United States presidential line of succession 1973, at the height of Watergate, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. With Agnew's unexpected departure, and the state of Richard Nixon's presidency, Speaker of the House Carl Albert was suddenly first in line to become acting president. The vacancy continued until Gerald Ford was sworn in as vice president on December 6, 1973. Albert was also next in line from the time Ford assumed the presidency on August 9, 1974, following Nixon's resignation from office, until Ford's choice to succeed him as vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, was confirmed by Congress four months later. The vice presidency has been vacant on
Judy Agnew use" for hippies, although she admitted that she didn't know any. In 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned from his position as Vice President of the United States, pleading nolo contendere to charges of income tax evasion. Agnew was charged with having reported a joint income of $26,099 for both him and his wife in 1967, although their correct income had been $55,599. On the day of her husband's resignation, Agnew broke down at a luncheon and cried among her guests. Agnew died on June 20, 2012, in Rancho Mirage, California, aged 91. Judy Agnew Elinor Isabel "Judy" Judefind Agnew (April 23,