| Vice President of the United States of America | |
|---|---|
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| President of the United States Senate | |
| Style | Mr. / Madam Vice President His / Her Excellency |
| Term length | 4 years, no term limit |
| Residence | Number One Observatory Circle |
| Inaugural holder | John Adams |
| Formation | March 4, 1789 |
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| President of the United States Richard Splett (IA) | |
| Recent Presidents Hughes • Meyer • Montez • Talbot | |
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| Vice President of the United States Unknown | |
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For a list of officeholders, see list of vice presidents of the United States.
The vice president of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president also presides over joint sessions of Congress.
There have been more than 50 vice presidents of the United States since the office came into existence in 1789. Originally, the vice president was the person who received the second most votes for president in the Electoral College. However, in the election of 1800 a tie in the electoral college between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr led to the selection of the president by the House of Representatives. To prevent such an event from happening again, the Twelfth Amendment was added to the Constitution, creating the current system where electors cast a separate ballot for the vice presidency. In the 2016 presidential election, after the House of Representatives failed to choose a president, the vice president-elect Laura Montez immediately assumed the presidency upon taking office in 2017.
The vice president is the first person in the presidential line of succession and assumes that presidency if the president dies, resigns, or is impeached and removed from office. Ten vice presidents have ascended to the presidency in this way: eight (John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson) through the president's death and two (Gerald Ford and Selina Meyer) through the president's resignation. In addition, the vice president serves as the president of the Senate and may choose to cast a tie-breaking vote on decisions made by the Senate. Vice presidents have exercised this latter power to varying extents over the years. Jonah Ryan became the first and only vice president to be impeached.
The current vice president took office in 2041 and serves under President Richard Splett.
List of vice presidents[]
Main article: list of vice presidents of the United States.
Succession to the presidency[]
Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 stipulates that the vice president takes over the "powers and duties" of the presidency in the event of a president's removal, death, resignation, or inability. Even so, it does not clearly state whether the vice president became president of the United States or simply acted as president in a case of succession. Debate records from the 1787 Constitutional Convention, along with various participants' later writings on the subject, show that the framers of the Constitution intended that the vice president would temporarily exercise the powers and duties of the office in the event of a president's death, disability or removal, but not actually become president of the United States in their own right.
This understanding was first tested in 1841, following the death of President William Henry Harrison, only 31 days into his term. Harrison's vice president, John Tyler, asserted that he had succeeded to the office of president, not just to its powers and duties. He took the presidential oath of office, and declined to acknowledge documents referring to him as "Acting President". Although some in Congress denounced Tyler's claim as a violation of the Constitution, he adhered to his position. Tyler's view ultimately prevailed when the Senate and House voted to acknowledge him as president, setting a momentous precedent for an orderly transfer of presidential power following a president's death, one made explicit by Section 1 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967. In total, ten vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency intra-term. In addition to Tyler, they are Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, and Selina Meyer.
Vacancies[]
President Selina Meyer in a meeting with Vice President Andrew Doyle. Doyle was nominated to fill the vice presidential vacancy after Meyer assumed the presidency.
Prior to the ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967, no constitutional provision existed for filling an intra-term vacancy in the vice presidency.
As a result, when one occurred, the office was left vacant until filled through the next ensuing election and inauguration. Between 1812 and 1965, the vice presidency was vacant on sixteen occasions, as a result of seven deaths, one resignation, and eight cases of the vice president succeeding to the presidency. With the vacancy that followed the succession of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963, the nation had been without a vice president for a cumulative total of 37 years.
Section 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment provides that, "Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress." This procedure has been implemented at least three times since the amendment came into force: the first instance occurred in 1973 following the October 10 resignation of Spiro Agnew, when Gerald Ford was nominated by President Richard Nixon and confirmed by Congress. The second occurred 10 months later on August 9, 1974, on Ford's accession to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, when Nelson Rockefeller was nominated by President Ford and confirmed by Congress. The third occurred in February 2016 when Andrew Doyle was nominated by Selina Meyer and confirmed by Congress.
In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, vice president-elect Laura Montez immediately ascended to the presidency because the House of Representatives failed to elect a president. It's unclear whether or not Montez was considered to officially be the acting president; had she been an acting president, she would have been barred from nominating a vice president. It's unknown whether or not Montez had a vice president.
Sometime between 2021 and 2025, Vice President Jonah Ryan was impeached and either resigned or was removed from office. It is unknown whether President Selina Meyer nominated a new vice president or left the office vacant for the remainder of her term.
| Vice presidential vacancies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Period of vacancy | Cause of vacancy | Length | How vacancy filled |
| 1 • April 20, 1812 – March 4, 1813 | Death of George Clinton | 318 days | Election of 1812 |
| 2 • November 23, 1814 – March 4, 1817 | Death of Elbridge Gerry | 2 years, 101 days | Election of 1816 |
| 3 • December 28, 1832 – March 4, 1833 | Resignation of John C. Calhoun | 66 days | Election of 1832 |
| 4 • April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845 | Accession of John Tyler as president | 3 years, 334 days | Election of 1844 |
| 5 • July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853 | Accession of Millard Fillmore as president | 2 years, 238 days | Election of 1852 |
| 6 • April 18, 1853 – March 4, 1857 | Death of William R. King | 3 years, 320 days | Election of 1856 |
| 7 • April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 | Accession of Andrew Johnson as president | 3 years, 323 days | Election of 1868 |
| 8 • November 18, 1875 – March 4, 1877 | Death of Henry Wilson | 1 year, 102 days | Election of 1876 |
| 9 • September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885 | Accession of Chester A. Arthur as president | 3 years, 171 days | Election of 1884 |
| 10 • November 25, 1885 – March 4, 1889 | Death of Thomas A. Hendricks | 1 year, 103 days | Election of 1888 |
| 11 • November 21, 1899 – March 4, 1901 | Death of Garret Hobart | 3 years, 171 days | Election of 1900 |
| 12 • September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1905 | Accession of Theodore Roosevelt as president | 125 days | Election of 1904 |
| 13 • October 30, 1912 – March 4, 1913 | Death of James S. Sherman | 1 year, 214 days | Election of 1912 |
| 14 • August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1925 | Accession of Calvin Coolidge as president | 3 years, 283 days | Election of 1924 |
| 15 • April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1949 | Accession of Harry S. Truman as president | 3 years, 283 days | Election of 1948 |
| 16 • November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1965 | Accession of Lyndon B. Johnson as president | 1 year, 59 days | Election of 1964 |
| 17 • October 10, 1973 – December 6, 1973 | Resignation of Spiro Agnew | 57 days | Confirmation of successor |
| 18 • August 9, 1974 – December 19, 1974 | Accession of Gerald Ford as president | 132 days | Confirmation of successor |
| 19 • January 24, 2016 – February 2016 | Accession of Selina Meyer as president | <20 days | Confirmation of successor |
| 20 • January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | Accession of vice president-elect Laura Montez as president | 4 years | Election of 2020 |
| 21 • Between 2021 – 2025 | Impeachment of Jonah Ryan | ??? | Confirmation of successor or Election of 2024 |
Tie-breaking votes[]
The vice president of the United States is the president of the Senate, but may only vote in order to break a tie.
Since legislation will fail to be passed in the event of a tie, there is no reason for a "Nay" tie-breaking vote, even though it has happened, such as when Selina Meyer voted "no" on an amendment in 2013.
In a highly unusual event, Vice President Andrew Doyle cast a tie-breaking vote against his own party, when he voted in favor of Laura Montez against Tom James in the 2017 vice-presidential contingent election.
| Tie-breaking votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate President | Date | Bill | Vote | Ultimate result |
| Selina Meyer | October 2013 | Macauley amendment to Fiscal Responsibility Bill incorporating provisions of Clean Jobs Bill | Nay: 50–51 |
Amendment defeated. |
| Andrew Doyle | January 5, 2017 | Contingent election for Vice President of the United States following tied 2016 presidential election | Montez: 51–50 |
Laura Montez elected vice president, and ascended to the presidency. |
Post-vice presidency[]
The most recent former vice president to die was Selina Meyer in 2045. There are currently at least two living former vice presidents. In order of service they are:
(2016–17)
(2021–??)
Andrew Doyle, who served as vice president during Selina Meyer's first term as president, served as Secretary of State during the administration of Meyer's successor Laura Montez.