79 votes
Accepted

Can Vice President Pence be impeached before President Trump?

I don't think "pre-impeach" is the right word because Congress has the power to impeach the VP or any other "civil officer", not just the president. According to article 2 of the constitution, as ...
Pickle Rick's user avatar
53 votes
Accepted

Legally speaking in the United States, could a former two-term president be vice president?

The last sentence of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-...
Nikl's user avatar
  • 594
52 votes

What's the difference between a 51 seat majority and a 50 seat + VP "majority"?

According to news reports, this has led to "power sharing agreements" needing to be made between the Ds and Rs. Why is this necessary? First, it's important to note that the VP is not a ...
Panda's user avatar
  • 46.6k
46 votes
Accepted

Is there a difference between a tie-breaker and a regular vote?

Under normal circumstances, there is no difference. However, the Senate is not always full - Senators die or resign, or simply fail to make it to a vote. These were even more common situations when ...
Bobson's user avatar
  • 24.6k
46 votes
Accepted

What authority does the Vice President have to mobilize the National Guard?

What authority does the Vice President have to mobilize the National Guard? Apparently, none. However, the acting defense secretary does. Because the District is not a state, the D.C. Guard answers ...
Rick Smith's user avatar
  • 35.5k
42 votes
Accepted

Was Mike Pence Vice President to Obama for a few minutes?

No, because while taking the oath is a prerequisite for executing the office, just swearing it doesn't make one POTUS or VPOTUS. Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the US Constitution says: ...
Philipp's user avatar
  • 76.6k
39 votes

Why is there no Vice Presidential line of succession?

The Vice President has exactly two jobs according to the Constitution: To preside over the Senate, breaking ties if and when necessary, but otherwise not voting or doing much else of substance. To ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 9,285
38 votes

Must the Vice President preside over the counting of the Electoral College votes?

The President Pro Tempore of the Senate can do it. In 1969, Vice President Hubert Humphrey did not participate in the count of the electoral college votes. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate took ...
butterfly's user avatar
  • 481
35 votes
Accepted

Must a minimum time pass before the Vice-President replaces the elected President in the US?

There are three periods of time at which this question has different answers. Immediately after the elections, you might run into some problems, but immediately after the inauguration, there is no ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
31 votes
Accepted

When was the last time a Vice President chose to let a tied Senate vote fail, without using their negative casting vote?

The last time this happened was in the early morning of February 5th, 2021 - Kamala Harris was presiding over the Senate and had, in fact, just used her casting vote to pass Chuck Schumer's amendment ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
28 votes
Accepted

If the VP resigns, can the 25th Amendment still be invoked?

As a practical matter, if Pence were to resign, the already slim probability of invoking the 25th amendment would decrease to almost zero. If Pence resigned, the Vice Presidency would be vacant and it ...
Justin Cave's user avatar
  • 6,193
27 votes

Can the VP technically take over the Senate by ignoring certain precedents?

And is it true, as this article argues, that the VP could technically choose not to follow certain precedents (not even Senate rules--just certain precedents of practice) and recognize the minority ...
D M's user avatar
  • 2,356
27 votes
Accepted

Must the Vice President preside over the counting of the Electoral College votes?

Well, the Constitution says (Article II, Section 1) The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then ...
Justin Cave's user avatar
  • 6,193
27 votes
Accepted

What happens if the Vice-President were to die before presiding over the official electoral college vote count?

As you've mentioned, the 12th amendment to the Constitution, enshrined in statute in 3 U.S.C. ยง15 grants the role of presiding over the counting of the electoral votes in Congress to the President of ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
26 votes

Can Vice President Pence be impeached before President Trump?

First off, a note on semantics. Impeachment and conviction are two separate steps. The House votes to impeach, the Senate votes to convict. Both President Andrew Johnson and President Clinton were ...
Justin Cave's user avatar
  • 6,193
26 votes

Why hasn't Kamala Harris visited the US-Mexico Border?

This question, or something similar, has been put to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki a number of times over the past couple of months. The common theme of the responses is that VP Harris' brief ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
24 votes
Accepted

Can the vice president of the United States be fired?

No. The President can not fire the Vice President. Unlike the cabinet (e.g., Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, etc.), and the White House Staff (e.g., Chief-of-Staff, Press ...
Rain Willow's user avatar
  • 4,120
24 votes
Accepted

Why would a Vice President cast a negative vote?

Mostly (if anything), just to set a record. As a way of making the failing of the motion more "official", or to show the White House's opposition to it. Technically, the result is always the ...
Gouvernathor's user avatar
  • 1,208
22 votes
Accepted

What power does the Vice President really have?

When thinking about political power and influence it is important to distinguish between formal and informal power. While the law explicitly provides some powers, often times the most significant ...
indigochild's user avatar
  • 23.8k
22 votes
Accepted

Why don't presidential candidates announce their running mates before achieving their party's nomination?

It's an interesting question you're raising. In many cases, the V.P. candidate gets chosen from among the other competitors for the party's nomination of a candidate for President who most helped the ...
sanitycheck's user avatar
21 votes

Can the vice president of the United States be fired?

Only Congress can forcibly remove a Vice President from office The US Constitution only allows the Vice President to be forcibly removed from office via impeachment due to a high crime or misdemeanor (...
Thunderforge's user avatar
  • 7,697
21 votes
Accepted

Does the Vice-President retain their tiebreaking vote during an impeachment trial of the President?

Does the Vice-President retain their tiebreaking vote during an impeachment trial of the President? No, the vice president has no defined role in the impeachment trial of the president. It is ...
Rick Smith's user avatar
  • 35.5k
20 votes
Accepted

How unusual is a Vice President presiding over their own replacement in the Senate?

This is mostly to do with the date of Harris' resignation as Senator. She submitted her letter of resignation to California Governor Gavin Newsom on Jan 18th, two days before being sworn in as VP. ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
20 votes

Are there cases in US history when the approval rating of the vice-president exceeded that of the POTUS for a substantial time?

Yes, Al Gore exceeded Bill Clinton's net favorability for long periods throughout their two terms in office. This does, however, depend on which organisation conducts the poll, and is complicated by ...
CDJB's user avatar
  • 106k
17 votes
Accepted

Can vice president/security advisor or secretary of state be chosen from the opposite party?

As mentioned in comments, the Vice President was originally the runner-up in the Presidential Election; this practically guaranteed that (until this was changed) the Vice President would be of a ...
Bryan Krause's user avatar
  • 3,939
16 votes

Can a United States President nominate a blood relative as Vice President?

There's nothing stopping him from making such a suggestion, but there's also nothing that says anyone has to go along with it, and it may not be a smart idea. First of all, the Constitution does not ...
D M's user avatar
  • 2,356
16 votes
Accepted

Does a tie in the Senate require the vice president to always be present in the Senate?

A tie does not necessitate the Vice President to be present in the Senate. Without the VP's vote, the motion will simply fail. However, if the VP wants to break the tie, the VP has to be present on ...
Panda's user avatar
  • 46.6k

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