The Vice President of the United States is the second-in-command of the executive branch and is elected with the president. Their duties include presiding over the Senate, assuming the presidency if necessary, and performing tasks assigned by the president. The 12th Amendment requires separate races for presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The VP’s power is determined by their relationship with the president, and their role is vital for the stability of the nation.
The Vice President of the United States is the second-in-command of the executive branch of the United States government. Elected teaming with the president, the vice president, also called a VP or Veep, is often chosen at least in part for his or her ability to help the presidential candidate win the election. After voting is complete and the president and vice president are sworn in, many vice presidents seem to vanish into the White House, leading many to wonder exactly what their job requires.
Originally, vice presidents did not run for office with a presidential candidate. Instead, they have been the person who finished second in the race for president, often with bitter political rivals forced to share the government for four years. John Adams, the first vice president, had no qualms describing the job as pointless and worthless, as his ideas were constantly being subverted at the whim of President George Washington.
In 1804, the United States Congress passed the 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which required presidential and vice-presidential candidates to run separate races. This amendment remains in effect today, despite party candidates for the posts running together. If no vice presidential candidate wins an Electoral College majority, the United States Senate chooses the VP, even if their pick is from a different party. This has happened only once in history, when Virginia’s campaign delegates refused to vote for running vice presidential candidate Martin Van Buren. The Senate chose to elect Van Buren’s partner anyway, but many wonder what would happen if that happened again.
The Vice President is the President of the United States Senate. Even though he doesn’t actually control anything in the Senate, he is called to be the casting vote if the Senate is deadlocked. They also oversee procedural matters and preside over impeachment trials, unless the person indicted is the president. In such a case, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court oversees the trial. The VP is not usually found in the daily meetings of the Senate, but instead allows a President chosen by the Senate pro tempore to preside over the normal business.
The second official duty of the vice president is to assume the presidency if the president resigns, dies, or is impeached and removed from office, as mandated by the 25th amendment to the US Constitution. This has happened nine times in US history, beginning with President Tyler’s succession upon the death of President William Henry Harrison, and most recently with President Gerald Ford replacing President Nixon following Nixon’s resignation from office.
In addition to the two main functions, the Vice President usually performs all the functions that the President deems necessary. Some chose to deal with domestic affairs or acted as the president’s representative to foreign governments. The VP may also serve in an advisory capacity to the President, but this is not always the case. The power of the office is largely determined by the relationship between the president and the vice president. Often the two officeholders have been political rivals or even enemies, and the vice president is occasionally resigned to relatively low-impact work.
However, the VP’s role is vital to the stability of the nation. By ensuring that the succession will go directly to the vice president in the event of the president’s death, the opportunities for panic and chaos are severely reduced. If the president and vice president enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship, the vice president can be a powerful figure in Washington and across the nation, even leading to their future success as a presidential candidate.
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