Speaker of the United States House of Representatives by the President "pro tempore" of the Senate and by the heads of federal executive departments. To date, the implementation of the Presidential Succession Act has never been necessary and no Speaker has ever acted as President. Implementation of the law almost became necessary in 1973 after the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. At the time, many believed that President Richard Nixon would resign because of the Watergate scandal, allowing Speaker Carl Albert to succeed to the Presidency. However, before he resigned, Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as Vice President in accordance with the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Nevertheless, the United States
Spiro Agnew Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th Vice President of the United States from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second and more recent officeholder to resign the position, after John C. Calhoun in 1832. Agnew was born in Baltimore, to an American-born mother and a Greek immigrant father. He attended Johns Hopkins University, graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and entered the United States Army in 1941. Agnew served as an officer during World War II, earning the Bronze Star, and was recalled for