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The Vice President is theoretically allowed to vote according to his own conscience, just as all other members of the Congress. But did a situation ever occur where the Vice President cast a tie-breaking vote against the party of which they were currently a member?

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    Before the adoption of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the President and Vice President were not necessarily from the same party. It's quite likely some VPs form this era cast tie breaking votes against the party of the President.
    – Royal Canadian Bandit
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 9:22
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    @RoyalCanadianBandit There was only one vice president of a different party than the president prior to 1804, Thomas Jefferson was VP to John Adams from 1801 to 1805. The only other time that happened was Andrew Johnson (Democrat) in Abraham Lincoln's administration (Republican), but technically they ran on the Union ticket (1864). They had no congressional party.
    – Brythan
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 16:28
  • that still wouldn't fit the question: "against the party of which they were currently a member" I think a better guess would be under either Roosevelt, one switched parties and the other switched VP's twice. So the VP might be assumed to be at odds with the president, or the administration at odds with the party. I don't know my history well enough to even name the VP's though.
    – user9389
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 19:34

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Yes, in January 1832 when Vice President John C. Calhoun (who had served as VP under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson) cast tie-breaking votes on two different occasions to kill President Jackson’s nomination of Martin Van Buren to be the U.S. Minister to England.

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    Good catch. Also, Good call on Calhoun's part. Van Buren was one of the more mediocre U.S. politicians.
    – ohwilleke ♦
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 23:33
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    It's worth noting that the US was in the middle of a realignment then. While both Jackson and Calhoun had been Democratic Republicans, Calhoun was a Nullifier in 1832 while Jackson was a Democrat or Jacksonian. So Calhoun wasn't necessarily acting against his party. He was a different party from the president. A third example (along with Jefferson and Johnson) of a VP not of the same party as the president.
    – Brythan
    Commented Jul 18, 2018 at 17:32

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