Scandals and succession

A presidency can end four ways before the voters get their say: assassination, resignation, a Senate conviction after impeachment, or the collapse of one of three meters. Each ending closes the career of the sitting President. Only assassination lets the presidency continue, and it continues as the Vice President's presidency, not the same President's. A scandal in this game is written as a single month's event rather than a lasting consequence that plays out on its own. A covert operation that leaks, or a dirty trick that is exposed, becomes that month's crisis, and the President answers it through the policy box like any other event.

Assassination

An assassination can only be attempted while government stability is low, and the risk grows the lower it falls. Once an attempt happens, none will follow for some months afterwards. The target is usually a cabinet member, occasionally the Vice President, and rarely the President; if the cabinet is empty or there is no Vice President, the odds shift to whoever is left. If a cabinet member or the Vice President is shot, the shooting becomes the month's crisis and the President responds through the policy box as with any other event. Afterwards the affected seat is vacated, or the Vice-Presidency is emptied, and both government and party stability fall.

Succession

If the President is shot while a Vice President is in place, the career is saved as finished and continues as the Vice President's presidency. The predecessor is archived along with their profile, their time in office, their final approval rating and their history. The successor takes the running mate's name and full profile, keeps the same party, era, scenario, cabinet and wars as the predecessor, and starts a fresh four-year term from the month of the handover. The last twelve months of the timeline carry forward, marked as belonging to the previous administration. Because the Vice-Presidency is now vacant, the successor picks a new running mate from a generated shortlist before returning to the dashboard. A President who serves a full term may also choose to continue the career as their own Vice President, by the same path.

If the President is shot while there is no Vice President, the career ends there, with the ending text noting that succession passes to the Speaker of the House. Outside the Designated Survivor scenario, there is no way to nominate a replacement Vice President, so an assassination that empties the office leaves it empty for the rest of that presidency.

Resignation

A Resign as President button sits on its own line at the bottom of the dashboard, styled to look quieter than the buttons above it. Pressing it asks for confirmation, and confirming ends the game with the ending You Resigned, described as the President's own choice rather than one forced by impeachment or by the party. A governor in Career Mode resigns differently: the Lieutenant Governor is sworn in, and the career continues as a private citizen.

Impeachment

Impeachment exists only with Dirty Tricks switched on. Schemes that get exposed build up scandal heat, and once heat is high enough, the House Judiciary Committee may open an inquiry; the chance is higher when the opposition holds the House and lower when the President's own party does. An acquittal or a collapsed inquiry buys a period of immunity during which a new inquiry cannot open.

Proceedings run in three stages, each played as a free-text defence card submitted before the month's event and judged on its strength.

• The inquiry can advance to a vote on articles of impeachment. A strong defence, and allied leaders in the chamber, make this less likely; a hostile House makes it more likely. An inquiry that stalls collapses after a few months and grants a period of immunity.
• In the House vote, a majority of seated members voting to impeach sends the case to the Senate. Support from the opposition rises with scandal heat, and support from the President's own party falls as caucus loyalty weakens. A failed vote grants a long period of immunity and helps party stability.
• The Senate trial needs a two-thirds vote of seated senators to convict. Support for conviction depends on party, scandal heat and the strength of the President's defence. An acquittal grants a long period of immunity, restores some approval, and ends every scheme still in progress. A conviction ends the game with the ending Removed From Office.

The chamber-attitude effects need Expanded Congress switched on; without it those adjustments do not apply. With Congress dissolved (see Special actions), there is no impeachment process, and any proceedings already under way are dropped. A nuclear strike separately queues an impeachment crisis as an event, which the President answers like any other event; this is not the same as the proceedings above.

Collapse endings

At the end of every month the game checks approval, government stability and party stability. If any one of these falls too low, the game ends, and the ending is named for whichever meter failed: Presidency Over for approval, Government in Collapse for government stability, or Ousted by Your Own Party for party stability. If two meters fail together the ending is a paired one, and if all three fail together the ending is The Worst President in American History. The Designated Survivor scenario has its own removal ending, which fires when the reseated Congress turns on the survivor.