Health and social policy

Executive Order 13250: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Health and Human Services

President: George W. Bush

Placed Senate-confirmed HHS assistant secretaries, the General Counsel and other Senate-confirmed HHS officers in an oath-date succession sequence after both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary became unavailable.

Status: Revoked.

Is Executive Order 13250 still in effect? No. Revoked February 15, 2008; successor order established.

What does Executive Order 13250 do?

The order assigned these duties: Listed HHS officials — Act as Secretary in the stated sequence; HHS — Determine oath-date priority and Vacancies Act eligibility.

Verified the HHS succession sequence and EO 13261’s acting-capacity amendment. EO 13478 expressly revoked and replaced EO 13250 in 2008.

SignedDecember 28, 2001
IssuerPresident George W. Bush
Lead agencies or officialsDepartment of Health and Human Services and the President
Express timingApplied during a qualifying vacancy or inability until revoked

Before and after

Before the order

HHS needed a presidential sequence below the Secretary and Deputy Secretary that operated with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

After the order

EO 13261 clarified in 2002 that an official serving in an acting capacity in a listed office could not use this sequence. EO 13461 revoked EO 13250 in 2008 and created a longer, position-specific successor order.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Listed HHS officialsAct as Secretary in the stated sequenceWhen both Secretary and Deputy Secretary were unavailable
HHSDetermine oath-date priority and Vacancies Act eligibilityWhenever succession was required
PresidentRetain authority to depart from the sequence as law permittedCase by case

What happened next

EO 13250 signed.

EO 13250 established the succession sequence.

EO 13261 amended the acting-capacity restriction.

EO 13461 revoked EO 13250 and supplied a successor sequence.