Lesson 52: The Vice Presidency
In this lesson, we will talk about the responsibilities of the vice president,
particularly his responsibility to
take over the office of president if the office becomes vacant or the president
is incapacitated. We will also look at how a new vice president is chosen if
the vice presidency becomes vacant.
In the Constitution, the vice president's only real role is to preside over the
Senate. Most of the time, he does not even have to do that as the President Pro
Tempore fills that capacity.
Vice Presidents have been chosen by Presidents traditionally to reach more
voters. A president from the city does well to choose one who is known in rural
settings. A president from the North might choose a vice president from the
South. A female has been chosen several times to attempt to draw the female
voters.
Beyond their role in
attracting voters, the Vice President normally does not have much
responsibility, although some presidents have allowed Vice Presidents to be
powerful, as was the case with Dick Cheney when George W. Bush was president.
Throughout history,
there have been eight instances where the Vice President has become President
when the office became vacant as a result of death.
Death is not the only reason a vice president might need to
step up into the office; a president can also become incapacitated. This has
happened several times throughout history when the president fell ill, such as
when Woodrow Wilson had a stroke in 1919 and Dwight D. Eisenhower became ill in
1958.
In 1967,
the 25th Amendment was passed to give guidance for how to
handle these situations. It establishes procedures for filling presidential and
vice-presidential vacancies and makes provisions for presidential incapacity.
When possible, the president must inform Congress in writing that he is
incapable of fulfilling his duties in office. At that time, the vice president
steps up and acts as president until the president can return.
If the president cannot communicate that he is unable to fulfill his duties,
that decision is to
be made by a majority of the cabinet along with the vice president.
When the office of the vice president becomes vacant,
Section 2 of the 25th Amendment provides that
the president will nominate a vice president who must then be confirmed by a
majority vote in Congress.
There is an entire line of succession established by the Presidential
Succession Act of 1947 that ranks offices that will replace the office of the
president and the vice president in the unlikely scenario that those offices
keep becoming vacant. The Speaker of the House will become president in the
case that the offices of president and vice president become vacant. The
President Pro Tempore of the Senate is next in line, and the list keeps going.