if the offices of both president and vice president become vacant, who becomes president?

a. speaker of the house
b. secretary of state
c. secretary of defense
d. president pro tempore of the state
d.

Right. :-)

Speaker of the house

To determine who becomes the president if the offices of both president and vice president become vacant, we need to refer to the United States Presidential Succession Act. According to this act, the order of succession is as follows:

1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House of Representatives
3. President pro tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense

Therefore, if both the president and vice president positions become vacant, the speaker of the House of Representatives, not the secretary of state, becomes the next in line to assume the presidency. So the correct answer would be:

a. Speaker of the House