Gerald Ford and the 25th Amendment
On November 27, 1973 (39 years ago today) the United States Senate votes 92 to 3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. Ford would become President on August 9, 1974 following the resignation of President Richard Nixon, making him the only person to hold the offices of Vice-President and President of the United States, without having been elected to either.
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from office and then pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering. The pleas were part of a negotiated resolution for his involvement in a scheme in which he accepted $29,500 in bribes while governor of Maryland. Nixon sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement for Agnew. According to the New York Time, the advice Nixon received was unanimous. "We gave Nixon no choice but Ford," said House Speaker Carl Albert.
Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 12, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been used. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. Only three Senators, all Democrats, voted against Ford's confirmation: Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Thomas Eagleton of Missouri and William Hathaway of Maine. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. One hour after the confirmation vote in the House, Ford took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States.
Ford's brief time as Vice-President was hardly noticed by the media. Reporters were preoccupied by the Watergate scandal. The Watergate investigation continued until Chief of Staff Alexander Haig contacted Ford on August 1, 1974, and told him that "smoking gun" evidence had been found. The evidence left little doubt that President Nixon had been a part of the Watergate cover-up. At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly-designated vice president's residence in Washington, D.C. Ford later related that Haig had asked to see Ford, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.'"
He was correct.
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned from office and then pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering. The pleas were part of a negotiated resolution for his involvement in a scheme in which he accepted $29,500 in bribes while governor of Maryland. Nixon sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement for Agnew. According to the New York Time, the advice Nixon received was unanimous. "We gave Nixon no choice but Ford," said House Speaker Carl Albert.
Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 12, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been used. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. Only three Senators, all Democrats, voted against Ford's confirmation: Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Thomas Eagleton of Missouri and William Hathaway of Maine. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. One hour after the confirmation vote in the House, Ford took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States.
Ford's brief time as Vice-President was hardly noticed by the media. Reporters were preoccupied by the Watergate scandal. The Watergate investigation continued until Chief of Staff Alexander Haig contacted Ford on August 1, 1974, and told him that "smoking gun" evidence had been found. The evidence left little doubt that President Nixon had been a part of the Watergate cover-up. At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly-designated vice president's residence in Washington, D.C. Ford later related that Haig had asked to see Ford, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.'"
He was correct.