the highest ranking woman, Secretary Of Agriculture Valentine is appointed to fill the position of President until order is restored and elections can be held. Valentine protests, saying the Secretary Of The Interior outranks her, but her security escort informs her that the latter was killed in one of the many plane crashes. When this issue was published in 2003 , the real-world Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Agriculture were both women, Gale Norton and Ann Veneman , respectively.
- '' Advise And Consent '' (1962), an adaptation of Allen Drury's best-selling novel. A gravely-ill President ( Franchot Tone ) attempts to install a controversial nominee for Secretary Of State , despite reservations by leading members of his own party in the U.S. Senate . The President knows he is likely to die in office and presses his good friend, Sen. Munson, to steer Leffingwell's nomination through the Senate: ''I'm going fast... I haven't any time to run a school for presidents.'' The President dies in office and his Vice President, Harley Hudson, succeeds him.
- '' Air Force One '' - After U.S. President Jim Marshall ( Harrison Ford ) has been captured by Russia n terrorists, the Secretary of Defense says that he's in charge based on the National Security Act Of 1947 ; the Attorney General agrees. However, knowing that the President is being held by terrorists and forced into using his authority to release a terrorist leader, the entire Cabinet endorses the invocation of Section 4 of the 25th Amendment , signing a letter to that effect, whereby Vice President Bennett ( Glenn Close ) would assume command. The Vice President , uncertain of the President's situation and unwilling to be seen as making a grab for power, waits before deciding to sign and thus finalize the President's removal from power.
- '' and the White House Chief Of Staff hires a look-alike double to appear as the President to prevent the Vice President, whom he regards as too ethical and moral, from becoming Acting President . After much behind-the-scenes politics, the look-alike double switches back with the real president, who is still in a coma and is subsequently declared medically unfit for office, at which time the Vice President assumes the Presidency.
- '' The Man '' (1972), a made-for-TV adaptation of the Irving Wallace book (see above). Screenplay by Rod Serling , starring James Earl Jones , Martin Balsam and Burgess Meredith . In the movie, the Vice President is still alive but elderly and infirm; he declines to assume the Presidency upon the death of the President. The Presidency thus passes to the black President ''pro tem'' of the Senate.
- '' My Fellow Americans ''- The President is forced to resign, in a plan orchestrated by the scheming Vice President. Eventually his scheme is revealed and he is impeached, making the House Speaker President.
- ''". Military dictator-generals have assumed power in his place. A lone drifter declares that the United States has been restored and that "under the authority of the Restored Congress", the "Restored United States" has appointed a new President (named Richard Starkey - the real name of Ringo Starr ) who is governing the country from Minneapolis .
- '''' - When the President adopts an internationalist policy of diplomacy towards enemies of the United States, the hawkish Secretary Of Defense attempts a coup that will wipe out key members of the government during the President's State Of The Union Address , leaving him in charge.
- ''. On his way to be sworn in as President, the Speaker of the House is also killed. Using time-travel technology, the hero is able to go back in time one week and prevent the attack.
- '''s Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, and Vice President Jim Prescott becomes Acting President. The reason for removal is not that the President is physically ill or disabled, but rather that the Cabinet believes he is making irrational decisions. Though initially isolated through the complicity of military and intelligence chiefs, Palmer would have been able to legally dispute the invocation of the 25th Amendment and empowered to discharge the duties of President while the dispute was settled. The Vice President, however, counts on the "court of Public Opinion " to retroactively endorse his actions. However, the President's decisions are shown to be rational within a few hours of his removal, and the Vice President and supporting Cabinet members rescind their earlier vote.
- In the fourth season of "24," President John Keeler is severely injured when Air Force One is shot down by a Stealth Fighter . The Cabinet unanimously invokes the 25th Amendment and Vice President Charles Logan was sworn in shortly thereafter. As of season 5 (1/29/06), Logan is still serving as President.
- '' and lapses into a coma. His female Vice President, Mackenzie Allen ( Geena Davis ), an independent, is strongly pressured by the President's senior staff and political allies to resign from office. However, she instead chooses to await the outcome of the President's condition. When the President comes out of his coma and himself urges her to resign, she respectfully declines, explaining that the voters entrusted her with the Vice Presidency, and she intends to carry out its duties fully. The President dies shortly thereafter and she assumes the office of President of the United States, becoming the first Woman to ever do so.
- '' ( Martin Sheen ) invokes the 25th Amendment, relinquishing power temporarily. Because the Vice President has recently resigned following a sex scandal, power passes to the Speaker of the House, Glen Allen Walken ( John Goodman ), who as a conservative Republican is the ideological polar opposite of the President. When the crisis ends, the President again submits a written notice to the leaders of Congress and resumes his office.
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