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 Vice President of the United States The Vice President of the United States (informally referred to as VPOTUS, VP, or Veep) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the President of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as President of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president presides over Senate deliberations (or delegates this task to a member of the Senate), but may only vote to break a tie. The vice president also presides over