How Is a Vacancy in the Vice Presidency Filled?
Meta description: Learn how the 25th Amendment fills a vice-presidential vacancy, how presidential nominees are confirmed, and what happens while the office is vacant.
A vacancy in the vice presidency is filled through a constitutional appointment process—not a nationwide election. Under Section 2 of the 25th Amendment, the president nominates a new vice president, who takes office after receiving majority approval in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The process has been used twice: first when Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew in 1973, and again when Nelson Rockefeller replaced Ford in 1974. Understanding the steps also helps clarify what happens to presidential succession while the office is empty.
The 25th Amendment Sets the Process
Section 2 of the 25th Amendment provides the rule for filling a vice-presidential vacancy. It states that when the vice presidency becomes vacant, “the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.” The amendment became part of the Constitution in 1967.
Before the amendment, the Constitution did not provide a way to appoint a replacement vice president. If the vice president died, resigned, or became president, the office generally remained vacant until the next presidential inauguration. The Presidential Succession Act identified who would act as president if the presidency also became vacant, but it did not create a replacement vice president.
The amendment’s approach is a shared process: the president chooses a nominee, and both chambers of Congress must approve that person. It is not a unilateral presidential appointment, and it does not require a national election.
What Causes a Vice-Presidential Vacancy?
A vacancy can arise in several ways. The vice president may die in office, resign, or become president after the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office. The Constitution’s impeachment provisions also allow removal of a vice president, although no vice president has been removed through impeachment.
A vacancy is different from a vice president’s temporary inability to perform duties. Section 3 of the 25th Amendment concerns a president who voluntarily declares an inability to serve temporarily, while Section 4 addresses a president’s inability declared by the vice president and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments. Those sections concern presidential powers and duties; they do not fill an empty vice-presidential office.
Likewise, the vice president’s constitutional role as president of the Senate does not pass automatically to another official. The Senate elects a president pro tempore to preside in the vice president’s absence, but that senator does not become vice president and does not inherit the vice president’s other constitutional functions.
How the Appointment and Confirmation Process Works
The president selects a nominee
The process begins with the president. The Constitution does not prescribe a shortlist, consultation process, or formal deadline for selecting a nominee. In practice, a president may consider experience, governing priorities, political relationships, public confidence, and the nominee’s ability to serve if the presidency becomes vacant.
The president submits a nomination to Congress. The 25th Amendment does not specify a required nomination document or set a timetable for the chambers’ review. A nominee does not become vice president merely because the president announces the choice or sends the nomination to Congress.
Both chambers review the nominee
The House and Senate each consider whether to confirm the nominee. Each chamber may conduct its own review, including hearings, questions, and votes. The Constitution does not require identical procedures in both chambers, and it does not make one chamber’s approval a substitute for the other’s.
Confirmation requires a majority vote in the House and a majority vote in the Senate. The constitutional text does not call for a joint session or a single combined vote. A nominee must clear both chambers; approval by the Senate alone, for example, is insufficient.
The wording requires majority approval from each House. In ordinary congressional practice, the outcome is determined by the applicable voting rules and the number of members voting, provided the chamber has a quorum. Congress’s official records show the confirmation votes in the two historical cases.
The nominee takes office after confirmation
Under Section 2, the nominee takes office upon confirmation by both chambers. The appointment does not depend on a separate nationwide election or a second presidential appointment after the votes. The 25th Amendment does not specify a separate confirmation ceremony as a condition of taking office.
If either chamber rejects the nominee, or does not approve the nomination, the vacancy remains. The president could submit another nominee, but the Constitution does not set a specific time limit for doing so. Until a nominee is confirmed by both chambers, no one occupies the vice presidency.
Historical Examples: Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller
The 25th Amendment’s vacancy procedure has been used twice. In 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned amid a federal investigation and pleaded no contest to a charge related to tax evasion. President Richard Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford to replace him. The House confirmed Ford 387–35, and the Senate confirmed him 92–3. Ford took office as vice president in December 1973.
In August 1974, Nixon resigned and Ford became president. That change left the vice presidency vacant again. Ford nominated former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The House confirmed Rockefeller 287–128, and the Senate confirmed him 90–7. Rockefeller took office as vice president in December 1974.
These episodes show why the amendment matters. Without Section 2, the vice-presidential office would have remained empty until the next election and inauguration. Instead, the country restored a vice president through a process that required support from both branches of Congress as well as the president’s choice.
What Happens While the Office Is Vacant?
While a vacancy lasts, the United States has no vice president. The office’s duties are not all transferred to one replacement official. The president pro tempore may preside over the Senate, but the president pro tempore is not the constitutional successor to the presidency by virtue of holding that Senate position alone.
The vacancy matters most for presidential succession. Under the 25th Amendment, if the president dies, resigns, or is removed while the vice presidency is vacant, the president’s powers and duties devolve on the next eligible official under federal succession law. The Presidential Succession Act currently places the Speaker of the House next in line after the vice president, followed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and then eligible cabinet officers, in the order established by law.
That succession framework is separate from the process for filling the vice presidency. The Speaker does not automatically become vice president when the office is vacant. A new vice president still requires a presidential nomination and confirmation by both chambers under the 25th Amendment.
A prolonged vacancy can also leave the country without the vice president’s tie-breaking vote in the Senate. The Constitution authorizes the vice president to vote when the Senate is equally divided. Senators can continue their work without that vote, but a tied vote cannot be broken by the vice president during the vacancy.
How the Vacancy Process Differs From a Vice-Presidential Election
Voters choose a presidential ticket in the general election, but they do not hold a special national election when the vice presidency later becomes vacant. The president nominates the replacement, and Congress confirms or rejects the nomination. This design was intended to restore a functioning vice presidency without waiting years for the next regular election.
It also gives Congress a direct role in evaluating a person who could become president if the president leaves office or cannot continue. Confirmation is not merely a formality: both the House and Senate must independently agree to the nominee.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who chooses the nominee? | The president. |
| Who must approve the nominee? | Both the House and the Senate. |
| What vote is required? | A majority vote in each chamber. |
| Is there a special national election? | No. |
| What if a chamber does not approve the nominee? | The vacancy continues until a nominee is confirmed by both chambers. |
Practical Limits and Open Questions
The 25th Amendment establishes the essential steps but leaves several practical details to Congress and the president. It sets no deadline for the president to nominate someone, no deadline for congressional votes, and no requirement that the chambers use a particular hearing schedule. The duration of a vacancy can therefore depend on political conditions, the nominee’s background, and congressional priorities.
The Constitution also does not expressly explain how the process would operate if Congress were not in session. The president may convene Congress on extraordinary occasions under Article II, Section 3, but the practical response would depend on the circumstances and congressional action. In either case, a nominee cannot take office without approval from both chambers.
There is no rule that a nominee must be a member of Congress or belong to the president’s political party. The key constitutional requirements for the Section 2 process are presidential nomination and confirmation by majorities in both Houses. A nominee would also need to meet the constitutional qualifications associated with the vice presidency, which are the same as those for the presidency.
Why the Vacancy Procedure Matters
The vice presidency is part of the presidential succession system, a participant in Senate proceedings, and an office with responsibilities assigned by law and the president. A vacancy can leave a gap in each of those functions. Section 2 of the 25th Amendment provides a way to restore the office without changing the normal presidential election schedule.
The answer to “How is a vacancy in the vice presidency filled?” is therefore straightforward: the president nominates a replacement, and the nominee takes office only after receiving majority approval in both the House and the Senate. The process has succeeded twice in American history, while leaving Congress a meaningful role in deciding who fills one of the nation’s most consequential offices.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service, Constitution Annotated: Twenty-Fifth Amendment, Section 2
- National Archives, The 25th Amendment
- U.S. House of Representatives, History of the House: Agnew, Ford, and Rockefeller
- U.S. Senate, The Vice President of the United States
- 3 U.S.C. § 19, Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President