2026-04-27 20:43:09 UTC / 路透社
路透社
2026年4月27日 世界标准时间20:43 3小时前更新
[1/3]美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在白宫新闻发布会上发言，身旁是联邦调查局（FBI）局长卡什·帕特尔和代理司法部长托德·布兰奇，该发布会于华盛顿白宫举行，此前一年一度的白宫记者协会晚宴期间发生枪击事件。 购买授权，新标签页打开 阅读更多
华盛顿，4月27日（路透社）——周六在华盛顿一场有总统唐纳德·特朗普出席的正装晚宴上发生的袭击未造成人员死亡，但却引发了一个疑问：如果特朗普或其政府其他高级官员遇袭受伤，谁将接管政权？
美国法律规定了明确的继任顺序，涵盖国会最高官员和内阁部长。
通过《每日案卷》通讯订阅，将最新法律新闻直接发送至您的收件箱，开启您的清晨。 在此注册。
2001年9月11日袭击事件等案例凸显了一种可能性：如果多名官员聚集在同一地点，可能会全部遇袭身亡。作为预防措施，总统通常会确保至少有一名官员担任“指定幸存者”，不参加高规格活动，例如每年向国会发表的国情咨文演讲。
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根据美国宪法，所有继任序列成员必须至少年满35岁，为天然出生的美国公民，且在美国境内居住至少14年。此外，他们还需经过参议院确认。
继任顺序
根据宪法第二十五修正案，如果特朗普遇袭身亡或无法履行职责，副总统JD·万斯将接任总统职务，完成特朗普剩余任期至2029年1月。他还将提名自己的副总统人选填补该职位空缺。
如果特朗普和万斯都丧失行为能力，众议院议长迈克·约翰逊将接任；若约翰逊也无法履职，下一顺位是参议院临时议长，这一职位大多为礼仪性职务，通常由多数党中任职时间最长的议员担任。目前该职位由爱荷华州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利担任，他现年92岁。
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内阁成员按其所属机构加入美国政府的时间长短依次排在后续顺位。排在首位的是国务卿马可·卢比奥，其次是财政部长斯科特·贝森特和国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯。
司法部长为下一顺位，但目前尚不清楚托德·布兰奇是否符合资格：他经参议院确认担任司法部副部长，但从未被提名或确认担任司法部部长一职。
再往后的顺位依次为：内政部长、农业部长、商务部长、劳工部长（目前职位空缺）、卫生与公众服务部长、住房与城市发展部长、交通部长、能源部长、教育部长、退伍军人事务部长，最后是国土安全部长。
指定幸存者
为确保在灾难性事件中至少有一名继任者存活，总统会挑选一名内阁官员不参加就职典礼、国会演讲等华盛顿高级官员齐聚的高规格活动。“指定幸存者”并非法律强制要求，但自20世纪80年代以来已成为常规做法。
根据加州大学圣巴巴拉分校美国总统项目的数据，自那时起，农业部长最常被选中担任该角色，而特朗普在2025年和2026年都选择了退伍军人事务部长道格·柯林斯担任此职。
周六的白宫记者协会晚宴虽是华盛顿社交日程中的重要活动，但通常不需要此类防范措施。特朗普在其首个2017-2021任期内曾回避该活动，去年也同样抵制了这一晚宴。
但特朗普今年出席了该晚宴，一同出席的还有万斯、约翰逊、卢比奥、赫格塞斯以及多名内阁官员——这意味着如果枪手成功袭击并击毙多名高级政府官员，可能会引发宪法层面的混乱。
不过格拉斯利并未出席该晚宴，这确保了至少一名继任序列成员不在晚宴现场。
安迪·沙利文报道；雅各布·博奇和于姆赫拉·帕穆克补充报道；丹尼尔·沃利斯编辑
我们的准则：路透社信托原则。
Explainer: Who takes charge if the US president is incapacitated?
2026-04-27 20:43:09 UTC / Reuters
By Reuters
April 27, 2026 8:43 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago
[1/3]U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a press briefing at the White House, following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, in Washington,… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabRead more
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – Saturday’s attack at a black-tie Washington gala that featured President Donald Trump did not result in any deaths, but it did raise the question about who would take charge if he or other top members of his administration were harmed.
U.S. law lays out a clear line of succession, which includes top congressional officials and cabinet secretaries.
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Events such as the September 11, 2001, attacks have raised the possibility that all of these officials could be killed if they were gathered in one place. As a precaution, presidents typically ensure that at least one official serves as a “designated survivor” who does not attend high-profile events, such as the annual State of the Union speech to Congress.
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All members of the line of succession must be at least 35 years old, be natural-born citizens, and must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years, according to the U.S. Constitution. The Senate must have also confirmed them.
LINE OF SUCCESSION
Vice President JD Vance would assume the duties of the president if Trump was killed or otherwise unable to do his job and would serve out the remainder of Trump’s term, until January 2029, according to the Constitution’s 25th Amendment. He also would nominate his own vice president to fill that office.
If both Trump and Vance were incapacitated, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson would step in, and if he were also incapacitated the next in line would be the Senate president pro tempore, a largely ceremonial post typically held by the longest-serving member from the majority party. Currently, that’s Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is 92 years old.
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Members of Trump’s cabinet fill out the list, based on how long their agencies have been a part of the U.S. government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is first here, followed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The attorney general would be next in line, but it is not clear whether Todd Blanche would qualify, as he was confirmed by the Senate to the Justice Department’s No. 2 position but has not been nominated or confirmed for the department’s top job.
Beyond that, the order runs: Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor (currently vacant), Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and finally, Homeland Security Secretary.
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
To ensure at least one of these people would survive a catastrophic event, presidents choose a cabinet official to sit out high-profile gatherings such as inaugurations and speeches to Congress where Washington’s top officials assemble. This “designated survivor” is not required by law, but has been common practice since the 1980s.
The secretary of agriculture has most commonly been picked for the role since then, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, while Trump selected Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins in both 2025 and 2026.
Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, while a highlight of the Washington social calendar, typically does not require this sort of treatment. Trump shunned the event through his first 2017-2021 term and boycotted it last year as well.
But Trump attended the event this year, along with Vance, Johnson, Rubio, Hegseth and many other cabinet officials — raising the risk of constitutional chaos had the gunman succeeded in his goal of killing top administration officials.
However, Grassley did not attend the dinner — ensuring at least one member of the line of succession was not in the room.
Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by Jacob Bogage and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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