Acting Vice President - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Acting Vice President of the United States is an unofficial (and incorrect) designation that has occasionally been used when the office of Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

was vacant.

The president pro tempore of the United States Senate

President pro tempore of the United States Senate

The President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate despite not being a member of the body...

assumes the role of presiding officer over the Senate in the event that the vice-presidency is rendered vacant either by death, resignation, removal from office or succession to the presidency

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. Under the 1792 Act of Succession

Presidential Succession Act

The Presidential Succession Act establishes the line of succession to the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States in the event that neither a President nor Vice President is able to "discharge the powers and duties of the office." The current Presidential Succession Act...

, in the absence of a Vice President, the President pro tempore was next in line for the powers of the presidency. Historically, some have referred to the President pro tempore under these circumstances as "Acting Vice President." However, no such office exists under the Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

, federal statute, or recognized tradition. No person who could ever have been regarded as "Acting Vice President" has ever succeeded to the powers and duties of the Presidency, even in an acting capacity. Lafayette Foster and Benjamin Wade

Benjamin Wade

Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the Radical Republicans of that time.-Early life:...

would have been the closest to become President. And following the adoption of the 1886 Act of Succession

Presidential Succession Act

, the President pro tempore of the Senate was no longer next in line for the presidency after the Vice-President.

Nonetheless, James Eastland

James Eastland

James Oliver Eastland was an American politician from Mississippi who briefly served in the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1941; and again from 1943 until his resignation December 27, 1978. From 1947 to 1978, he served alongside John Stennis, also a Democrat...

, Senator from Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, was referred to as "Acting Vice President" twice while he was President pro tempore in the 1970s, during periods of a vacancy in the vice presidency. The first occurred following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew

Spiro Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...

, prior to the appointment of Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

to replace him, and the second occurred when Ford became president, vacating the vice presidency, before Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...

was confirmed as his replacement. During both these periods, however, Speaker of the House Carl Albert

Carl Albert

Carl Bert Albert was a lawyer and a Democratic American politician from Oklahoma.Albert represented the southeastern portion of Oklahoma as a Democrat for 30 years, starting in 1947. He is best known for his service as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977...

was first in the line of succession to the presidency under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, ahead of Eastland.

In 1964 Richard Neustadt

Richard Neustadt

Richard Elliott Neustadt was an American political scientist specializing in the United States presidency. He also served as advisor to several presidents.-Biography:...

, the noted political scientist, presidential advisor, and founder of the John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

proposed the creation of a statutory office of Acting Vice President in hearings before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments of the Senate Judiciary Committee

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...

. The proposal was never adopted.

See also