United States vice presidential selection, 1973 United States vice presidential selection, 1973 In 1973, Republican Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign following a controversy over his personal taxes. Under the terms of the 25th Amendment, a vice presidential vacancy is filled when the president nominates a candidate who is confirmed by both houses of Congress. Republican President Richard Nixon thus had the task of selecting a vice president who could receive the majority support of both houses of Congress. Nixon considered selecting former Texas Governor John Connally, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and California Governor Ronald Reagan. However, Nixon settled on House Minority Leader
Vice President of the United States Manhattan Project, leading Truman to remark, wryly, that the job of the Vice President was to "go to weddings and funerals." As a result of this experience, Truman, after succeeding to the presidency upon Roosevelt's death, recognized the need to keep the Vice President informed on national security issues. Congress made the vice president one of four statutory members of the National Security Council in 1949. 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