Vice Presidents

Vice President of the United States, the second-highest ranking official in the U.S. government. The PRESIDENT and vice president are the only nationally elected officials. If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president succeeds him. In addition, the vice president may serve temporarily as acting president if the president, for whatever reason, is unable to discharge the duties of the office. Like the president, the vice president must be at least 35 years old.

The CONSTITUTION of the United States prescribes only one duty for the vice president. He is the president, or presiding officer, of the U.S. SENATE, and if a Senate vote ends in a tie the vice president may vote to break the tie. The vice president has been assigned other duties by statute, and the president may give him other responsibilities. The importance of the vice president derives almost entirely from the fact that at any moment he may succeed to the most powerful office in the world.