View source for Vice President of the United States

{{short description|Second-highest constitutional office in the United States}}
{{for|a list of vice presidents of the United States|List of vice presidents of the United States}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Vice President
| body = the United States
| insignia = US Vice President Seal.svg
| insigniasize = 120
| insigniacaption = [[Seal of the vice president of the United States|Vice presidential seal]]
| flag = Flag of the Vice President of the United States.svg
| flagsize = 130
| flagborder = yes
| flagcaption = [[Flag of the vice president of the United States|Vice presidential flag]]
| image = Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Kamala Harris]]
| incumbentsince = January 20, 2021
| department = {{ubl|[[United States Senate]]|[[Executive branch of the U.S. Government]]|[[Office of the Vice President of the United States]]}}
| style = {{ubl|[[Mr. President (title)|Madam Vice President]] (informal)|[[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]] (formal)|[[Mr. President (title)|Madam President]] (within the Senate)|[[Excellency|Her Excellency]] (diplomatic)}}
| unofficial_names = VPOTUS,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/VPOTUS|title=VPOTUS|work=[[Merriam-Webster]]|accessdate=February 10, 2021|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125113323/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/VPOTUS|url-status=live}}</ref> VP, Veep<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veep |title=Veep |work=Merriam-Webster |access-date=February 14, 2021 |archive-date=October 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014174159/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veep |url-status=live }}</ref>
| member_of = {{ubl|[[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]]|[[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]|[[National Space Council]]|[[National Economic Council (United States)|National Economic Council]]|[[United States Senate]]}}
| status = {{ubl|Second highest executive branch officer|[[President of the Senate]]}}
| residence = [[Number One Observatory Circle]]
| seat = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| appointer = [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], or, if vacant, [[President of the United States]] via [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Section 2: Vice presidential vacancy|congressional confirmation]]
| termlength = Four years, no term limit
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of the United States]]
| formation = {{start date and age|1789|3|4|p=1|br=1}}<ref name="formation">"The conventions of nine states having adopted the Constitution, Congress, in September or October, 1788, passed a resolution in conformity with the opinions expressed by the Convention and appointed the first Wednesday in March of the ensuing year as the day, and the then seat of Congress as the place, 'for commencing proceedings under the Constitution.'<p> "Both governments could not be understood to exist at the same time. The new government did not commence until the old government expired. It is apparent that the government did not commence on the Constitution's being ratified by the ninth state, for these ratifications were to be reported to Congress, whose continuing existence was recognized by the Convention, and who were requested to continue to exercise their powers for the purpose of bringing the new government into operation. In fact, Congress did continue to act as a government until it dissolved on the first of November by the successive disappearance of its members. It existed potentially until 2 March, the day preceding that on which the members of the new Congress were directed to assemble."{{ussc|name=Owings v. Speed|link=supreme.justia.com|volume=18|page=420|pin=422|year=1820|reporter=Wheat|reporter-volume=5}}</p></ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Maier|first=Pauline | author-link=Pauline Maier| title=Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788|date=2010|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York | isbn=978-0-684-86854-7| page=433}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=March 4: A forgotten huge day in American history|date=March 4, 2013|url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/march-4-a-forgotten-huge-day-in-american-politics/|publisher=[[National Constitution Center]]|location=Philadelphia|access-date=July 24, 2018|archive-date=February 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224184927/https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/march-4-a-forgotten-huge-day-in-american-politics|url-status=live}}</ref>
| first = [[John Adams]]<ref>{{cite book| last=Smith| first=Page| author-link=Page Smith| title=John Adams|volume=Two 1784–1826| date=1962| publisher=Doubleday| location=Garden City, New York| page=744}}</ref>
| succession = [[United States presidential line of succession|First]]<ref name=XXVHeritage>{{cite web|title=Essays on Amendment XXV: Presidential Succession|work=The Heritage Guide to the Constitution|last=Feerick|first=John|url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/25/essays/187/presidential-succession|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=July 3, 2018|archive-date=August 22, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/amendments/25/essays/187/presidential-succession|url-status=live}}</ref>
| salary = $284,600 per annum
| website = {{URL|https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/|www.whitehouse.gov}}
}}
The '''vice president<!--"vice president" is uncapitalized here because it is preceded by modifier "The", per [[MOS:JOBTITLES]] bullet 3 and table column 2 example 1. Any proposal for modification to the guideline should be posted at its talk page, [[WT:MOSBIO]].--> of the United States''' ('''VPOTUS''') is the second-highest office in the [[Executive branch of the United States government|executive branch]]<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=October 14, 2014 |first=Steve |last=Weinberg |title='The American Vice Presidency' sketches all 47 men who held America's second-highest office |access-date=October 6, 2019 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2014/1014/The-American-Vice-Presidency-sketches-all-47-men-who-held-America-s-second-highest-office |archive-date=October 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006061616/https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2014/1014/The-American-Vice-Presidency-sketches-all-47-men-who-held-America-s-second-highest-office |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=USLegal.com |date=n.d. |title=Vice President |access-date=October 6, 2019 |quote=The Vice President of the United States is the second highest executive officer of the United States government, after the President. |url=https://system.uslegal.com/executive-branch/vice-president/ |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025034243/https://system.uslegal.com/executive-branch/vice-president/ |url-status=live }}</ref> of the [[U.S. federal government]], after the [[president of the United States]], and ranks first in the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]]. The vice president is also an officer in the [[Legislative branch of the United States federal government|legislative branch]], as the '''president of the Senate'''. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to [[Presiding Officer of the United States Senate|preside over]] the [[United States Senate]], but may not vote except to [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|cast a tie-breaking vote]].<ref name=USlegal-VP>{{Cite web| title=Executive Branch: Vice President| work=The US Legal System| url=https://system.uslegal.com/executive-branch/vice-president/| publisher=U.S. Legal Support| access-date=February 20, 2018| archive-date=October 25, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025034243/https://system.uslegal.com/executive-branch/vice-president/| url-status=live}}</ref> The vice president is [[indirect election|indirectly elected]] at the same time as the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], but the electoral votes are cast separately for these two offices.<ref name=USlegal-VP/> Following the passage in 1967 of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]] to the US Constitution, a vacancy in the office of vice president may be filled by presidential nomination and confirmation by a majority vote in both houses of Congress.

The modern vice presidency is a position of significant power and is widely seen as an integral part of a president's administration. The presidential candidate selects the candidate for the vice presidency, as their [[running mate]] in the lead-up to the presidential election. While the exact nature of the role varies in each administration, since the vice president's service in office is by election, the president cannot dismiss the vice president, and the personal working-relationship with the president varies, most modern vice presidents serve as a key presidential advisor, governing partner, and representative of the president. The vice president is also a statutory member of the [[United States Cabinet]] and [[United States National Security Council]]<ref name=USlegal-VP/> and thus plays a significant role in executive government and national security matters. As the vice president's role within the executive branch has expanded, the legislative branch role has contracted; for example, vice presidents now preside over the Senate only infrequently.<ref name=Garvey>{{cite journal|last=Garvey|first=Todd|title=A Constitutional Anomaly: Safeguarding Confidential National Security Information Within the Enigma That Is the American Vice Presidency|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=wmborj|journal=William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal|volume=17|issue=2|year=2008|pages=565–605|publisher=[[William & Mary Law School]] Scholarship Repository|location=Williamsburg, Virginia|access-date=July 28, 2018|archive-date=July 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716054155/http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=wmborj|url-status=live}}</ref>

The role of the vice presidency has changed dramatically since the office was created during the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|1787 Constitutional Convention]]. Originally something of an afterthought, the vice presidency was considered an insignificant office for much of the nation's history, especially after the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twelfth Amendment]] meant that vice presidents were no longer the runners-up in the presidential election. The vice president's role began steadily growing in importance during the 1930s, with the [[Office of the Vice President of the United States|Office of the Vice President]] being created in the executive branch in 1939, and has since grown much further. Due to its increase in power and prestige, the vice presidency is now often considered to be a stepping stone to the presidency. Since the 1970s, the vice president has been afforded an official residence at [[Number One Observatory Circle]].
 
The Constitution does not expressly assign the vice presidency to a branch of the government, causing a dispute among scholars about which branch the office belongs to (the executive, the legislative, both, or neither).<ref name=Garvey/><ref name=24KJLPP1>{{cite journal| last=Brownell II| first=Roy E.| title=A Constitutional Chameleon: The Vice President's Place within the American System of Separation of Powers Part I: Text, Structure, Views of the Framers and the Courts| url=https://law.ku.edu/sites/law.drupal.ku.edu/files/docs/law_journal/v24/Brownell.pdf| journal=Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy| volume=24| issue=1| date=Fall 2014| pages=1–77| access-date=July 27, 2018| archive-date=December 30, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230020232/http://law.ku.edu/sites/law.drupal.ku.edu/files/docs/law_journal/v24/Brownell.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> The modern view of the vice president as an officer of the executive branch—one isolated almost entirely from the legislative branch—is due in large part to the assignment of executive authority to the vice president by either the president or Congress.<ref name=Garvey/><ref name=Goldstein>{{cite journal|last=Goldstein|first=Joel K.|title=The New Constitutional Vice Presidency|journal=Wake Forest Law Review|volume=30|page=505|publisher=Wake Forest Law Review Association, Inc.|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=wmborj|location=Winston Salem, NC|year=1995|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-date=July 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716054155/http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=wmborj|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, many vice presidents have previously served in Congress, and are often tasked with helping to advance an administration's legislative priorities.

[[Kamala Harris]] is the 49th and current vice president of the United States. A former senator, she is the first [[African Americans|African American]], first [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] and first female occupant of the office. Harris is the highest ranking female official in United States history. She assumed office on January 20, 2021.

==History and development==
===Constitutional Convention===

No mention of an office of vice president was made at the 1787 [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] until near the end, when an eleven-member committee on "Leftover Business" proposed a method of electing the chief executive (president).<ref>{{cite web|title=Major Themes at the Constitutional Convention: 8. Establishing the Electoral College and the Presidency|url=http://teachingamericanhistory.org/static/convention/themes/8.html|website=TeachingAmericanHistory.org|publisher=Ashbrook Center at Ashland University|location=Ashland, Ohio|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=February 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210174819/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/static/convention/themes/8.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Delegates had previously considered the selection of the Senate's presiding officer, deciding that "the Senate shall choose its own President", and had agreed that this official would be designated the executive's immediate successor. They had also considered the mode of election of the executive but had not reached consensus. This all changed on September 4, when the committee recommended that the nation's chief executive be elected by an [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], with each [[U.S. state|state]] having a number of presidential electors equal to the sum of that state's allocation of [[United States House of Representatives|representatives]] and [[United States Senate|senators]].<ref name=Garvey/><ref name=RA2005TLR>{{cite journal|last=Albert|first=Richard|title=The Evolving Vice Presidency|journal=Temple Law Review|date=Winter 2005|volume=78|issue=4|url=https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1624&context=lsfp|pages=811–896|publisher=Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=July 29, 2018|via=Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School|archive-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401064932/https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=1624&context=lsfp|url-status=live}}</ref>

Recognizing that loyalty to one's individual state outweighed loyalty to the new federation, the Constitution's framers assumed individual electors would be inclined to choose a candidate from their own state (a so-called "[[favorite son]]" candidate) over one from another state. So they created the office of vice president and required the electors to vote for two candidates, at least one of whom must be from outside the elector's state, believing that the second vote would be cast for a candidate of national character.<ref name=RA2005TLR/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=US Vice Presidents|url=http://www.historytoday.com/mark-rathbone/us-vice-presidents|last=Rathbone|first=Mark|magazine=History Review|issue=71|date=December 2011|publisher=History Today|location=London|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=February 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219050924/http://www.historytoday.com/mark-rathbone/us-vice-presidents|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, to guard against the possibility that electors might [[Gamesmanship#Usage outside of games|strategically]] waste their second votes, it was specified that the first runner-up would become vice president.<ref name=RA2005TLR/>

The resultant method of electing the president and vice president, spelled out in [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 3: Electors|Article{{spaces}}II, Section{{spaces}}1, Clause{{spaces}}3]], allocated to each [[U.S. state|state]] a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives membership. Each elector was allowed to vote for two people for president (rather than for both president and vice president), but could not [[Ranked voting|differentiate]] between their first and second choice for the presidency. The person receiving the greatest number of votes (provided it was an [[absolute majority]] of the whole number of electors) would be president, while the individual who received the next largest number of votes became vice president. If there were a tie for first or for second place, or if no one won a majority of votes, the president and vice president would be selected by means of [[contingent election]]s protocols stated in the clause.<ref name=A2TKec>{{cite web|last=Kuroda|first=Tadahisa|title=Essays on Article II: Electoral College|work=The Heritage Guide to The Constitution|url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/80/electoral-college|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=July 27, 2018|archive-date=August 22, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/articles/2/essays/80/electoral-college|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CRS2017THN>{{cite web|last=Neale|first=Thomas H.|title=The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections|date=May 15, 2017|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32611.pdf|work=CRS Report for Congress|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, D.C.|page=13|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206064910/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32611.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Early vice presidents and Twelfth Amendment===
[[File:Johnadamsvp.flipped.jpg|thumb|upright|250px|[[John Adams]], the first vice president of the United States]]

The first two vice presidents, [[John Adams]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]], both of whom gained the office by virtue of being runners-up in presidential contests, presided regularly over Senate proceedings and did much to shape the role of Senate president.<ref name=VP-PS/><ref>{{cite web| last=Schramm| first=Peter W.| title=Essays on Article I: Vice President as Presiding Officer| url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/15/vice-president-as-presiding-officer| work=Heritage Guide to the Constitution| publisher=The Heritage Foundation| access-date=July 27, 2018| archive-date=August 22, 2020| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/articles/1/essays/15/vice-president-as-presiding-officer| url-status=live}}</ref> Several 19th-century vice presidents—such as [[George M. Dallas|George Dallas]], [[Levi Morton]], and [[Garret Hobart]]—followed their example and led effectively, while others were rarely present.<ref name=VP-PS/>

The emergence of [[Political party|political parties]] and nationally coordinated election campaigns during the 1790s (which the Constitution's framers had not contemplated) quickly frustrated the election plan in the original Constitution. In the [[1796 United States presidential election|election of 1796]], [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] candidate John Adams won the presidency, but his bitter rival, [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] candidate Thomas Jefferson, came second and thus won the vice presidency. As a result, the president and vice president were from opposing parties; and Jefferson used the vice presidency to frustrate the president's policies. Then, four years later, in the [[1800 United States presidential election|election of 1800]], Jefferson and fellow Democratic-Republican [[Aaron Burr]] each received 73 electoral votes. In the contingent election that followed, Jefferson finally won the presidency on the 36th ballot, leaving Burr the vice presidency. Afterward, the system was overhauled through the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twelfth Amendment]] in time to be used in the [[1804 United States presidential election|1804 election]].<ref name=HF-XII>{{cite news|last=Fried|first=Charles|title=Essays on Amendment XII: Electoral College|work=The Heritage Guide to the Constitution|url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/amendments/12/essays/165/electoral-college|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|access-date=February 20, 2018|archive-date=August 22, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/amendments/12/essays/165/electoral-college|url-status=live}}</ref>

===19th and early 20th centuries===

For much of its existence, the office of vice president was seen as little more than a minor position. John Adams, the first vice president, was the first of many frustrated by the "complete insignificance" of the office. To his wife [[Abigail Adams]] he wrote, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man{{spaces}}... or his imagination contrived or his imagination conceived; and as I can do neither good nor evil, I must be borne away by others and met the common fate."<ref>{{cite book| last=Smith| first=Page| author-link=Page Smith| title=John Adams| volume=II 1784–1826| date=1962| publisher=Doubleday| location= New York| lccn=63-7188| page=844}}</ref> [[Thomas R. Marshall]], who served as vice president from 1913 to 1921 under President [[Woodrow Wilson]], lamented: "Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected Vice President of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again."<ref name="casevpquote">{{cite web|url=http://www.case.edu/news/2004/10-04/vp_trivia.htm|title=A heartbeat away from the presidency: vice presidential trivia|publisher=[[Case Western Reserve University]]|date=October 4, 2004|access-date=September 12, 2008|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019155112/http://case.edu/news/2004/10-04/vp_trivia.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> His successor, [[Calvin Coolidge]], was so obscure that [[Major League Baseball]] sent him free passes that misspelled his name, and a fire marshal failed to recognize him when Coolidge's Washington residence was evacuated.<ref name="greenberg2007">{{cite book|title=Calvin Coolidge profile|publisher=Macmillan|author=Greenberg, David|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wq1D6hcYlFwC&q=notary&pg=PA40|isbn=978-0-8050-6957-0|pages=40–41|access-date=October 15, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114195045/https://books.google.com/books?id=wq1D6hcYlFwC&q=notary&pg=PA40|url-status=live}}</ref> [[John Nance Garner]], who served as vice president from 1933 to 1941 under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], claimed that the vice presidency "isn't worth a pitcher of warm piss".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_vice-presidency_isn-t_worth_a_pitcher_of_warm/196103.html|title=John Nance Garner quotes|access-date=August 25, 2008|archive-date=April 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414213700/http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_vice-presidency_isn-t_worth_a_pitcher_of_warm/196103.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Harry Truman]], who also served as vice president under Franklin Roosevelt, said the office was as "useful as a cow's fifth teat".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nation: Some Day You'll Be Sitting in That Chair|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875366,00.html|magazine=Time|access-date=October 3, 2014|date=November 29, 1963|archive-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007074757/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875366,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Walter Bagehot]] remarked in ''[[The English Constitution]]'' that "[t]he framers of the Constitution expected that the ''vice''-president would be elected by the Electoral College as the second wisest man in the country. The vice-presidentship being a sinecure, a second-rate man agreeable to the wire-pullers is always smuggled in. The chance of succession to the presidentship is too distant to be thought of."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bagehot|first=Walter|title=[[The English Constitution]]|publisher=Collins|year=1963|pages=80|orig-year=1867}}</ref>

When the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] asked [[Daniel Webster]] to run for the vice presidency on [[Zachary Taylor]]'s ticket, he replied "I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead and in my coffin."<ref name="webster-novp">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVSFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22I+do+not+propose+to+be+buried+until+I+am+really+dead+and+in+my+coffin.%22|title=A Grammar of American Politics: The National Government|last1=Binkley|first1=Wilfred Ellsworth|last2=Moos|first2=Malcolm Charles|author-link2=Malcolm Moos|location=New York|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|year=1949|page=265|access-date=October 17, 2015|archive-date=September 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913042802/https://books.google.com/books?id=FVSFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22I+do+not+propose+to+be+buried+until+I+am+really+dead+and+in+my+coffin.%22|url-status=live}}</ref><!--See also: https://books.google.com/books?id=FVSFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22I+do+not+propose+to+be+buried+until+I+am+really+dead+and+in+my+coffin.%22+webster (note the added word).--> This was the second time Webster declined the office, which [[William Henry Harrison]] had first offered to him. Ironically, both the presidents making the offer to Webster died in office, meaning the three-time candidate would have become president had he accepted either. Since presidents rarely die in office, however, the better preparation for the presidency was considered to be the office of [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], in which Webster served under Harrison, Tyler, and later, Taylor's successor, Fillmore.

In the first hundred years of the United States' existence no fewer than seven proposals to abolish the office of vice president were advanced.<ref name="ames">{{cite book|last1=Ames|first1=Herman|title=The Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States During the First Century of Its History|date=1896|publisher=[[American Historical Association]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/proposedamendmen00amesrich/page/70 70]–72|url=https://archive.org/details/proposedamendmen00amesrich}}</ref> The first such constitutional amendment was presented by [[Samuel W. Dana]] in 1800; it was defeated by a vote of 27 to 85 in the [[United States House of Representatives]].<ref name="ames"/> The second, introduced by United States Senator [[James Hillhouse]] in 1808, was also defeated.<ref name="ames"/> During the late 1860s and 1870s, five additional amendments were proposed.<ref name="ames"/> One advocate, [[James Mitchell Ashley]], opined that the office of vice president was "superfluous" and dangerous.<ref name="ames"/>

[[Garret Hobart]], the first vice president under [[William McKinley]], was one of the very few vice presidents at this time who played an important role in the administration. A close confidant and adviser of the president, Hobart was called "Assistant President".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycentral.com/Bio/rec/GarretHobart.html|title=Garret Hobart|access-date=August 25, 2008|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927233833/http://www.historycentral.com/Bio/rec/GarretHobart.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, until 1919, vice presidents were not included in meetings of the [[United States Cabinet|President's Cabinet]]. This precedent was broken by Woodrow Wilson when he asked Thomas R. Marshall to preside over Cabinet meetings while Wilson was in France negotiating the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lugar.senate.gov/services/pdf_crs/executive/The_Vice_Presidency.pdf|title=The Vice Presidency: Evolution of the Modern Office, 1933–2001|author=Harold C. Relyea|date=February 13, 2001|publisher=Congressional Research Service|access-date=February 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109070153/http://www.lugar.senate.gov/services/pdf_crs/executive/The_Vice_Presidency.pdf|archive-date=November 9, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> President [[Warren G. Harding]] also invited Calvin Coolidge, to meetings. The next vice president, [[Charles G. Dawes]], did not seek to attend Cabinet meetings under President Coolidge, declaring that "the precedent might prove injurious to the country."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Charles_Dawes.htm|title=U.S. Senate Web page on Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President (1925–1929)|publisher=Senate.gov|access-date=August 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106112435/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Charles_Dawes.htm|archive-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Vice President [[Charles Curtis]] regularly attended Cabinet meetings on the invitation of President [[Herbert Hoover]].<ref>{{cite magazine| title=National Affairs: Curtis v. Brown?| date=April 21, 1930| url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,739085,00.html| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| access-date=October 31, 2022}}</ref>

===Emergence of the modern vice presidency===
[[File:Harry S. Truman.jpg|thumb|upright|Though prominent as a Missouri Senator, [[Harry Truman]] had been vice president only three months when he became president; he was never informed of [[Franklin Roosevelt]]'s war or postwar policies while serving as vice president.]]

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt raised the stature of the office by renewing the practice of inviting the vice president to cabinet meetings, which every president since has maintained. Roosevelt's first vice president, [[John Nance Garner]], broke with him over the "[[Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937|court-packing]]" issue early in his second term, and became Roosevelt's leading critic. At the start of that term, on [[Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt|January 20, 1937]], Garner had been the first vice president to be sworn into office on the Capitol steps in the same ceremony with the president, a tradition that continues. Prior to that time, vice presidents were traditionally inaugurated at a separate ceremony in the Senate chamber. [[Gerald Ford]] and [[Nelson Rockefeller]], who were each appointed to the office under the terms of the 25th Amendment, were inaugurated in the House and Senate chambers respectively.

At the [[1940 Democratic National Convention]], Roosevelt selected his own running mate, [[Henry A. Wallace|Henry Wallace]], instead of leaving the nomination to the convention, when he wanted Garner replaced.<ref name=VPrising>{{cite journal|last=Goldstein|first=Joel K.|title=The Rising Power of the Modern Vice Presidency|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|volume=38|issue=3|date=September 2008|pages=374–389|publisher=Wiley|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02650.x|jstor=41219685|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41219685|access-date=December 10, 2021 | issn = 0360-4918 }}</ref> He then gave Wallace major responsibilities during [[World War II]]. However, after numerous policy disputes between Wallace and other [[Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt Administration]] and Democratic Party officials, he was denied re-nomination at the [[1944 Democratic National Convention]]. [[Harry Truman]] was selected instead. During his {{age in days|January 20, 1945|April 12, 1945}}-day vice presidency, Truman was never informed about any war or post-war plans, including the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref name="JSTOR daily">{{cite web| last=Feuerherd| first=Peter| title=How Harry Truman Transformed the Vice Presidency| date=May 8, 2018| url=https://daily.jstor.org/how-harry-truman-transformed-the-vice-presidency/| work=JSTOR Daily| publisher=[[JSTOR]]| access-date=August 12, 2022}}</ref> Truman had no visible role in the Roosevelt administration outside of his congressional responsibilities and met with the president only a few times during his tenure as vice president.<ref>{{cite web| last=Hamby| first=Alonzo L.| title=Harry Truman: Life Before the Presidency| date=October 4, 2016| url=https://millercenter.org/president/truman/life-before-the-presidency| publisher=Miller Center, University of Virginia| location=Charlottesville, Virginia| access-date=August 12, 2022}}</ref> Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, and Truman succeeded to the presidency (the state of Roosevelt's health had also been kept from Truman). At the time he said, "I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets fell on me."<ref>{{cite web| title=Harry S Truman National Historic Site: Missouri| url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/harry_truman_nhs.html| publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior| access-date=August 12, 2022}}</ref> Determined that no future vice president should be so uninformed upon unexpectedly becoming president, Truman made the vice president a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], a participant in Cabinet meetings and a recipient of regular security briefings in 1949.<ref name="JSTOR daily"/>

The stature of the vice presidency grew again while [[Richard Nixon]] was in office (1953–1961). He attracted the attention of the media and the Republican Party, when [[Dwight Eisenhower]] authorized him to preside at [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] meetings in his absence and to assume temporary control of the executive branch, which he did after Eisenhower suffered a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] on September 24, 1955, [[ileitis]] in June 1956, and a [[stroke]] in November 1957. Nixon was also visible on the world stage during his time in office.<ref name="JSTOR daily"/>

Until 1961, vice presidents had their offices on [[Capitol Hill]], a formal office in the Capitol itself and a working office in the [[Russell Senate Office Building]]. [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] was the first vice president to also be given an office in the White House complex, in the [[Old Executive Office Building]]. The former Navy Secretary's office in the OEOB has since been designated the "Ceremonial Office of the Vice President" and is today used for formal events and press interviews. President [[Jimmy Carter]] was the first president to give his vice president, [[Walter Mondale]], an office in the [[West Wing]] of the White House, which all vice presidents have since retained. Because of their function as president of the Senate, vice presidents still maintain offices and staff members on Capitol Hill. This change came about because Carter held the view that the office of the vice presidency had historically been a wasted asset and wished to have his vice president involved in the decision-making process. Carter pointedly considered, according to Joel Goldstein, the way Roosevelt treated Truman as "immoral".<ref name="WPO 41921">{{cite news|last=Balz|first=Dan|title=Mondale lost the presidency but permanently changed the office of vice presidency|date=April 19, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mondale-lost-the-presidency-but-permanently-changed-the-office-of-vice-presidency/2021/04/19/478b1a68-a17b-11eb-85fc-06664ff4489d_story.html|access-date=August 2, 2023}}</ref>

Another factor behind the rise in prestige of the vice presidency was the expanded use of presidential preference primaries for choosing party nominees during the 20th century. By adopting primary voting, the field of candidates for vice president was expanded by both the increased quantity and quality of presidential candidates successful in some primaries, yet who ultimately failed to capture the presidential nomination at the convention.<ref name=VPrising/> 

At the start of the 21st century, [[Dick Cheney]] (2001–2009) held a tremendous amount of power and frequently made policy decisions on his own, without the knowledge of the president.<ref name="Kenneth T. Walsh">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/031013/13cheney.htm|title=Dick Cheney is the most powerful vice president in history. Is that good?|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|author=Kenneth T. Walsh|date=October 3, 2003|access-date=September 13, 2015 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205021439/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/031013/13cheney.htm|archive-date=February 5, 2011}}</ref> This rapid growth led to [[Matthew Yglesias]] and [[Bruce Ackerman]] calling for the abolition of the vice presidency<ref>{{cite news|last1=Yglesias|first1=Matthew|title=End the Vice Presidency|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/07/end-the-vice-presidency/307516/|access-date=December 28, 2017|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=July 2009|archive-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229052318/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/07/end-the-vice-presidency/307516/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ackerman|first1=Bruce|title=Abolish the vice presidency|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-oe-ackerman2-2008oct02-story.html?barc=0|access-date=December 28, 2017|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=October 2, 2008|archive-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229112244/http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-oe-ackerman2-2008oct02-story.html?barc=0|url-status=live}}</ref> while [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]'s both vice presidential candidates, [[Sarah Palin]] and [[Joe Biden]], said they would reduce the role to simply being an adviser to the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89FbCPzAsRA|title=Full Vice Presidential Debate with Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden|publisher=YouTube|access-date=October 30, 2011|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114195116/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89FbCPzAsRA|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Constitutional roles==
{{Politics of the United States}}

Although delegates to the constitutional convention approved establishing the office, with both its executive and senatorial functions, not many understood the office, and so they gave the vice president few duties and little power.<ref name=VP-PS>{{cite web| title=Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)| website=senate.gov| url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm| publisher=Secretary of the Senate| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=July 28, 2018| archive-date=November 15, 2002| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021115191818/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> Only a few states had an analogous position. Among those that did, [[New York Constitution|New York's constitution]] provided that "the lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the Senate, and, upon an equal division, have a casting voice in their decisions, but not vote on any other occasion".<ref>{{Cite web | title=The Senate and the United States Constitution | url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitution_Senate.htm#5 | website=senate.gov | publisher=Secretary of the Senate | location=Washington, D.C. | access-date=February 20, 2018 | archive-date=February 11, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211193328/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitution_Senate.htm#5 | url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the vice presidency originally had authority in only a few areas, although constitutional amendments have added or clarified some matters.

===President of the Senate===

[[Article One of the United States Constitution#Clause 4: Vice President as President of Senate|Article I, Section 3, Clause 4]] confers upon the vice president the title "President of the Senate", authorizing the vice president to [[Presiding Officer of the United States Senate|preside over Senate meetings]]. In this capacity, the vice president is responsible for maintaining order and decorum, recognizing members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices, and precedent. With this position also comes the authority to [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|cast a tie-breaking vote]].<ref name=VP-PS/> In practice, the number of times vice presidents have exercised this right has varied greatly. Incumbent vice president [[Kamala Harris]] holds the record at 33 votes, followed by [[John C. Calhoun]] who had previously held the record at 31 votes; [[John Adams]] ranks third with 29.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lebowitz|first1=Megan|last2=Thorp|first2=Frank|last3=Santaliz|first3=Kate|title=Vice President Harris breaks record for casting the most tie-breaking votes|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/president-harris-breaks-record-casting-tie-breaking-votes-rcna123999|website=NBC News|date=December 5, 2023|access-date=December 5, 2023|archive-date=December 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205185108/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/president-harris-breaks-record-casting-tie-breaking-votes-rcna123999|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: Votes to Break Ties in the Senate |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/TieVotes.htm |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=United States Senate}}</ref> Nine vice presidents, most recently [[Joe Biden]], did not cast any tie-breaking votes.<ref>{{cite news| title=Check out the number of tie-breaking votes vice presidents have cast in the U.S. Senate| date=July 25, 2017| url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/check-out-number-tie-breaking-votes-vice-presidents-have-cast-us-senate| work=Washington Week| publisher=PBS| access-date=December 11, 2021| archive-date=December 12, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212013002/https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/check-out-number-tie-breaking-votes-vice-presidents-have-cast-us-senate| url-status=dead}}</ref>

As the framers of the Constitution anticipated that the vice president would not always be available to fulfill this responsibility, the Constitution provides that the Senate may elect a [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore]] (or "[[Pro tempore|president for a time]]") in order to maintain the proper ordering of the legislative process. In practice, since the early 20th century, neither the president of the Senate nor the pro tempore regularly presides; instead, the president pro tempore usually delegates the task to other Senate members.<ref>{{cite web| last=Forte| first=David F.| title=Essays on Article I: President Pro Tempore| url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/16/president-pro-tempore| work=Heritage Guide to the Constitution| publisher=The Heritage Foundation| access-date=July 27, 2018| archive-date=August 22, 2020| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/articles/1/essays/16/president-pro-tempore| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Standing Rules of the Senate Rule XIX|Rule XIX]], which governs debate, does not authorize the vice president to participate in debate, and grants only to members of the Senate (and, upon appropriate notice, former presidents of the United States) the privilege of addressing the Senate, without granting a similar privilege to the sitting vice president. Thus, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine wrote in 1925, during the tenure of Vice President [[Charles G. Dawes]], "once in four years the Vice President can make a little speech, and then he is done. For four years he then has to sit in the seat of the silent, attending to speeches ponderous or otherwise, of deliberation or humor."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=President Dawes|department=The Congress|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,786539,00.html|url-access=subscription|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=New York, New York|date=December 14, 1925|volume=6|issue=24|access-date=July 31, 2018|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019162915/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,786539,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Presiding over impeachment trials===

In their capacity as president of the Senate, the vice president may preside over most [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|impeachment trials of federal officers]], although the Constitution does not specifically require it. However, whenever the president of the United States is on trial, the Constitution requires that the [[chief justice of the United States]] must preside. This stipulation was designed to avoid the possible conflict of interest in having the vice president preside over the trial for the removal of the one official standing between them and the presidency.<ref name=A1trial>{{cite web| last=Gerhardt| first=Michael J.| title=Essays on Article I: Trial of Impeachment| url=https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/17/trial-of-impeachment| work=Heritage Guide to the Constitution| publisher=The Heritage Foundation| access-date=October 1, 2019| archive-date=August 22, 2020| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200822232208/https://www.heritage.org/constitution/%23!/amendments/8/essays/161/cruel-and-unusual-punishment#!/articles/1/essays/17/trial-of-impeachment| url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, the Constitution is silent about which federal official would preside were the vice president on trial by the Senate.<ref name=24KJLPP1/><ref>{{Cite journal| title=Can the Vice President preside at his own impeachment trial?: A critique of bare textualism| last=Goldstein| first=Joel K.| url=https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=392001104070027081022120029066016007014068057063028037092012019031105007127000116031006037049124106003039080094094007065105089046016030083072001069104126069096114087051008094092074006002100029126100108126094011105105076101115026002005094084099102090074&EXT=pdf| year=2000| volume=44| journal=Saint Louis University Law Journal| pages=849–870| access-date=September 30, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114195031/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3297261| archive-date=January 14, 2021| url-status=live}}</ref> No vice president has ever been impeached, thus leaving it unclear whether an impeached vice president could, as president of the Senate, preside at his or her own impeachment trial.

===Presiding over electoral vote counts===

The Twelfth Amendment provides that the vice president, in their capacity as the president of the Senate, receives the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] votes, and then, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, opens the sealed votes.<ref name=A2TKec/> The votes are counted during a [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint session of Congress]] as prescribed by the [[Electoral Count Act]] and the [[Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act]]. The former specifies that the president of the Senate presides over the joint session,<ref>[https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=24&page=373 24 Stat. 373] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015112458/https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=24&page=373 |date=October 15, 2020 }} (Feb. 3, 1887).</ref> and the latter clarifies the solely ministerial role the president of the Senate serves in the process.<ref>[https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=136&page=5234# 136 Stat. 5238] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231027221946/https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=136&page=5234 |date=October 27, 2023}} (Dec. 9, 2022).</ref> The next such joint session will next take place following the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]], on January 6, 2025 (unless Congress sets a different date by law).<ref name=CRS2017THN/>

In this capacity, four vice presidents have been able to announce their own election to the presidency: John Adams, in 1797, [[Thomas Jefferson]], in 1801, [[Martin Van Buren]], in 1837 and [[George H. W. Bush]], in 1989.<ref name=VP-PS/> Conversely, [[John C. Breckinridge]], in 1861,<ref>{{cite web|last=Glass|first=Andrew|title=Senate expels John C. Breckinridge, Dec. 4, 1861|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/senate-expels-john-c-breckinridge-dec-4-1861-113297|date=December 4, 2014|publisher=Politico|location=Arlington County, Virginia|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=September 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923114731/https://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/senate-expels-john-c-breckinridge-dec-4-1861-113297|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Richard Nixon]], in 1961,<ref name=EV1969count>{{cite news|author=<!--UPI; no by-line.--> |title=Electoral Vote Challenge Loses|work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=January 7, 1969|pages=1, 6|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BvsNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x3sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3226,4398264|access-date=July 29, 2018|via=Google News}}</ref> and [[Al Gore]], in 2001,<ref>{{cite web|last=Glass|first=Andrew|title=Congress certifies Bush as winner of 2000 election, Jan. 6, 2001|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/congress-certifies-bush-as-winner-of-2000-election-jan-6-2001-217291|date=January 6, 2016|publisher=Politico|location=Arlington County, Virginia|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=September 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923123421/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/congress-certifies-bush-as-winner-of-2000-election-jan-6-2001-217291|url-status=live}}</ref> all had to announce their opponent's election. In 1969, Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]] would have done so as well, following his 1968 loss to Richard Nixon; however, on the date of the congressional joint session, Humphrey was in [[Norway]] attending the funeral of [[Trygve Lie]], the first elected [[Secretary-General]] of the [[United Nations]]. The president pro tempore, [[Richard Russell Jr.|Richard Russell]], presided in his absence.<ref name=EV1969count/> On February 8, 1933, Vice President [[Charles Curtis]] announced the election of his successor, House Speaker [[John Nance Garner]], while Garner was seated next to him on the House {{Linktext|dais}}.<ref>{{Cite news| author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->| title=Congress Counts Electoral Vote; Joint Session Applauds Every State Return as Curtis Performs Grim Task. Yells Drown His Gavel Vice President Finally Laughs With the Rest as Victory of Democrats Is Unfolded. Opponents Cheer Garner Speaker Declares His Heart Will Remain in the House, Replying to Tribute by Snell| date=February 9, 1933| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/09/archives/congress-counts-electoral-vote-joint-session-applauds-every-state.html| via=TimesMachine| access-date=October 1, 2019| archive-date=February 11, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211172940/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/09/archives/congress-counts-electoral-vote-joint-session-applauds-every-state.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Most recently, Vice President [[Mike Pence]], on January&nbsp;6, 2021, [[2021 United States Electoral College vote count|announced the election of his successor]], [[Kamala Harris]].

===Successor to the U.S. president===
[[File:Tyler receives news.jpg|thumb|alt=An illustration:Tyler stands on his porch in Virginia, approached by a man with an envelope. Caption reads "Tyler receiving the news of Harrison's death."|upright=1.05|1888 illustration of [[John Tyler]] receiving the news of President [[William Henry Harrison]]'s death from Chief Clerk of the State Department [[Fletcher Webster]]]]

[[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 6: Vacancy and disability|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.<ref name=FordhamLaw2011>{{cite journal|last=Feerick|first=John D.|journal=Fordham Law Review|volume=79|issue=3|date=2011|pages=907–949|url=http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4695&context=flr|title=Presidential Succession and Inability: Before and After the Twenty-Fifth Amendment|publisher=[[Fordham University School of Law]]|location=New York City|access-date=July 7, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820001749/http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4695&context=flr|url-status=live}}</ref> Even so, it did not clearly state whether the vice president became president or simply [[Acting (law)|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 the president of the United States in their own right.<ref name=PVPS2004OCL>{{cite web|last=Neale|first=Thomas H.|title=Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession: Overview and Current Legislation|work=CRS Report for Congress|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31761.pdf|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=September 27, 2004|access-date=July 27, 2018|archive-date=November 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114173057/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31761.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=From Failing Hands: the Story of Presidential Succession|last1=Feerick|first1=John D.|last2=Freund|first2=Paul A.|date=1965|url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=twentyfifth_amendment_books|publisher=Fordham University Press|location=New York City|page=56|lccn=65-14917|access-date=July 31, 2018|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120053125/https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=twentyfifth_amendment_books|url-status=live}}</ref>

This understanding was first tested in 1841, following the death of President [[William Henry Harrison]], only {{age in days|March 4, 1841|April 4, 1841}} days into his term. Harrison's vice president, [[John Tyler]], asserted that under the Constitution, he had succeeded to the presidency, not just to its powers and duties. He had himself [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|sworn in]] as president and assumed full presidential powers, refusing to acknowledge documents referring to him as "Acting President".<ref name=JTDA>{{cite web|title=John Tyler: Domestic Affairs|last=Freehling|first=William|date=October 4, 2016|url=https://millercenter.org/president/tyler/domestic-affairs|publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia|location=Charllotesville, Virginia|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312033201/https://millercenter.org/president/tyler/domestic-affairs|url-status=live}}</ref> Although some in Congress denounced Tyler's claim as a violation of the Constitution,<ref name=FordhamLaw2011/> he adhered to his position. His view ultimately prevailed as both the Senate and House voted to acknowledge him as president.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2005.00269.x|last=Abbott|first=Philip|title=Accidental Presidents: Death, Assassination, Resignation, and Democratic Succession|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=December 2005|volume=35|issue=4|pages=627–645|jstor=27552721}}</ref> The "Tyler Precedent" that a vice president assumes the full title and role of president upon the death, resignation, or removal from office (via impeachment conviction) of their predecessor was codified through the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite web| title=A controversial President who established presidential succession| date=March 29, 2017| url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/john-tyler-americas-most-unusual-president| work=Constitution Daily| publisher=[[National Constitution Center]]| location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| access-date=November 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/article-2/05-presidential-succession.html| title=Presidential Succession| work=US Law| publisher=Justia| location=Mountain View, California| access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref> Altogether, nine 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]], and [[Gerald Ford]]. Four of them—Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson—were later elected to full terms of their own.<ref name=PVPS2004OCL/>

Four sitting vice presidents have been elected president: [[John Adams]] in [[1796 United States presidential election|1796]], [[Thomas Jefferson]] in [[1800 United States presidential election|1800]], [[Martin Van Buren]] in [[1836 United States presidential election|1836]], and [[George H. W. Bush]] in [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]. Likewise, two former vice presidents have won the presidency, [[Richard Nixon]] in [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] and [[Joe Biden]] in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]. Also, in recent decades three incumbent vice presidents lost in close elections: Nixon in [[1960 United States presidential election|1960]], Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and Al Gore in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]. Additionally, former vice president Walter Mondale lost in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Does the Vice Presidency Give Joe Biden an Advantage in the Race to the Top? Here's How VPs Before Him Fared|last=Waxman|first=Olivia|date=April 25, 2019|url=https://time.com/5549797/joe-biden-president-2020-history/|magazine=Time|access-date=December 10, 2021}}</ref> In total, 15 vice presidents have become president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/vice-presidents-who-became-president-2020-12|title=15 vice presidents who became president themselves|first=Talia|last=Lakritz|website=Insider}}</ref>

===Acting president===
{{Further| Acting President of the United States}}

Sections 3 and 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment provide for situations where the president is temporarily or permanently unable to lead, such as if the president has a surgical procedure, becomes seriously ill or injured, or is otherwise unable to discharge the powers or duties of the presidency. Section{{spaces}}3 deals with self-declared incapacity, and Section{{spaces}}4 addresses incapacity declared by the joint action of the vice president and of a majority of the Cabinet.<ref name=NCC25th/> While Section{{spaces}}4 has never been invoked, Section{{spaces}}3 has been invoked on four occasions by three presidents, first in 1985. When invoked on November 19, 2021, [[Kamala Harris]] became the first woman in U.S. history to have presidential powers and duties.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Kate|title=For 85 minutes, Kamala Harris became the first woman with presidential power|date=November 19, 2021|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/politics/kamala-harris-presidential-power/index.html|publisher=CNN|access-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref>

Sections 3 and 4 were added because there was ambiguity in the Article{{spaces}}II succession clause regarding a disabled president, including what constituted an "[[incapacity|inability]]", who determined the existence of an inability, and if a vice president became president for the rest of the presidential term in the case of an inability or became merely "acting president". During the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, several presidents experienced periods of severe illness, physical disability or injury, some lasting for weeks or months. During these times, even though the nation needed effective presidential leadership, no vice president wanted to seem like a usurper, and so power was never transferred. After President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] openly addressed his health issues and made it a point to enter into an agreement with Vice President Richard Nixon that provided for Nixon to act on his behalf if Eisenhower became unable to provide effective presidential leadership (Nixon did informally assume some of the president's duties for several weeks on each of three occasions when Eisenhower was ill), discussions began in Congress about clearing up the Constitution's ambiguity on the subject.<ref name=FordhamLaw2011/><ref name=NCC25th>{{cite web| title=The Twenty-fifth Amendment| last1=Kalt| first1=Brian C.| last2=Pozen| first2=David| url=https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv| work=The Interactive Constitution| publisher=The National Constitution Center| location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| access-date=July 28, 2018| archive-date=September 4, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904214749/https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxv| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Modern roles==
The present-day power of the office flows primarily from formal and informal delegations of authority from the president and Congress.<ref name=24KJLPP1/> These delegations can vary in significance; for example, the vice president is a statutory member of both the National Security Council and the board of regents of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name=USlegal-VP/> The extent of the roles and functions of the vice president depend on the specific relationship between the president and the vice president, but often include tasks such as drafter and spokesperson for the administration's policies, adviser to the president, and being a symbol of American concern or support. The influence of the vice president in these roles depends almost entirely on the characteristics of the particular administration.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lizza |first=Ryan |date=October 10, 2008 |title=Biden's Brief |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/10/20/bidens-brief |access-date=August 1, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Presidential advisor===
[[File: P20220509AS-1282 (52143938268).jpg|thumb|right|Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] meets with President [[Joe Biden]] in the [[Oval Office]], 2022.]]

Most recent vice presidents have been viewed as important presidential advisors. Walter Mondale, unlike his immediate predecessors, did not want specific responsibilities to be delegated to him. Mondale believed, as he wrote President-elect Jimmy Carter a memo following the 1976 election, that his most important role would be as a "general adviser" to the president.<ref name="WPO 41921"/><ref>Walter Mondale, [https://www.mnhs.org/collections/upclose/Mondale-CarterMemo-Transcription.pdf Memo to Jimmy Carter re: The Role of the Vice President in the Carter Administration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307080046/http://www.mnhs.org/collections/upclose/Mondale-CarterMemo-Transcription.pdf |date=March 7, 2020 }}, Dec. 9, 1976.</ref> Al Gore was an important adviser to President [[Bill Clinton]] on matters of [[foreign policy]] and the [[environmental policy|environment]]. Dick Cheney was widely regarded as one of President George W. Bush's closest confidants. Joe Biden asked President Barack Obama to let him always be the "last person in the room" when a big decision was made; later, as president himself, Biden adopted this model with his own vice president, Kamala Harris.<ref name="Politico">{{cite news |last1=Lizza |first1=Ryan |title=What Harris Got from Biden During Her Job Interview |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/13/joe-biden-kamala-harris-relationship-395160 |access-date=14 August 2020 |publisher=Politico |date=August 13, 2020 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114194956/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/13/joe-biden-kamala-harris-relationship-395160 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BusinessInsider">{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-portfolio-2024-president-biden-white-house-administration-2021-1|title=Kamala Harris is the president-in-waiting. Here's how the VP is balancing building her own brand against serving as a loyal soldier on Team Biden.|publisher=[[Business Insider]]|last1=Bravender|first1=Robin|last2=Sfondeles|first2=Tina|date=January 29, 2021|access-date=January 29, 2021|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129145023/https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-portfolio-2024-president-biden-white-house-administration-2021-1|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Governing partner===

Recent vice presidents have been delegated authority by presidents to handle significant issue areas independently. Joe Biden (who has held the office of President and Vice President of the United States) has observed that the presidency is "too big anymore for any one man or woman".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Glueck |first1=Katie |title=Behind Joe Biden's Thinking on a Female Running Mate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/joe-biden-vp-running-mate.html |access-date=14 August 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 16, 2020 |archive-date=August 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825135306/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/joe-biden-vp-running-mate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dick Cheney was considered to hold a tremendous amount of power and frequently made policy decisions on his own, without the knowledge of the president.<ref name="Kenneth T. Walsh"/> Biden was assigned by Barack Obama to oversee Iraq policy; Obama was said to have said, "Joe, you do Iraq."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/breaking-maliki-biden |title=Breaking Up: Maliki and Biden |last=Osnos |first=Evan |magazine=The New Yorker |date=August 12, 2014 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002053443/http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/breaking-maliki-biden |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2020, [[Donald Trump]] appointed Mike Pence to lead his response to COVID-19<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Cancryn|first1=Adam|last2=Forgey|first2=Quint|last3=Diamond|first3=Dan|date=27 February 2020|title=After fumbled messaging, Trump gets a coronavirus czar by another name|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/white-house-coronavirus-response-debbie-birx-117893|access-date=19 July 2021|website=[[POLITICO]]|language=}}</ref> and, upon his ascension to the presidency, Biden put Kamala Harris in charge of controlling migration at the [[US–Mexico border]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 March 2021|title=Biden tasks Harris with tackling migrant influx on US–Mexico border|language=|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56516332|access-date=19 July 2021}}</ref>

===Congressional liaison===

The vice president is often an important liaison between the administration and Congress, especially in situations where the president has not previously served in Congress or served only briefly. Vice presidents are often selected as running mates in part due to their legislative relationships, notably including Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Walter Mondale, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, and Mike Pence among others. In recent years, Dick Cheney held weekly meetings in the Vice President's Room at the [[United States Capitol]], Joe Biden played a key role in bipartisan budget negotiations, and Mike Pence often met with House and Senate Republicans. Kamala Harris, the current vice president, presided over a 50–50 split Senate during the [[117th United States Congress|117th Congress]], which provided her with a key role in passing legislation.

===Representative at events===

Under the American [[Presidential system|system of government]] the president is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Government: The Executive Branch|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-executive-branch/|website=whitehouse.gov|publisher=The White House|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=July 31, 2018|archive-date=July 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731035828/https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-executive-branch/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the ceremonial duties of the former position are often delegated to the vice president. The vice president will on occasion represent the president and the U.S. government at state funerals abroad, or at various events in the United States. This often is the most visible role of the vice president. The vice president may also meet with other heads of state at times when the administration wishes to demonstrate concern or support but cannot send the president personally.

===National Security Council member===

Since 1949, the vice president has legally been a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]. [[Harry Truman]], having not been told about any war or post-war plans during his vice presidency (notably the [[Manhattan Project]]), recognized that upon assuming the presidency a vice president needed to be already informed on such issues. Modern vice presidents have also been included in the president's [[President's Daily Brief|daily intelligence briefings]]<ref name="Politico"/> and frequently participate in meetings in the [[Situation Room]] with the president.

==Selection process==

===Eligibility===

To be constitutionally eligible to serve as the nation's vice president, a person must, according to the Twelfth Amendment, meet the eligibility requirements to become president (which are stated in [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 5: Qualifications for office|Article{{spaces}}II, Section{{spaces}}1, Clause{{spaces}}5]]). Thus, to serve as vice president, an individual must:
* be a [[Natural-born citizen|natural-born]] [[United States nationality law|U.S. citizen]];
* be at least 35 years old;
* be a [[Residency (domicile)#United States|resident in the U.S.]] for at least 14 years.<ref name=AC-XII>{{cite web|title=Twelfth Amendment|url=http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twelfth-amendment|work=Annenberg Classroom|date=December 9, 1804|publisher=The Annenberg Public Policy Center|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=February 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222165133/http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twelfth-amendment|url-status=deviated}}</ref>

A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of vice president under the following conditions:
* Under [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Clause 7: Judgment in cases of impeachment; Punishment on conviction|Article{{spaces}}I, Section{{spaces}}3, Clause{{spaces}}7]], upon conviction in impeachment cases, the Senate has the option of disqualifying convicted individuals from holding federal office, including that of vice president;
* Under the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States".<ref name="AC-XII"/>
* Under [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Participants in rebellion|Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment]], no person who has sworn an oath to support the Constitution, who has later "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States, or given aid and comfort to the nation's enemies can serve in a state or federal office—including as vice president. This disqualification, originally aimed at former supporters of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], may be removed by a two-thirds vote of each house of the Congress.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fourteenth Amendment|url=http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/fourteenth-amendment|work=Annenberg Classroom|date=June 7, 1964|publisher=The Annenberg Public Policy Center|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-date=February 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226091918/http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/fourteenth-amendment|url-status=deviated}}</ref>

===Nomination===
[[File:GERALDINEFERRARO.jpg|thumb|right|[[Geraldine Ferraro]] speaks at the [[1984 Democratic National Convention]] following her selection as the party's vice presidential nominee.]]

The vice presidential candidates of the major national political parties are formally selected by each party's quadrennial nominating convention, following the selection of the party's presidential candidate. The official process is identical to the one by which the presidential candidates are chosen, with delegates placing the names of candidates into nomination, followed by a ballot in which candidates must receive a majority to secure the party's nomination.

In modern practice, the presidential nominee has considerable influence on the decision, and since the mid 20th century it became customary for that person to select a preferred running mate, who is then nominated and accepted by the convention. Prior to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, only two presidents—Andrew Jackson in [[1832 Democratic National Convention|1832]] and Abraham Lincoln in [[1864 National Union National Convention|1864]]—had done so.<ref name=Smithsonian112014>{{cite magazine|last=Py-Lieberman|first=Beth|title=How the Office of the Vice Presidency Evolved from Nothing to Something|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institutions/how-office-vice-presidency-evolved-nothing-something-180953302/|date=November 18, 2014|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=December 10, 2021}}</ref> In recent years, with the presidential nomination usually being a foregone conclusion as the result of the primary process, the selection of a vice presidential candidate is often announced prior to the actual balloting for the presidential candidate, and sometimes before the beginning of the convention itself. The most recent presidential nominee not to name a vice presidential choice, leaving the matter up to the convention, was Democrat [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] in 1956. The convention chose [[Tennessee]] Senator [[Estes Kefauver]] over [[Massachusetts]] Senator (and later president) [[John F. Kennedy]]. At the tumultuous 1972 Democratic convention, presidential nominee [[George McGovern]] selected [[Missouri]] Senator [[Thomas Eagleton]] as his running mate, but numerous other candidates were either nominated from the floor or received votes during the balloting. Eagleton nevertheless received a majority of the votes and the nomination, though he later resigned from the ticket, resulting in [[Sargent Shriver]] from [[Maryland]] becoming McGovern's final running mate; both lost to the Nixon–Agnew ticket by a wide margin, carrying only [[Massachusetts]] and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]].

During times in a presidential election cycle before the identity of the presidential nominee is clear, including cases where the presidential nomination is still in doubt as the convention approaches, campaigns for the two positions may become intertwined. In 1976, [[Ronald Reagan]], who was trailing President [[Gerald Ford]] in the presidential delegate count, announced prior to the Republican National Convention that, if nominated, he would select [[Pennsylvania]] Senator [[Richard Schweiker]] as his running mate. Reagan was the first presidential aspirant to announce his selection for vice president before the beginning of the convention. Reagan's supporters then unsuccessfully sought to amend the convention rules so that Gerald Ford would be required to name his vice presidential running mate in advance as well. This move backfired to a degree, as Schweiker's relatively liberal voting record alienated many of the more conservative delegates who were considering a challenge to party delegate selection rules to improve Reagan's chances. In the end, Ford narrowly won the presidential nomination and Reagan's selection of Schweiker became moot.

In the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, which pitted [[Hillary Clinton]] against [[Barack Obama]], Clinton suggested a Clinton–Obama ticket with Obama in the vice president slot, which she said would be "unstoppable" against the presumptive Republican nominee. Obama rejected the offer outright, saying, "I want everybody to be absolutely clear. I'm not running for vice president. I'm running for president of the United States of America," adding, "With all due respect. I won twice as many states as Senator Clinton. I've won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton. So, I don't know how somebody who's in second place is offering vice presidency to the person who's in first place." Obama said the nomination process would have to be a choice between himself and Clinton, saying "I don't want anybody here thinking that 'Somehow, maybe I can get both{{'"}}, by nominating Clinton and assuming he would be her running mate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/10/barackobama.hillaryclinton|title=Obama scoffs at Clinton's vice-presidential hint|first1=Allegra|last1=Stratton|first2=Daniel|last2=Nasaw|date=March 11, 2008|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=November 21, 2016|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122073221/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/10/barackobama.hillaryclinton|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/10/dems.campaign/index.html?iref=nextin|title=Obama rejects being Clinton's No. 2|publisher=CNN|date=March 11, 2008|access-date=November 21, 2016|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122071859/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/10/dems.campaign/index.html?iref=nextin|url-status=live}}</ref> Some suggested that it was a ploy by the Clinton campaign to denigrate Obama as less qualified for the presidency.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-obama-clinton-2008-ad-224189 |title= Trump throws 2008 Obama ad in Clinton's face |work= Politico |date= June 10, 2016 |access-date= November 21, 2016 |archive-date= November 22, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161122071709/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-obama-clinton-2008-ad-224189 |url-status= live }}{</ref>{{failed verification|date = June 2021}} Later, when Obama became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former president [[Jimmy Carter]] cautioned against Clinton being picked as the vice presidential nominee on the ticket, saying "I think it would be the worst mistake that could be made. That would just accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates", citing opinion polls showing 50% of US voters with a negative view of Hillary Clinton.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/04/uselections2008|title=US elections: Jimmy Carter tells Barack Obama not to pick Hillary Clinton as running mate|first=Jonathan|last=Freedland|date=June 4, 2008|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=November 21, 2016|archive-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116022610/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/04/uselections2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Selection criteria===

Though the vice president does not need to have any political experience, most major-party vice presidential nominees are current or former United States senators or representatives, with the occasional nominee being a current or former governor, a high-ranking former military officer (active military officers being prohibited under US law from holding political office), or a holder of a major position within the Executive branch. In addition, the vice presidential nominee has always been an official resident of a different state than the presidential nominee. While nothing in the Constitution prohibits a presidential candidate and his or her running mate being from the same state, the "inhabitant clause" of the Twelfth Amendment does mandate that every presidential elector must cast a ballot for at least one candidate who is not from their own state. Prior to the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 election]], both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lived in and voted in Texas. To avoid creating a potential problem for Texas's electors, Cheney changed his residency back to Wyoming prior to the campaign.<ref name=AC-XII/>

Often, the presidential nominee will name a vice presidential candidate who will bring [[Ticket balance|geographic or ideological balance]] to the ticket or appeal to a particular constituency. The vice presidential candidate might also be chosen on the basis of traits the presidential candidate is perceived to lack, or on the basis of name recognition. To foster party unity, popular runners-up in the presidential nomination process are commonly considered. While this selection process may enhance the chances of success for a national ticket, in the past it often resulted in the vice presidential nominee representing regions, constituencies, or ideologies at odds with those of the presidential candidate. As a result, vice presidents were often excluded from the policy-making process of the new administration. Many times their relationships with the president and his staff were aloof, non-existent, or even adversarial.{{facts|date=July 2024}}

Historically, the vice presidential nominee was usually a second-tier politician, chosen either to appease the party's minority faction, satisfy party bosses, or to secure a key state.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Horwitz|first=Tony|title=The Vice Presidents That History Forgot|date=July 2012|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-vice-presidents-that-history-forgot-137851151/|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=December 10, 2021}}</ref> Factors playing a role in the selection included: geographic and ideological balance, widening a presidential candidate's appeal to voters from outside their regional base or wing of the party. Candidates from electoral-vote rich swing states were usually preferred. A 2016 study, which examined vice-presidential candidates over the period 1884-2012, found that vice presidential candidates increased their tickets’ performance in their home states by 2.67 percentage points on average.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heersink |first1=Boris |last2=Peterson |first2=Brenton |date=2016 |title=Measuring the Vice-Presidential Home State Advantage With Synthetic Controls |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X16642567 |journal=American Politics Research |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=734–763 |doi=10.1177/1532673X16642567 |issn=1556-5068}}</ref>

===Election===
{{Main|United States Electoral College}}
[[File:ElectoralCollege2024.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Map of the [[United States]] showing the number of electoral votes allocated following the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]] to each [[U.S. state|state]] and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] for the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections. 270 electoral votes are required for a majority out of 538 votes possible.]]

The vice president is elected indirectly by the voters of each state and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College, a body of electors formed every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president to concurrent four-year terms. Each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to the size of its total delegation in both houses of Congress. Additionally, the [[Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-third Amendment]] provides that the District of Columbia is entitled to the number it would have if it were a state, but in no case more than that of the least populous state.<ref>{{cite web|title=Twenty-third Amendment|url=http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twenty-third-amendment|work=Annenberg Classroom|date=March 29, 1961|publisher=The Annenberg Public Policy Center|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=July 30, 2018|archive-date=July 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731062243/http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twenty-third-amendment|url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, all states and D.C. select their electors based on a popular election held on [[Election Day (United States)|Election Day]].<ref name=CRS2017THN/> In all but two states, the party whose presidential–vice presidential [[Ticket (election)|ticket]] receives a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of popular votes in the state has its entire [[Slate (elections)|slate]] of elector nominees chosen as the state's electors.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Electors|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html|work=U.S. Electoral College|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 2, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721012941/https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/electors.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Maine]] and [[Nebraska]] deviate from this {{nowrap|winner-take-all}} practice, awarding two electors to the statewide winner and one to the winner in each [[List of United States congressional districts|congressional district]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Maine & Nebraska|url=http://www.fairvote.org/maine_nebraska|website=fairvote.com|publisher=FairVote|location=Takoma Park, Maryland|access-date=August 1, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041058/http://www.fairvote.org/maine_nebraska|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Split Electoral Votes in Maine and Nebraska|url=https://www.270towin.com/content/split-electoral-votes-maine-and-nebraska/|website=[[270towin.com]]|access-date=August 1, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041034/https://www.270towin.com/content/split-electoral-votes-maine-and-nebraska/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, about six weeks after the election, the electors convene in their respective states (and in Washington D.C.) to vote for president and, on a separate ballot, for vice president. The certified results are opened and counted during a joint session of Congress, held in the first week of January. A candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes for vice president (currently 270 of 538) is declared the winner. If no candidate has a majority, the Senate must meet to elect a vice president using a contingent election procedure in which senators, casting votes individually, choose between the two candidates who received the most electoral votes for vice president. For a candidate to win the contingent election, they must receive votes from an absolute majority of senators (currently 51 of 100).<ref name=CRS2017THN/><ref>{{cite web|title=What is the Electoral College?|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html|work=U.S. Electoral College|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 2, 2018|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212192807/https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

There has been only one vice presidential contingent election since the process was created by the Twelfth Amendment. It occurred on February 8, 1837, after no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes cast for vice president in the [[1836 United States presidential election|1836 election]]. By a 33–17 vote, [[Richard M. Johnson]] ([[Martin Van Buren]]'s running mate) was elected the nation's ninth vice president over [[Francis Granger]] ([[William Henry Harrison]]'s and [[Daniel Webster]]'s running mate).<ref>{{cite web|last=Bomboy|first=Scott|title=The one election where Faithless Electors made a difference|date=December 19, 2016|url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-one-election-where-faithless-electors-made-a-difference|work=Constitution Daily|publisher=National Constitution Center|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=July 30, 2018|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214233225/https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-one-election-where-faithless-electors-made-a-difference|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Tenure==
===Inauguration===

{{main|United States presidential inauguration}}
[[File:Johnson, Nixon, Agnew, Humphrey cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|Four vice presidents: (from left) outgoing president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] (the 37th vice president), incoming president [[Richard Nixon]] (36th), ([[Everett Dirksen]] administering oath), incoming vice president [[Spiro Agnew]] (39th), and outgoing vice president [[Hubert Humphrey]] (38th), January 20, 1969]]

Pursuant to the [[Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twentieth Amendment]], the vice president's term of office begins at noon on January 20, as does the president's.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Twentieth Amendment| last1=Larson| first1=Edward J.| last2=Shesol| first2=Jeff| url=https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xx| work=The Interactive Constitution| publisher=The National Constitution Center| location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania| access-date=June 15, 2018| archive-date=August 28, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828202655/https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xx| url-status=live}}</ref> The first presidential and vice presidential terms to begin on this date, known as [[United States presidential inauguration|Inauguration Day]], were the [[Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt|second terms]] of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and Vice President [[John Nance Garner]] in 1937.<ref name=HHistory1201937>{{cite web|title=The First Inauguration after the Lame Duck Amendment: January 20, 1937|url=http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35948?ret=True|publisher=Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=July 24, 2018|archive-date=July 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033713/http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35948?ret=True|url-status=live}}</ref> Previously, Inauguration Day was on March 4. As a result of the date change, both men's first terms (1933–1937) were short of four years by {{age in days|1937|1|20|1937|3|4}} days.<ref name=GPOCONAN20171021>{{cite web|title=Commencement of the Terms of Office: Twentieth Amendment|work=Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation|url=https://www.congress.gov/content/conan/pdf/GPO-CONAN-2017-10-21.pdf|publisher=United States Government Printing Office, Library of Congress|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=2297–98|access-date=July 24, 2018|archive-date=July 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033538/https://www.congress.gov/content/conan/pdf/GPO-CONAN-2017-10-21.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also in 1937, the vice president's [[Oath of office of the vice president of the United States|swearing-in]] ceremony was held on the Inaugural platform on the [[United States Capitol|Capitol]]'s east front immediately before the president's [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|swearing in]]. Up until then, most vice presidents took the oath of office in the Senate chamber, prior to the president's swearing-in ceremony.<ref name=VPinaug>{{cite web|title=Vice President's Swearing-in Ceremony|website=inaugural.senate.gov|url=https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/days-events/vice-presidents-swearing-in-ceremony/index.html|publisher=Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=July 30, 2018|archive-date=September 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918035818/https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/days-events/vice-presidents-swearing-in-ceremony/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the Constitution contains the specific wording of the presidential oath, it contains only a general requirement, in [[Article Six of the United States Constitution|Article{{spaces}}VI]], that the vice president and other government officers shall take an [[oath]] or [[Affirmation in law|affirmation]] to support the Constitution. The current form, which has been used since 1884 reads:

{{blockquote|I, (''first name last name''), do solemnly swear (or [[Affirmation in law|affirm]]) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oath of Office|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm|website=senate.gov|publisher=Secretary of the Senate|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=July 30, 2018|archive-date=July 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728181228/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

===Term of office===

The term of office for both the vice president and the president is four years. While the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-Second Amendment]] sets a limit on the number of times an individual can be elected to the presidency (two),<ref>{{cite web|title=Twenty-second Amendment|url=http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twenty-second-amendment|work=Annenberg Classroom|publisher=The Annenberg Public Policy Center|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|access-date=July 30, 2018|archive-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041034/http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/twenty-second-amendment|url-status=live}}</ref> there is no such limitation on the office of vice president, meaning an eligible person could hold the office as long as voters continued to vote for electors who in turn would reelect the person to the office; one could even serve under different presidents. This has happened twice: [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] (1805–1812) served under both [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]]; and [[John C. Calhoun]] (1825–1832) served under [[John Quincy Adams]] and [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref name=VP-PS/> Additionally, neither the Constitution's eligibility provisions nor the Twenty-second Amendment's presidential [[term limit]] explicitly disqualify a twice-elected president from serving as vice president, though it is arguably prohibited by the last sentence of the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twelfth Amendment]]: "But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Constitution—Full Text | publisher=The National Constitution Center |url=https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text|access-date=2020-09-08|archive-date=September 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905233700/https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text|url-status=live}}</ref> As of the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 election cycle]], however, no former president has tested the amendment's legal restrictions or meaning by running for the vice presidency.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Peter|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901572.html|title=VP Bill? Depends on Meaning of 'Elected'|date=October 20, 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=July 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719211326/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901572.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Peabody|first1=Bruce G.|last2=Gant|first2=Scott E.|title=The Twice and Future President: Constitutional Interstices and the Twenty-Second Amendment|journal=Minnesota Law Review|volume=83|page=565|url=http://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Peabody-2.pdf|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota|year=1999|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-date=January 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129165813/http://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Peabody-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Impeachment===
{{further|Federal impeachment in the United States}}

[[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Section 4: Impeachment|Article II, Section 4]] of the Constitution allows for the removal of federal officials, including the vice president, from office for "[[treason]], [[bribery]], or other [[high crimes and misdemeanors]]". No vice president has ever been impeached.

===Vacancies===
[[File:Mr. and Mrs. Ford and Nixon 13 Oct 1973.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|alt=Two women are flanked by two men in suits, standing in a room of the White House.|(Left to right) President [[Richard Nixon]], First Lady [[Pat Nixon]], [[Betty Ford]] and Representative [[Gerald Ford]] after President Nixon nominated Ford to be vice president, October 13, 1973]]

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 such a vacancy 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.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Feerick| first=John D.| title=The Vice-Presidency and the Problems of Presidential Succession and Inability| journal=Fordham Law Review| year=1964| volume=31| issue=3| publisher=Fordham University School of Law| url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol32/iss3/2| pages=457–498| access-date=October 1, 2019| archive-date=October 1, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001155813/https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol32/iss3/2/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=succesionfacts>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/succession-presidential-and-vice-presidential-fast-facts/|title=Succession: Presidential and Vice Presidential Fast Facts|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=September 26, 2016|access-date=January 15, 2017|archive-date=January 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116185756/http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/us/succession-presidential-and-vice-presidential-fast-facts/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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."<ref name=XXVHeritage/> This procedure has been implemented twice since the amendment [[Coming into force|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 [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|confirmed by Congress]]. The second occurred ten 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 [[1974 United States vice presidential confirmation|confirmed by Congress]].<ref name=FordhamLaw2011/><ref name=succesionfacts/>

Had it not been for this new constitutional mechanism, the vice presidency would have remained vacant after Agnew's resignation; the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|speaker of the House]], [[Carl Albert]], would have become [[Acting President of the United States|Acting President]] had Nixon resigned in this scenario, under the terms of the [[Presidential Succession Act of 1947]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Speaker Albert Was Ready to Be President|last=Gup|first=Ted|date=November 28, 1982|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/11/28/speaker-albert-was-ready-to-be-president/84ebaa61-9cf1-4817-836e-a993e7e0e980/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 24, 2018|archive-date=July 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728131338/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/11/28/speaker-albert-was-ready-to-be-president/84ebaa61-9cf1-4817-836e-a993e7e0e980/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Vice presidential vacancies<ref name=VP-PS/><ref name=PVPS2004OCL/>
|-
! No. !! Period of vacancy !! Cause of vacancy !! Length !! Vacancy filled by
|-
| {{0|0}}1 || {{dts|April 20, 1812}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1813
| {{sort|201|Death}} of [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]]
| {{ayd|1812|04|20|1813|03|04}}
| [[1812 United States presidential election|Election of 1812]]
|-
| {{0|0}}2 || {{dts|November 23, 1814}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1817
| {{sort|202|Death}} of [[Elbridge Gerry]]
| {{ayd|1814|11|23|1817|03|04}}
| [[1816 United States presidential election|Election of 1816]]
|-
| {{0|0}}3 || {{dts|December 28, 1832}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1833
| {{sort|301|Resignation}} of [[John C. Calhoun]]
| {{ayd|1832|12|28|1833|03|04}}
| [[1832 United States presidential election|Election of 1832]]
|-
| {{0|0}}4 || {{dts|April 4, 1841}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1845
| {{sort|101|[[Inauguration of John Tyler|Accession]]}} of [[John Tyler]] as president
| {{ayd|1841|04|04|1845|03|04}}{{spaces|2}}
| [[1844 United States presidential election|Election of 1844]]
|-
| {{0|0}}5 || {{dts|July 9, 1850}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1853
| {{sort|102|[[Inauguration of Millard Fillmore|Accession]]}} of [[Millard Fillmore]] as president
| {{ayd|1850|07|09|1853|03|04}}
| [[1852 United States presidential election|Election of 1852]]
|-
| {{0|0}}6 || {{dts|April 18, 1853}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1857
| {{sort|203|Death}} of [[William R. King]]
| {{ayd|1853|04|18|1857|03|04}}
| [[1856 United States presidential election|Election of 1856]]
|-
| {{0|0}}7 || {{dts|April 15, 1865}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1869
| {{sort|103|[[Inauguration of Andrew Johnson|Accession]]}} of [[Andrew Johnson]] as president
| {{ayd|1865|04|15|1869|03|04}}
| [[1868 United States presidential election|Election of 1868]]
|-
| {{0|0}}8 || {{dts|November 22, 1875}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1877
| {{sort|204|Death}} of [[Henry Wilson]]
| {{ayd|1875|11|22|1877|03|04}}
| [[1876 United States presidential election|Election of 1876]]
|-
| {{0|0}}9 || {{nowrap|{{dts|September 19, 1881}} –}}{{indent|2}}March 4, 1885
| {{sort|104|[[Inauguration of Chester A. Arthur|Accession]]}} of [[Chester A. Arthur]] as president
| {{ayd|1881|09|19|1885|03|04}}
| [[1884 United States presidential election|Election of 1884]]
|-
| 10 || {{dts |November 25, 1885}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1889
| {{sort|205|Death}} of [[Thomas A. Hendricks]]
| {{ayd|1885|11|25|1889|03|04}}
| [[1888 United States presidential election|Election of 1888]]
|-
| 11 || {{dts|November 21, 1899}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1901
| {{sort|206|Death}} of [[Garret Hobart]]
| {{ayd|1899|11|21|1901|03|04}}
| [[1900 United States presidential election|Election of 1900]]
|-
| 12 || {{dts|September 14, 1901}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1905
| {{sort|105|[[First inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt|Accession]]}} of [[Theodore Roosevelt]] as president
| {{ayd|1901|09|14|1905|03|04}}
| [[1904 United States presidential election|Election of 1904]]
|-
| 13 || {{dts|October 30, 1912}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1913
| {{sort|207|Death}} of [[James S. Sherman]]
| {{ayd|1912|10|30|1913|03|04}}
| [[1912 United States presidential election|Election of 1912]]
|-
| 14 || {{dts|August 2, 1923}} –{{indent|2}}March 4, 1925
| {{sort|106|[[First inauguration of Calvin Coolidge|Accession]]}} of [[Calvin Coolidge]] as president
| {{ayd|1923|08|02|1925|03|04}}
| [[1924 United States presidential election|Election of 1924]]
|-
| 15 || {{dts|April 12, 1945}} –{{indent|2}}January 20, 1949
| {{sort|107|[[First inauguration of Harry S. Truman|Accession]]}} of [[Harry S. Truman]] as president
| {{ayd|1945|04|12|1949|01|20}}
| [[1948 United States presidential election|Election of 1948]]
|-
| 16 || {{dts|November 22, 1963}} –{{indent|2}}January 20, 1965
| {{sort|108|[[First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson|Accession]]}} of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] as president
| {{ayd|1963|11|22|1965|01|20}}
| [[1964 United States presidential election|Election of 1964]]
|-
| 17 || {{dts|October 10, 1973}} –{{indent|2}}December 6, 1973
| {{sort|302|Resignation}} of [[Spiro Agnew]]
| {{ayd|1973|10|10|1973|12|06}}
| [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|Confirmation of successor]]
|-
| 18 || {{dts|August 9, 1974}} –{{indent|2}}December 19, 1974
| {{sort|109|[[inauguration of Gerald Ford|Accession]]}} of [[Gerald Ford]] as president
| {{ayd|1974|08|09|1974|12|19}}
| [[1974 United States vice presidential confirmation|Confirmation of successor]]
|}

==Office and status==
===Salary===

The vice president's salary in 2019 was $235,100.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Groppe |first1=Maureen |date=February 14, 2019 |title=Vice President Pence's pay bump is not as big as Republicans wanted |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/14/vice-president-pences-salary-rising-but-not-much-gop-wanted/2872326002/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415044023/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/14/vice-president-pences-salary-rising-but-not-much-gop-wanted/2872326002/ |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=2019-04-15 |website=[[USA Today]] |language=en}}</ref> For 2024, the vice president's salary is $284,600,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/pay-executive-order-2024-adjustments-of-certain-rates-of-pay.pdf |title=Executive Order - Adjustment of Certain Rates of Pay |at=Schedule 6 |date=December 21, 2023 |website=OPM |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240115043850/https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/pay-executive-order-2024-adjustments-of-certain-rates-of-pay.pdf |archive-date= Jan 15, 2024 }}</ref> however, due to a pay freeze in effect since 2019, the actual portion of that salary that is payable remains $235,100.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahuja |first=Kiran A. |date=December 21, 2023 |title=Continued Pay Freeze for Certain Senior Political Officials |url=https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Continued%20Pay%20Freeze%20for%20Certain%20Senior%20Political%20Officials%20CPM%202023-23.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115075222/https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Continued%20Pay%20Freeze%20for%20Certain%20Senior%20Political%20Officials%20CPM%202023-23.pdf |archive-date=Jan 15, 2024 |website=OPM}}</ref> The salary was set by the [[Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990|1989 Government Salary Reform Act]], which also provides an automatic [[cost of living adjustment]] for federal employees. The vice president does not automatically receive a pension based on that office, but instead receives the same pension as other members of Congress based on their position as president of the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress|last=Purcell|first=Patrick J.|date=January 21, 2005|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf|publisher=Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=February 16, 2018|archive-date=January 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103064138/https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf|url-status=dead }}</ref> The vice president must serve a minimum of two years to qualify for a pension.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Emily|last1=Yoffe|url=http://www.slate.com/id/1006798|title=A Presidential Salary FAQ |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=January 3, 2001|access-date=August 9, 2009|archive-date=September 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914105912/http://www.slate.com/id/1006798/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Residence===
[[File:Number One Observatory Circle; December 2017.jpg|thumb|[[Number One Observatory Circle]], [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]], the official residence of the vice president]]
The home of the vice president was designated in 1974, when Congress established [[Number One Observatory Circle]] as the official temporary residence of the vice president of the United States. In 1966 Congress, concerned about safety and security and mindful of the increasing responsibilities of the office, allotted money ($75,000) to fund construction of a residence for the vice president, but implementation stalled and after eight years the decision was revised, and One Observatory Circle was then designated for the vice president.<ref name="Groppe 2017 Where does ...">{{cite news |last1=Groppe |first1=Maureen |title=Where does the vice president live? Few people know, but new book will show you |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/24/where-does-vice-president-live-few-people-know-but-new-book-show-you/892243001/ |access-date=21 November 2018 |work=USA TODAY |date=24 November 2017 |language=en |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120242/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/24/where-does-vice-president-live-few-people-know-but-new-book-show-you/892243001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Up until the change, vice presidents lived in homes, apartments, or hotels, and were compensated more like cabinet members and members of Congress, receiving only a housing allowance.

The three-story [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]] mansion was built in 1893 on the grounds of the [[U.S. Naval Observatory]] in Washington, D.C., to serve as residence for the superintendent of the Observatory. In 1923, the residence was reassigned to be the home of the [[Chief of Naval Operations]] (CNO), which it was until it was turned over to the office of the vice president fifty years later.

=== Travel and transportation ===
[[File:USAF C-32A.jpg|thumb|[[Air Force Two]], the official vice presidential aircraft, carrying the vice president]]
The primary means of long-distance air travel for the vice president is one of two identical Boeing airplanes, which are extensively modified [[Boeing 757]] airliners and are referred to as ''[[Air Force Two]],'' while the vice president is on board. Any [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] aircraft the vice president is aboard is referred to as "Air Force Two" for the duration of the flight. In-country trips are typically handled with just one of the two planes, while overseas trips are handled with both, one primary and one backup.

For short-distance air travel, the vice president has access to a fleet of [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] helicopters of varying models including ''[[Marine One|Marine Two]]'' when the vice president is aboard any particular one in the fleet. Flights are typically handled with as many as five helicopters all flying together and frequently swapping positions as to disguise which helicopter the vice president is actually aboard to any would-be threats.

===Staff===

The vice president is supported by personnel in the [[Office of the Vice President of the United States]]. The office was created in the [[Reorganization Act of 1939]], which included an "office of the Vice President" under the [[Executive Office of the President]]. Salary for the staff is provided by both legislative and executive branch appropriations, in light of the vice president's roles in each branch.

=== Protection ===
{{Main|United States Secret Service}}
[[File:Kamala Harris and her family walk to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2021.jpg|thumb|Vice President [[Kamala Harris]], surrounded by members of her family and [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]]]
The [[United States Secret Service|U.S. Secret Service]] is in charge with protecting the vice president and the second family. As part of their protection, vice presidents, second spouses, their children and other immediate family members, and other prominent persons and locations are assigned [[Secret Service codename]]s. The use of such names was originally due to security purposes and safety reasons.

=== Office spaces ===
In the modern era, the vice president makes use of at least four different office spaces. These include an office in the [[West Wing]], a ceremonial office in the [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building]] near where most of the vice president's staff works, the [[Vice President's Room]] on the Senate side of the [[United States Capitol]] for meetings with members of Congress, and an office at the vice president's residence.

==Post–vice presidency==
{{see also|List of vice presidents of the United States by other offices held}}

Since 1977, former presidents and former vice presidents who are elected or re-elected to the Senate are entitled to the largely honorific position of [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate#Deputy president pro tempore|Deputy President pro tempore]]. To date, the only former vice president to have held this title is Hubert Humphrey. Also, under the terms of an 1886 Senate resolution, all former vice presidents are entitled to a [[United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection|portrait bust]] in the Senate wing of the [[United States Capitol]], commemorating their service as presidents of the Senate. Al Gore is the most recent former vice president to be so honored.<ref>{{cite web|title=Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection|website=senate.gov|url=https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/fine-art/sculpture/vp-busts.htm|publisher=Secretary of the Senate|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=May 5, 2021|archive-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318005322/https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/fine-art/sculpture/vp-busts.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unlike former presidents, whose pension is fixed at the same rate, regardless of their time in office, former vice presidents receive their retirement income based on their role as president of the Senate.<ref>{{cite web |last=Adamczyk |first=Alicia |date=January 20, 2017 |title=Here's How Much Money Obama and Biden Will Get From Their Pensions |url=https://money.com/barack-obama-joe-biden-pension/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312100107/https://money.com/barack-obama-joe-biden-pension/ |archive-date=March 12, 2022 |access-date=August 3, 2018 |publisher=Money.com}}</ref> Additionally, since 2008, each former vice president and their immediate family is entitled (under the Former Vice President Protection Act of 2008) to [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection for up to six months after leaving office, and again temporarily at any time thereafter if warranted.<ref>{{cite web|title=H.R.5938—Former Vice President Protection Act of 2008, 110th Congress (2007–2008)|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/5938|website=congress.gov|date=September 26, 2008|publisher=Library of Congress|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 3, 2018|archive-date=January 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109172518/https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/5938|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Timeline==
{{see also|List of vice presidents of the United States}}
{{Timeline US Vice Presidents}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last1=Brower |first1=Kate A. |date=2018 |title=First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power |location=New York |publisher=Harper |isbn=978-0062668943}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Jared |author-link=Jared Cohen |date=2019 |title=Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RjxqDwAAQBAJ |edition=Hardcover |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |pages=1–48 |isbn=978-1501109829}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Joel K. |year=1982 |title=The Modern American Vice Presidency |url=https://archive.org/details/modernamericanvi0000gold |url-access=registration |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-02208-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hatch |first=Louis C. |date=2012 |editor-last=Shoup |editor-first=Earl L. |title=A History of the Vice-Presidency of the United States |location=Whitefish, MT |publisher=Literary Licensing |isbn=978-1258442262}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kamarck |first=Elaine C. |year=2020 |title=Picking the Vice President |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=9780815738756 |oclc=1164502534}} EBook, 37 pp.
* {{Cite book |last=Tally |first=Steve |year=1992 |title=Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle—the Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats, and Golfers Who Made It to Vice President |url=https://archive.org/details/blandambitionfro00tall |publisher=Harcourt |isbn=0-15-613140-4}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Vexler |first1=Robert I. |date=1975 |title=The Vice-Presidents and Cabinet Members: Biographies Arranged Chronologically by Administration |url=https://archive.org/details/vicepresidentsca0001vexl |url-access=registration |volume=I |location=Dobbs Ferry, NY |publisher=Oceana Publications |isbn=0379120895}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Vexler |first1=Robert I. |date=1975 |title=The Vice-Presidents and Cabinet Members: Biographies Arranged Chronologically by Administration |url=https://archive.org/details/vicepresidentsca0002vexl/ |url-access=registration |volume=II |location=Dobbs Ferry, NY |publisher=Oceana Publications |isbn=0379120909}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Waldrup |first1=Carole C. |date=2006 |title=Vice Presidents: Biographies of the 45 Men Who Have Held the Second Highest Office in the United States |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0786426119}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Witcover |first1=Jules |date=2014 |title=The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power |publisher=Smithsonian Books |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-1588344717}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/ White House website for Vice President Kamala Harris]
* [http://www.shapell.org/manuscript.aspx?chester-arthur-wins-presidential-election Vice-President Elect Chester Arthur on Expectations of VP]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Shapell Manuscript Foundation
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110202214223/http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/aas_portal/index.xq A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825]
* Documentary about the 1996 election and Vice Presidents throughout history, [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-f18sb3z07s ''Running Mate''], 1996-10-01, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the [[University of Georgia]], [[American Archive of Public Broadcasting]]

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| after = [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]]<br>{{small|Mike Johnson|Mike Johnson (Louisiana politician)}}
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{{US Vice Presidents}}
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{{Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents}}
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[[Category:Vice presidents of the United States| ]]
[[Category:Vice presidency of the United States| ]]
[[Category:1789 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Leaders of the United States Senate]]
[[Category:Vice presidents|United States]]
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