Succession

No, not to the British throne, this time I'm talking about succession to the Presidency. Back in 2010, I was struck by the fact that for a brief moment in history, the #2 spot (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi) and the #3 spot (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) were held by women. This was caused by the death of the usual #3, the President Pro Tem of the Senate (Senator Robert Byrd). Even after Senator Daniel Inouye took over as President Pro Tem, Pelosi and Clinton were #2 and #4, which meant that two out of the first five were women, which I thought was cool. Just like the Brits however, we're now back to all men at the front of the line:

1. Vice President Joe Biden
2. Speaker of the House John Boehner
3. President Pro Tem of the Senate Patrick Leahy
4. Secretary of State John Kerry
5. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew

The first woman in line is currently the Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, who is 8th. How did I get interested in the minutiae of Presidential succession? It was a plot point on The West Wing. At the end of season four, President Bartlet temporarily steps down, and because the Vice President had resigned due to a sex scandal, the Speaker of the House, played by John Goodman, is sworn in as president. Nerdy Will Bailey points out that at that point, the President Pro Tem of the Senate is next in line.

By the way, over in England, the first woman in line to be Queen is now #6, Princess Beatrice.