With Catherine Durant threatening to expose how he manipulated intelligence data to create confusion and win the election, Francis asks her to accept blame in order to save his presidency. But when she refuses, he ensures that her appearance at the Senate will be delayed when he pushes her down the White House stairs. As Usher's sources inside Congress warn that the alleged accident won't save him, Francis embarks on a new Syrian peace plan as a way to divert attention. Meanwhile, as LeAnn reassures Francis that he has nothing to worry about from her when it comes to the investigation into Aidan Macallan, Jane Davis continues pressing Claire to take action in Syria, even if it means cutting a deal with the ICO. With Sean Jeffries looking to gain Francis' confidence by revealing the details of Tom Hammerschmidt's investigation into Zoe Barnes' death, Nathan Green warns Doug that the FBI has lost patience with the president. After Green denies being involved with the White House leaks, Claire and Francis ask Doug to admit to killing Barnes and resign. As Doug tells LeAnn that he did, in fact, kill her in order to protect their boss, Claire warns Francis that Tom is looking to complete his tell-all book about them. So to make sure they aren't confronted with even more damaging news, Claire lures Tom to a secret rendezvous at Usher’s apartment and kills him. With Syria reaching a boiling point, Davis tells Usher that she doesn’t like Francis and is working behind the scenes to elevate Claire to the presidency. While Seth tells congressional investigators that he's going to implicate Doug in Barnes' death, Nathan Green defends the FBI's investigation into Election Day attacks and the apparently wrongful arrest. Then, after LeAnn defends the president from accusations that he authorized Aidan Macallan to influence the election with NSA intelligence, Usher tells Francis about a decades-old rape accusation that could be used to blackmail Romero. Finally, as Davis warns him that his presidency is beyond repair, Francis uses his appearance before the Judiciary Committee to admit his guilt and resign, making Claire the new president.