With Donald Trump being the oldest person ever to become elected as US president, many may wonder what would happen if he died while still in office.
His successor and predecessor Joe Biden is the oldest person ever to occupy the top job in the White House, but when Trump was elected for his second term in January 2025, he was older than Biden had been during that moment in his career.
Given his age, eating habits and all the health concerns that come with being a 79-year-old man on the large side more thought than usual has to be given to the possibility that he does not make it to the end of his term.
He's a rich man and they tend to live longer than most others, and he has access to the best healthcare anywhere in the world, but there are certain biological necessities which cannot be ignored.
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That it could happen is something that has to be considered, and there are plans in place should a US president die in office, as it has happened several times before.
JD Vance takes charge
The US Constitution has clear instructions for what happens when a president dies or is incapable of continuing to do the job: their vice president takes over.
It states: "In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected."
Basically, that means if Trump croaks it, then the power of his office passes to his VP JD Vance, who will take over as president.
This has happened several times in American history as eight presidents have died in office, four of natural causes and four were assassinated and in each case their VP succeeded them as president.
So Donald Trump's continuing health is the only thing between the US and President JD Vance.
A new team is chosen
The new president is sworn in as soon as possible and gets to pick his cabinet, they could keep their former colleagues or replace them with whomever they like, and they can also choose a new vice president since that job will available in this situation.
Both houses of Congress have to approve the new VP pick.
If Donald Trump happened to die between now and 1 August this year then JD Vance would become the youngest US president in history.
That accolade is currently held by a former vice president whose president died in office, as Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when William McKinley was assassinated.
Vance is currently 41, so he could still become the youngest person ever to be US president.
No new elections
However, if JD Vance does become president and serves out the rest of Trump's term, then that has a knock-on effect for subsequent elections.
A president dying in office and being succeeded by their vice president has not historically disrupted the US election cycle but according to the 22nd amendment: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."
Basically, should the US continue having elections as normal then Vance's ability to stand in them more than once will be determined by how long Trump's term had left to go. If it's more than two years then he can only stand for election once.
Topics: Donald Trump, JD Vance, US News, Politics
Joe Harker