Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Housing and Urban Development

This executive order establishes the line of succession for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, specifying nine senior officials who would assume the role if both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary are unable to serve. It revokes the previous succession order from 1996 and preserves presidential discretion to depart from this list.

Federal Register Open PDF 66 FR 66262

Key directives

Establish order of succession for HUD Secretary when Secretary and Deputy Secretary are unable to serve
List nine specific HUD offices in priority order for acting Secretary role
Prohibit acting officials in listed offices from serving as acting Secretary
Preserve presidential discretion to depart from this order under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 33, Subchapter III
Revoke Executive Order 11274 of March 30, 1996

Timeline

Immediate

Revocation of Executive Order 11274
New succession order takes effect

Near term (90d)

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Long term

Standing succession protocol for HUD leadership vacancies

Risks & tensions

Low-stakes procedural update; no policy controversies embedded in text
Succession depth (9 officials) provides redundancy but may raise questions about capacity of lower-ranked officials (e.g., Public Affairs) to manage complex housing programs
Acting capacity restriction (Sec. 3a) creates potential gap if multiple top positions are simultaneously vacant or filled by acting officials