Executive Order 13247: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Veterans Affairs
President: George W. Bush
Set an eight-office line of succession to act as Veterans Affairs Secretary when both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary were unavailable, subject to presidential discretion and federal vacancies law.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13247 still in effect? No. Revoked August 12, 2016; successor order established.
What does Executive Order 13247 do?
The order assigned these duties: Listed VA officials — Act as Secretary in the stated order; President — Depart from the sequence where vacancies law permits.
Verified the VA sequence and its related amendment and memoranda. EO 13737 expressly revoked EO 13247 and related measures in 2016; the successor order is distinguished from agency delegations.
Before and after
Before the order
The Department relied on statutory and administrative arrangements without this presidential eight-office sequence.
After the order
EO 13261 amended the order’s acting-capacity restriction in 2002. A 2003 presidential memorandum added further officers after the EO list. EO 13737 revoked EO 13247, the related portion of EO 13261 and both presidential memoranda in 2016, then established a successor sequence.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Listed VA officials | Act as Secretary in the stated order | During a qualifying vacancy or inability |
| President | Depart from the sequence where vacancies law permits | Case by case |
| VA | Apply appointment, oath-date and eligibility rules | Whenever succession was required |
What happened next
EO 13247 signed.
EO 13247 established the eight-office succession sequence.
EO 13261 amended the acting-capacity exception and a memorandum added officers.
A second memorandum added a further succession tier.
EO 13737 revoked EO 13247 and its related amendments and memoranda.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act and title 38 controlled eligibility and authority. The order did not permanently appoint an acting official or authorize circumvention of Senate confirmation. No order-specific merits judgment was located.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →