The Vice President of the United States is the first in line to step up if anything happens to the president, but it wasn’t until the assassination of JFK that this rule became part of the Constitution. Let’s take a look into how the 25th Amendment came about and why.
The 25th Amendment
The first section of the 25th makes it clear that the vice president is to succeed the president should they die, resign or be removed from office. Later, in Section 2 of the amendment, the text clarifies that the President of the United States holds the power, along with the approval of Congress, to name a new vice president should the office become vacant.
It also states that the vice president will serve as an acting president should the president be unable to execute their official duties. Disagreements about the ability of the president to discharge official powers are also covered in the amendment.
A National Tragedy
President John F. Kennedy’s death pushed a united Congress to make some fundamental changes to the US Constitution. After all, the Constitution didn’t lay out any clear way to deal with a president no longer fit for duty, and Congress was determined to change that. The need for a clear succession of the president was necessary, especially with the growing fear of the Cold War. In response, Congress leaped into action as a united body to set out and make a change.
The Beginning
Eisenhower’s illness and the looming Cold War of the 1950’s already had Congress in talks about clarifying the succession of a president by 1963. During Eisenhower’s term, Senator Estes Kefauver began the amendment movement after the American Bar Association had proposed it. Later that same year, while on the senate floor, Kefauver had a heart attack.
The next president, Lyndon B. Johnson, also having health issues, understood the need to have a successor ready. Next in line were the Speaker of the House, John McCormack, who was 71 years old, and the 86-year-old Senate Pro Tempore, Carl Hayden. Senator Birch Bayh, Kefauver’s successor after President Kennedy’s death, became part of the Senate subcommittee in charge of constitutional amendments in 1964.
Bayh once again proposed Kefauver’s amendment, but this attempt failed. He brought the proposal forth again after Johnson was re-elected in 1965. A mere three months later, the bill passed in both chambers of Congress. The first state to ratify the new amendment was Nebraska, with Minnesota and Nevada being the 37th and 38th states needed to make it official within the Constitution.
Put to the Test
Vice President Spiro Agnew announced his resignation in 1973, when the amendment saw its first test. The incoming vice president, at the request of President Nixon and upon congressional approval, was Gerald Ford.
The 25th was once again put into effect nine months later, after Nixon’s resignation and Ford’s rise to president. Ford had to use the power to nominate a vice president; Nelson Rockefeller became his second in command.
Succession of Power
Before the 25th Amendment, people simply assumed that the vice president would replace the president if the need arose. The first occurrence was when President William Henry Harrison died, and Vice President John Tyler boldly asked the Chief Justice of the District of Columbia Circuit to carry out the presidential oath.
Six presidents have died leading to the vice president stepping up, although two of those times almost saw the vice president’s office also vacant. Despite the challenges, the “Tyler Precedent” withstood the transition periods.
Now we have no question about the successor of power in the United States. If a president can no longer perform their duty, the vice president takes over either temporarily or until the end of the original president’s term.
