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
Flag of the Vice President of the United States sizes as in 1915) were ordered on October 23 and delivered on October 28. The President's flag had been redesigned in the interim, but the same 1915 design for the Vice President's flag was apparently used again for this occasion. The Vice President boarded first, so his flag was hoisted at the mainmast. The Belgian royalty boarded an hour later, at which point the Belgian national ensign was raised at the mainmast, with the Vice President's flag being shifted to the foremast, per Navy regulations. Originally, several reports said the 1915 design was intended to be the official flag for