This is a list of presidents of the United States by other offices (either elected or appointed) held. Every president except Donald Trump has served as at least one of the following: a member of the presidential cabinet (either vice president or cabinet secretary) a member of Congress (either U.S. senator or representative) a governor of a state a general of the United States Army
Federal government Executive branch Vice presidents Fifteen vice presidents have gone on to become president. Vice President President served under Year(s) served Notes 1789–1797 Incumbent vice president succeeded Washington after winning the 1796 election 1797–1801 Incumbent vice president succeeded Adams after winning the 1800 election 1833–1837 Incumbent vice president succeeded Jackson after winning the 1836 election 1841 Became president after Harrison's death, ran for election in 1844 as nominee of Democratic Party before dropping out and endorsing Polk, the eventual winner 1849–1850 Became president after Taylor's death, lost nomination for Whig Party in 1852 election bid, later also ran unsuccessfully in the 1856 election 1865 Became president after Lincoln's assassination, lost nomination for the Democratic Party in 1868 election bid 1881 Became president after Garfield's assassination, failed to secure the Republican Party nomination in 1884 election bid 1901 Became president after McKinley's assassination, later elected to own term in 1904 1921–1923 Became president after Harding's death, later elected to own term in 1924 1945 Became president after Roosevelt's death, later elected to own term in 1948 1953–1961 Lost as incumbent vice president in the 1960 election, later ran and won the 1968 election becoming the first former vice president to win the presidency 1961–1963 Became president after Kennedy's assassination, later elected to own term in 1964 1973–1974 Became president after Nixon's resignation, lost the 1976 election in bid for own term 1981–1989 Incumbent vice president succeeded Reagan after winning the 1988 election 2009–2017 Did not run as incumbent vice president in the 2016 election, later ran and won the 2020 election becoming the second former vice president to win the presidency
Fifteen former vice presidents (Richard Mentor Johnson, John C. Breckinridge, Levi P. Morton, Adlai Stevenson I, Charles W. Fairbanks, John Nance Garner, Henry A. Wallace, Alben W. Barkley, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Dan Quayle, Al Gore, Mike Pence, and Kamala Harris) all made failed runs for the presidency. Breckinridge was nominated by the Southern Democratic Party in 1860 but came in second in the Electoral College. Humphrey, Mondale, Gore, Harris, and Nixon received their party's nominations. Nixon, who lost the 1960 election as the sitting vice president, was elected president in 1968, becoming the first former vice president to win the presidency after leaving the office; Biden became the second in 2020. Only four sitting vice presidents (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George H. W. Bush) have been elected directly to the presidency. Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson became president upon a president's death in office and went on to win their own subsequent elections.
Cabinet secretaries Six future presidents served as secretary of state. Secretary Office President served under Year(s) served Secretary of State 1790–1793 1801–1809 1811–1817 Secretary of War 1814–1815 Secretary of State 1817–1825 1829–1831 1845–1849 Acting Secretary of War 1867–1868 Secretary of War 1904–1908 Secretary of Commerce 1921–1928
Calvin Coolidge (as the vice president) and Herbert Hoover both served in the Cabinet of Warren G. Harding.
Ambassadors President Position President served under Year(s) served Minister to Britain Congress of the Confederation 1785–1788 Minister Plenipotentiary to France 1785–1789 1794–1796 Minister to Britain 1803–1807 Minister to the Netherlands 1794–1797 Minister to Prussia 1797–1801 Minister to Russia 1809–1814 Minister to Britain 1815–1817 1831–1832 Minister to Gran Colombia 1828–1829 Minister to Russia 1832–1833 Minister to Britain 1853–1856 Ambassador to the United Nations 1971–1973 Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing 1974–1975
Other federal appointees President Office President appointed by Year(s) served United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire 1845–1847 Collector of the Port of New York 1871–1878 Member, United States Civil Service Commission 1889–1895 Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1897–1898 Solicitor General 1890–1892 Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1913–1920 Director of Central Intelligence 1976–1977
Judicial branch Chief Justice of the United States President President nominated by Year(s) served Notes William Howard Taft Warren G. Harding 1921–1930 Only president to serve on the Supreme Court
Other federal judges President Court President nominated by Year(s) served William Howard Taft United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Benjamin Harrison 1892–1900
Legislative branch United States (US) Senators Seventeen presidents served in the U.S. Senate, three of whom moved directly from the Senate to the White House. State President Year(s) served Notes California 1950–1953Resigned to become vice president Delaware 1973–2009Resigned to become vice president Indiana 1881–1887 Illinois 2005–2008 Third sitting senator elected to the presidency Massachusetts 1803–1808 1953–1960 Second sitting senator elected to the presidency Missouri 1935–1945Resigned to become vice president New Hampshire 1837–1842 New York 1821–1828 Ohio 1825–1828 1915–1921 First sitting senator elected to the presidency Pennsylvania 1834–1845 Tennessee 1797–1798 1823–1825 1857–1862 1875 Only former president in the Senate Texas 1949–1961 Senate minority leader 1953–1955Senate majority leader 1955–1961Resigned to become vice president Virginia 1790–1794 First former senator to become president 1827–1836 Only former president pro tempore to become president
A number of future presidents served together while in the Senate: James Monroe served under Vice President John Adams (1790–1794). Andrew Jackson served under Vice President Thomas Jefferson (1797–1798). Jackson later served with Martin Van Buren (1823–1825). Van Buren also served with William Henry Harrison (1825–1828) and John Tyler (1827–1828). James Buchanan also served with Tyler (1834–1836) and later served with Franklin Pierce (1837–1842). Both Buchanan and Tyler served under Van Buren (1833–1837), while Buchanan and Pierce briefly served under Tyler (1841). Benjamin Harrison briefly served under Vice President Chester A. Arthur (1881). Lyndon B. Johnson served with both Richard Nixon (1950–1953) and John F. Kennedy (1953–1960). Johnson and Kennedy both served under Nixon (1953–1961). Joe Biden served under vice presidents Gerald Ford (1973–1974) and George H. W. Bush (1981–1989) and later served with Barack Obama (2005–2008).
James A. Garfield was elected senator for Ohio in 1880, but he did not take up the office due to being elected president later that year.
Seven former senators (Monroe, Adams, Jackson, W. H. Harrison, Pierce, Buchanan, and B. Harrison) were elected to the presidency without ever serving as the vice president between their departure from the Senate and the beginning of their presidencies.
Representatives Nineteen presidents served in the House of Representatives. State President Year(s) served Notes California 1947–1950 Illinois 1847–1849 Massachusetts 1831–1848 Only former president in the House of Representatives 1947–1953 Michigan 1949–1973 House minority leader 1965–1973Resigned to become vice president New Hampshire 1833–1837 New York 1833–1835 1837–1843 Northwest Territory 1799–1800 Served as a non-voting delegate Ohio 1816–1819 1865–1867 1863–1880 Republican floor leader 1877–1880Only sitting representative elected to the presidency 1877–1883 1885–1891 Pennsylvania 1821–1831 Tennessee 1796–1797 1825–1839 Only former speaker to become president 1843–1853 Texas 1937–1949 1967–1971 Virginia 1789–1797 First former representative to become president 1816–1821
A number of future and former presidents served in the House together: Andrew Jackson served with James Madison (1796–1797). William Henry Harrison served with John Tyler (1816–1819). James Buchanan served with James K. Polk (1825–1831). Polk also served with John Quincy Adams (1831–1839). Adams later served with Millard Fillmore (1833–1835; 1837–1843), Franklin Pierce (1833–1837), Andrew Johnson (1843–1848), and Abraham Lincoln (1847–1848). Johnson and Lincoln would continue to serve alongside each other (1848–1849). James A. Garfield served with both Rutherford B. Hayes (1865–1867) and William McKinley (1877–1880). Richard Nixon served with Lyndon B. Johnson (1947–1949), John F. Kennedy (1947–1950), and Gerald Ford (1949–1950). Ford, who continued to serve alongside Kennedy (1950–1953), later served with George H. W. Bush (1967–1971). 1835 was the year in which the most former and future presidents served together in Congress: six presidents (Representatives Adams, Pierce, Fillmore, and Polk, and Senators Buchanan and Tyler), who all served under vice president (and future president) Martin Van Buren.
The time period between 1891 and 1915 (24 years) was the longest time period with no former or future presidents serving in Congress. In total, there were 65 years in which no former or future president was serving in Congress.
, ten presidents had served in both chambers of Congress (John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon), two presidents who served in both the Continental Congress and the Congress of the United States (James Madison and James Monroe), and one president who served in both the U.S. Congress and the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States (John Tyler).
Continental Congress President State Year(s) served Body served Virginia 1774–1775 First Continental Congress Massachusetts 1774–1777 First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress Virginia 1775–17761783–1784 Second Continental Congress, Congress of the Confederation 1780–17831787–1788 Second Continental Congress, Congress of the Confederation 1783–1786 Congress of the Confederation
State and territorial government Governors State / Territory President Year(s) served Notes American occupation zone in Germany 1945 Military governor Arkansas 1979–1981 1983–1992 California 1967–1975 Cuba 1906 Provisional governor Florida Territory 1821 Military governor Georgia 1971–1975 Indiana Territory 1801–1813 Louisiana District 1804–1805 Interim authority Massachusetts 1919–1921 New Jersey 1911–1913 New York 1829 1883–1885 1899–1900 1929–1932 Northwest Territory 1798–1799 Acting governor Ohio 1868–1872 1876–1877 1892–1896 Philippines 1901–1904 Governor-general Tennessee 1839–1841 1853–1857 1862–1865 Military governor Texas 1995–2000 Virginia 1779–1781 1799–1802 1811 1825–1827
State legislators State legislature President Year(s)served Notes Georgia State Senate 1963–1967 Illinois House of Representatives 1834–1842 Illinois Senate 1997–2004 Massachusetts House of Representatives 1907–1909 Massachusetts Senate 1802 1912–1915 New Hampshire House of Representatives 1829–1833 Speaker of the House, 1832–1833 New York State Senate 1812–1820 1911–1913 New York State Assembly 1829–1831 1882–1884 Assembly minority leader in 1883 Ohio Senate 1819–1821 1859–1861 1899–1903 Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1814–1816 Tennessee House of Representatives 1823–1825 1835–1837 Tennessee Senate 1841–1843 Virginia House of Delegates 1776–1779 1776–1777 1782–1783 1811–1816 1823–1825
Other statewide offices