1973 United States vice presidential confirmation

(Redirected from Confirmation of Gerald Ford)

On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew (a Republican) was forced to resign following a controversy over his personal taxes. Under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a vice presidential vacancy is filled when the president nominates a candidate who is confirmed by both houses of Congress. President Richard Nixon (a Republican) thus had the task of selecting a vice president who could receive the majority support of both houses of Congress, which were then controlled by the Democrats.

1973 United States vice presidential confirmation

November 27, 1973 (1973-11-27) (Senate)
December 6, 1973 (1973-12-06) (House)
1974 →

100 and 435 members of the Senate and House
Majority of both Senate and House votes needed to win
 
Nominee Gerald Ford
Party Republican
Home state Michigan
Electoral vote 92 (Senate)
387 (House)
Percentage 96.8% (Senate)
91.7% (House)

Vote by house district
  Republican "Aye"
  Democratic "Aye"
  Democratic "No"
  Absent/Not voting

Vice President before election

Spiro Agnew

Confirmed Vice President

Gerald Ford

President Nixon considered selecting former Texas Governor and Treasury Secretary John Connally, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and California Governor Ronald Reagan.[1] However, Nixon settled on House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan, a moderate Republican who was popular among the members of Congress (in both parties) and who was good friends with Nixon.[1] Ford won the approval of both houses by huge margins, and was sworn in as the 40th vice president of the United States on December 6, 1973.[1][2]

On August 9, 1974, Ford ascended to the presidency after the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon, becoming the only president in American history to have never been elected president or vice president.[a]

Confirmation votes

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By a vote of 92 to 3 on November 27, 1973, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Gerald Ford.[3] The following week, on December 6, the House of Representatives gave its approval, 387 to 35.[4]

1973 U.S. Senate
Vice presidential
confirmation vote:
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican Conservative Independent
Yes 51 39 1 1 92  (96.8%)
No 03 00 0 0 3  (3.2%)
Result: Confirmed
Roll call vote on the nomination
Senator Party State Vote
James Abourezk
D
South Dakota Yea
George Aiken
R
Vermont Yea
James Allen
D
Alabama Yea
Howard Baker
R
Tennessee Yea
Dewey Bartlett
R
Oklahoma Yea
Birch Bayh
D
Indiana Yea
John Glenn Beall
R
Maryland Yea
Henry Bellmon
R
Oklahoma Yea
Wallace Bennett
R
Utah Yea
Lloyd Bentsen
D
Texas Yea
Alan Bible
D
Nevada Yea
Joe Biden
D
Delaware Yea
Bill Brock
R
Tennessee Yea
Edward Brooke
R
Massachusetts Yea
James L. Buckley
C
New York Yea
Quentin Burdick
D
North Dakota Yea
Harry F. Byrd
I
Virginia Yea
Robert Byrd
D
West Virginia Yea
Howard Cannon
D
Nevada Yea
Clifford Case
R
New Jersey Yea
Lawton Chiles
D
Florida Yea
Frank Church
D
Idaho Yea
Dick Clark
D
Iowa Yea
Marlow Cook
R
Kentucky Yea
Norris Cotton
R
New Hampshire Yea
Alan Cranston
D
California Yea
Carl Curtis
R
Nebraska Yea
Bob Dole
R
Kansas Yea
Pete Domenici
R
New Mexico Yea
Peter Dominick
R
Colorado Yea
Thomas Eagleton
D
Missouri Nay
James Eastland
D
Mississippi Yea
Sam Ervin
D
North Carolina Yea
Paul Fannin
R
Arizona No vote
Hiram Fong
R
Hawaii Yea
J. William Fulbright
D
Arkansas Yea
Barry Goldwater
R
Arizona Yea
Mike Gravel
D
Alaska Yea
Robert P. Griffin
R
Michigan Yea
Edward Gurney
R
Florida No vote
Clifford Hansen
R
Wyoming Yea
Philip Hart
D
Michigan Yea
Vance Hartke
D
Indiana Yea
Floyd Haskell
D
Colorado Yea
Mark Hatfield
R
Oregon Yea
William Hathaway
D
Maine Nay
Jesse Helms
R
North Carolina Yea
Fritz Hollings
D
South Carolina Yea
Roman Hruska
R
Nebraska Yea
Walter Dee Huddleston
D
Kentucky Yea
Harold Hughes
D
Iowa Yea
Hubert Humphrey
D
Minnesota Yea
Daniel Inouye
D
Hawaii Yea
Henry M. Jackson
D
Washington Yea
Jacob Javits
R
New York Yea
J. Bennett Johnston
D
Louisiana Yea
Ted Kennedy
D
Massachusetts Yea
Russell B. Long
D
Louisiana Yea
Warren Magnuson
D
Washington Yea
Mike Mansfield
D
Montana Yea
Charles Mathias
R
Maryland Yea
John L. McClellan
D
Arkansas Yea
James A. McClure
R
Idaho No vote
Gale McGee
D
Wyoming Yea
George McGovern
D
South Dakota No vote
Thomas J. McIntyre
D
New Hampshire Yea
Lee Metcalf
D
Montana Yea
Walter Mondale
D
Minnesota Yea
Joseph Montoya
D
New Mexico Yea
Frank Moss
D
Utah Yea
Edmund Muskie
D
Maine Yea
Gaylord Nelson
D
Wisconsin Nay
Sam Nunn
D
Georgia Yea
Bob Packwood
R
Oregon Yea
John Pastore
D
Rhode Island Yea
James B. Pearson
R
Kansas Yea
Claiborne Pell
D
Rhode Island Yea
Charles H. Percy
R
Illinois Yea
William Proxmire
D
Wisconsin Yea
Jennings Randolph
D
West Virginia Yea
Abraham Ribicoff
D
Connecticut Yea
William Roth
R
Delaware Yea
William Saxbe
R
Ohio Yea
Richard Schweiker
R
Pennsylvania Yea
Hugh Scott
R
Pennsylvania Yea
William L. Scott
R
Virginia Yea
John Sparkman
D
Alabama Yea
Robert Stafford
R
Vermont Yea
John C. Stennis
D
Mississippi Yea
Ted Stevens
R
Alaska Yea
Adlai Stevenson
D
Illinois Yea
Stuart Symington
D
Missouri No vote
Robert A. Taft
R
Ohio Yea
Herman Talmadge
D
Georgia Yea
Strom Thurmond
R
South Carolina Yea
John Tower
R
Texas Yea
John V. Tunney
D
California Yea
Lowell Weicker
R
Connecticut Yea
Harrison A. Williams
D
New Jersey Yea
Milton Young
R
North Dakota Yea
1973 U.S. House
Vice presidential
confirmation vote:
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Yes 199 188 387  (91.7%)
No 035 000 35  (8.3%)
Result: Confirmed

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Other vice presidents have ascended to the presidency, but had been elected on a party ticket as running mate.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Mieczkowski, Yanek (April 22, 2005). Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 11–13. ISBN 0813172055. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Woodward, Bob (December 29, 2006). "Ford, Nixon Sustained Friendship for Decades". Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "To advise and consent to the nomination of Gerald R. Ford to be Vice-President of the U.S." govtrack.us. U.S. Senate–November 27, 1973. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "To pass H.Res. 735, confirming the nomination of Gerald R. Ford to be Vice-President". govtrack.us. U.S. House of Representatives–December 6, 1973. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
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