Memorandum on Designation of Officers of the Department of the Interior

Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior

Subject: Designation of Officers of the Department of the Interior

By the authority vested in me as President under the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America and pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., I hereby order that:

Section 1. Order of Succession.

During any period when the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, and the officers designated by Executive Order 13244 of December 18, 2001, to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary have died, resigned, or otherwise become unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary, the following officers of the Department of the Interior, in the order in which they shall have taken the oath of office as such, shall perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary, if they are eligible to act as Secretary under the provisions of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, until such time as at least one of the officers mentioned above is able to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary:

Director, U.S. Geological Survey;
Director of the National Park Service;
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
Commissioner of Reclamation;
Director, Minerals Management Service;
Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement;
Director of the Bureau of Land Management; and Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sec. 2. Exceptions.

(a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 1 in an acting capacity, by virtue of so serving, shall act as Secretary pursuant to this memorandum.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this memorandum, the President retains discretion, to the extent permitted by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., to depart from this memorandum in designating an acting Secretary.

GEORGE W. BUSH