My Fav Regan Sec of Whatever.......

Sect of State-

Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr

"I'm in control here"

Secretary of State Alexander Haig speaks to the press about the attempted assassination on President Ronald Reagan In 1981, after the March 30 assassination attempt on Reagan, Haig asserted before reporters "I'm in control here" as a result of Reagan's hospitalization. Rather than being seen as an attempt to allay the nation's fear, the quotation became seen as an attempt by Haig to exceed his authority.[citation needed]

“ Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course. ”
——Alexander Haig, Alexander Haig, autobiographical profile in TIME Magazine, April 2, 1984


Haig was incorrect in his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution concerning both the presidential line of succession and the 25th Amendment, which dictates what happens when a president is incapacitated. But the holders of the two offices between the Vice President and the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House (at the time, Tip O'Neill) and the President pro tempore of the Senate (at the time, J. Strom Thurmond), would be required under U.S. law (3 U.S.C. 19) to resign their positions in order for either of them to become acting President. This was an unlikely event considering that Vice-President Bush was merely not immediately available. Haig's statement therefore reflected political reality, if not necessarily legal reality. Haig later said,

“ I wasn’t talking about transition. I was talking about the executive branch, who is running the government. That was the question asked. It was not, 'Who is in line should the President die?' ”
—— Alexander Haig, Alexander Haig interview with 60 Minutes II April 23, 2001