How Is a New Vice President Chosen?

In the event that Vice President Dick Cheney can no longer discharge his duties, how does George Bush get a new vice president?

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The 25^th Amendment, ratified in 1967, solved the problem of how to replace a vice president. If Cheney resigned, President Bush would select a nominee for the vice presidency. Then the nominee would have to be approved by majority votes in both the House and the Senate.

Before the 25^th Amendment, a vacancy in the office was simply left unfilled. The impetus for the 25^th was the assassination of John F. Kennedy--with Lyndon Johnson's ascension to the presidency, there was no vice president in place in case something befell Johnson. Then-Rep. Gerald Ford was appointed under the 25^th following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1973. In 1974, after Richard Nixon resigned, Ford became president and selected Nelson Rockefeller as vice president. After a long congressional inquiry, Rockefeller was approved, making them the country's first nonelected president and vice president.

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