{
  "id": "98-730",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-730",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105218,
      "date": "1998-08-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:52:22.979941",
      "title": "Vice Presidential Vacancies: Congressional Procedures in the Ford and Rockefeller Nominations",
      "summary": "Although the Constitution provides that the Vice President succeeds the President in cases of\nremoval, death, resignation, or disability, it makes no provision for filling vacancies in the vice\npresidency. On sixteen occasions between 1789 and 1967, the vice presidency was vacant. In eight\ninstances, the Vice President replaced a President who had died; in seven, the Vice President died\nin office; and in one case, the incumbent resigned. During these sometimes lengthy periods, the\noffice remained vacant, and some other officer served as first in line to the President. Between 1792\nand 1886, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House were next in line\nto succeed the President after the Vice President; between 1886 and 1947, the persons to succeed\nwere the Secretary of State and other cabinet officers in the order in which their departments were\ncreated. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 placed the Speaker and President Pro Tempore\nin first and second place, followed by the Cabinet, as before.\n  In the post-World War II era, these arrangements were increasingly regarded as inadequate,\nparticularly in light of America's great-power status and the growth of world tensions as the Cold\nWar evolved. Most observers believed the nation needed a Vice President fully prepared to assume\nthe demands of the presidency at all times. The assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963\nprovided a dramatic catalyst for change, helping stimulate congressional approval of an amendment\nthat, among other provisions, empowers the President to nominate a Vice President whenever the\noffice is vacant, subject to approval by a majority of both houses of Congress. The 25th Amendment\nbecame operational in 1967.\n  Within a decade, Congress considered two nominees for the vice presidency. Both occurred\nat least indirectly because of the Watergate affair. In 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned\nas part of a plea bargain to avoid prosecution on political corruption charges, and President Richard\nNixon nominated House Republican Leader Gerald Ford to succeed him. Congressional precedents\nestablished included the essentially bi-partisan nature of the confirmation process, full utilization of\nthe Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating the nominee's public life and record, and\ncommittee assignment to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate and the\nCommittee on the Judiciary in the House. Ford was confirmed by overwhelming margins in both\nhouses. Less than a year later, Nixon himself resigned when it became obvious he would be\nimpeached for his actions in the Watergate affair. Ford succeeded to the presidency without incident\nand nominated Nelson Rockefeller for Vice President. Although the Rockefeller nomination was\nmore controversial, due to the former Governor's extremely complex finances and certain\nquestionable political practices, he was also confirmed in both houses by comfortable majorities.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-730",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Economic Policy"
  ]
}