Executive Order 13787:

What the Executive Order Says

Executive Order 13787 is entitled "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice" and has 4 sections.

Section 1

This section further defines the order of succession for the position of Attorney General and lists 3 specific US Attorneys who would be in the line of succession.  These are the US Attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia, Eastern District of North Carolina and Northern District of Texas.

Section 2

This section lists three exceptions, one being that if a person is in an acting capacity, then they cannot become the acting attorney general.  The second being that the person also has to meet the requirements under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

Section 3

This section revokes a previous EO (13775 to be specific).

Section 4

This section includes a legal caveat to assure the constitutionality of the EO.

My Commentary

This is the kind of thing that EO's are appropriate to.  Who these specific people are is a matter of Republican party internal politics.  I have included this in my blog for the sake of completeness.