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
Vice President of the United States heads of state at times when the administration wishes to demonstrate concern or support but cannot send the president personally. To be Constitutionally eligible to serve as the nation's vice president, a person must, according to the Twelfth Amendment, meet the eligibility requirements to become president (which are stated in ). Thus, to serve as vice president, an individual must: A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of vice president under the following conditions: Though the vice president does not need to have any political experience, most major-party vice presidential nominees are current