On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew (a Republican) was forced to resign following a controversy over his personal taxes. Under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a vice presidential vacancy is filled when the president nominates a candidate who is confirmed by both houses of Congress. President Richard Nixon (a Republican) thus had the task of selecting a vice president who could receive the majority support of both houses of Congress, which were then controlled by the Democrats.
President Nixon considered selecting former Texas Governor and Treasury Secretary John Connally, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and California Governor Ronald Reagan. However, Nixon settled on House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan, a moderate Republican who was popular among the members of Congress (in both parties) and who was good friends with Nixon. Ford won the approval of both houses by huge margins, and was sworn in as the 40th vice president of the United States on December 6, 1973.
On August 9, 1974, Ford ascended to the presidency after the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon, becoming the only president in American history to have never been elected president or vice president.
Confirmation votes
By a vote of 92 to 3 on November 27, 1973, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Gerald Ford. The following week, on December 6, the House of Representatives gave its approval, 387 to 35.
Party Total votes Democratic Republican Conservative Independent Yes 51 39 1 1 92() No 3 0 0 0 3() Roll call vote on the nomination Senator Party State Vote South Dakota Yea Vermont Yea Alabama Yea Tennessee Yea Oklahoma Yea Indiana Yea Maryland Yea Oklahoma Yea Utah Yea Texas Yea Nevada Yea Delaware Yea Tennessee Yea Massachusetts Yea New York Yea North Dakota Yea Virginia Yea West Virginia Yea Nevada Yea New Jersey Yea Florida Yea Idaho Yea Iowa Yea Kentucky Yea New Hampshire Yea California Yea Nebraska Yea Kansas Yea New Mexico Yea Colorado Yea Missouri Nay Mississippi Yea North Carolina Yea Arizona No vote Hawaii Yea Arkansas Yea Arizona Yea Alaska Yea Michigan Yea Florida No vote Wyoming Yea Michigan Yea Indiana Yea Colorado Yea Oregon Yea Maine Nay North Carolina Yea South Carolina Yea Nebraska Yea Kentucky Yea Iowa Yea Minnesota Yea Hawaii Yea Washington Yea New York Yea Louisiana Yea Massachusetts Yea Louisiana Yea Washington Yea Montana Yea Maryland Yea Arkansas Yea Idaho No vote Wyoming Yea South Dakota No vote New Hampshire Yea Montana Yea Minnesota Yea New Mexico Yea Utah Yea Maine Yea Wisconsin Nay Georgia Yea Oregon Yea Rhode Island Yea Kansas Yea Rhode Island Yea Illinois Yea Wisconsin Yea West Virginia Yea Connecticut Yea Delaware Yea Ohio Yea Pennsylvania Yea Pennsylvania Yea Virginia Yea Alabama Yea Vermont Yea Mississippi Yea Alaska Yea Illinois Yea Missouri No vote Ohio Yea Georgia Yea South Carolina Yea Texas Yea California Yea Connecticut Yea New Jersey Yea North Dakota Yea
Party Total votes Democratic Republican Yes 199 188 387() No 35 0 35()
See also Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution 1974 United States vice presidential confirmation
Notes
References
External links THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FIRST USES OF THE 25TH AMENDMENT, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Digital Library