Executive Order 13533: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense
President: Barack Obama
Specified which Senate-confirmed Defense officials could act as Secretary when both the Secretary and Deputy Secretary were unavailable.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13533 still in effect? No. Revoked and replaced by EO 13963 in December 2020.
What does Executive Order 13533 do?
EO 13533 set an internal line of succession beginning with the service secretaries and senior departmental officials, subject to eligibility rules and presidential discretion. It did not appoint an acting secretary by itself. EO 13963 replaced and expressly revoked it in 2020.
Before and after
Before the order
An earlier succession arrangement governed vacancies and temporary absences.
After the order
A revised list established priority among eligible Defense officials until 2020.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Listed officials | Serve only when legally eligible and reached in order | Historical |
| Defense Department | Maintain continuity procedures | Continuing under successor order |
| President | Retain lawful discretion to designate an acting secretary | Continuing |
What happened next
EO 13533 set the succession order.
EO 13963 revoked and replaced it.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The Appointments Clause, department statute and Federal Vacancies Reform Act limit acting service. Courts assess compliance case by case.
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.
- U.S. Code — Federal Vacancies Reform Act (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 15, 2026. How we research →