Executive Order 13612: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Agriculture
President: Barack Obama
Listed USDA officials who could act as Secretary when the Secretary and Deputy Secretary were unavailable.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13612 still in effect? No. Revoked by a new succession order on January 3, 2025; that successor was itself revoked on January 20, 2025.
What does Executive Order 13612 do?
EO 13612 supplied an emergency order of succession below Agriculture’s Secretary and Deputy Secretary, beginning with the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services and continuing through other senior officials and regional administrators. President Biden’s EO 14134 replaced and expressly revoked it in January 2025. EO 14148 revoked that replacement days later, but did not revive the 2012 list.
Later evidence reviewed September 23, 2026: EO 14148 revoked EO 14134 without reviving EO 13612. Federal Register — EO 14148. Revoking a successor order did not automatically reinstate the older revoked order.
Before and after
Before the order
EO 13542 supplied the previous Agriculture succession list.
After the order
The 2012 order replaced that list until a 2025 order briefly supplied a new one.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Listed USDA officials | Serve as acting Secretary when eligible | Ended under this order |
| President | Depart from the listed sequence when law permits | Continuing constitutional and statutory discretion |
| USDA | Follow current vacancy law and valid designations | Continuing |
What happened next
EO 13612 issued and EO 13542 revoked.
EO 14134 revoked and replaced EO 13612.
EO 14148 revoked EO 14134 without reviving EO 13612.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act controls eligibility, duration and exclusive-function limits. Revocation of a successor order does not automatically revive a previously revoked order.
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 23, 2026. How we research →