Editing Alexander Haig (section)

===Reagan assassination attempt===
{{See also|Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|United States presidential line of succession}}
[[File:Al Haig speaks to press 1981.jpg|thumb|Haig speaking to the press after the Reagan assassination attempt, 1981]]
In 1981, following the 30 March [[Reagan assassination attempt|assassination attempt on Reagan]], Haig asserted before reporters, "I am in control here"<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2018-09-06 |title=The 'anonymous official op-ed' is less than it seems |url=https://nypost.com/2018/09/06/the-anonymous-official-op-ed-is-less-than-it-seems/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> as a result of Reagan's hospitalization, indicating that, while Reagan had not "transfer[red] the helm," Haig was in fact directing White House crisis management until Vice President [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]] arrived in Washington to assume that role.

{{blockquote|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|[https://web.archive.org/web/20071016074220/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954230-22,00.html "Alexander Haig"], autobiographical profile in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, 2 April 1984<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954230,00.html |title=Alexander Haig |date=2 April 1984 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |page=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080406153923/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954230-22,00.html 22] of 24 page article |access-date=21 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406153932/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C954230%2C00.html |archive-date=April 6, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

The [[U.S. Constitution]], including both the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]] and the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|25th Amendment]], dictates what happens when a president is incapacitated. The [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] (at the time, [[Tip O'Neill]], Democrat) and the [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore of the Senate]] (at the time, [[Strom Thurmond]], Republican), precede the secretary of state in the line of succession. Haig later clarified,

{{blockquote|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, [https://web.archive.org/web/20021121125557/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/04/23/60II/main287292.shtml "Alexander Haig"] interview with ''[[60 Minutes II]]'' 23 April 2001}}

His reputation never recovered after this press conference,<ref>{{cite book |last=Inboden |first=William |author-link=William Inboden |date=2022 |title=The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink |publisher=Dutton |isbn=978-1-5247-4589-9 |pages=81–82}}</ref> and in virtually all of the obituaries published after his death, his quote is referenced in the opening paragraphs.