Vice President of the United States the Twenty-fifth Amendment established a procedure for filling such a vacancy: This procedure has been implemented twice since the amendment came into force. The first instance occurred in 1973 following the October 10 resignation of Spiro Agnew, when Gerald Ford was nominated by President Richard Nixon and confirmed by Congress. The second occurred 10 months later following Ford's August 9, 1974 accession to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, when Nelson Rockefeller was nominated by President Ford and confirmed by Congress. Had it not been for this new constitutional mechanism, the vice presidency would have remained vacant after Agnew's resignation and
Arthur Sohmer the primary. Later that year he managed Spiro Agnew's successful campaign for Baltimore County Executive. Agnew was the first Republican to win that office, a feat not repeated until 1990. Sohmer was appointed by Agnew to the Baltimore County Tax Appeals Court in 1963 and became its chief judge in 1964. Sohmer then managed Agnew's successful campaign for Governor of Maryland in 1966. Sohmer then managed appointments in the Maryland governor's office. After Agnew was elected vice president in 1968 on a ticket with Richard M. Nixon, Sohmer became Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States.