VICE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE OFFICE

I.

Vice President
a. Todays Vice President Joe Biden
b. Importance
1. Presides over the Senate
2. Helps decide the question of Presidential disability
3. President in waiting
c. 25th Amendment
1. In the case of the removal of the President from
office or of the death or resignation, the Vice
President shall become the President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the
Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice
President who shall take office upon confirmation
by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Most recent Vice President to succeed to the
Presidency was: Gerald R. Ford when Richard
Nixon resigned in 1974.

II.

White House Office

a. Nerve Center of the executive branch
b. Made up of the key personal and political staff to the
President
c. Aid president in areas like the economy, foreign policy,
defense, political affairs, public opinion, congressional
relations, and contact with news media.
d. Chief of Staff to the President most vital member

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Vice President
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore of the
Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General

e. Examples:
press
secretary,
counsel
(legal
advisor)
III.

Order of
Succession