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0 / 31 Fotos
The vice president succeeds the president
- If the president resigns or dies, the vice president succeeds him. This has happened a few times in American history. The VP had to step in when JFK, Lincoln, and McKinley were assassinated, as well as when Nixon resigned.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
The VP presides over the Senate
- One of the duties of the VP is to act as the president of the Senate. They oversee votes in the chamber and are responsible for casting the deciding vote in case of a tie.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
The vice president can remove the president from office
- Yes, the VP can actually invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution and remove the president from office. The final decision would need either a majority of the Cabinet or a committee appointed by Congress to attest that the president is unfit for office.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
The VP sits on the National Security Council
- The vice president sits among those who advise the president on matters of national security.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
The VP is on the board of The Smithsonian
- From museums to the National Zoo, The Smithsonian is one of the greatest institutions of America. The VP joins other important personalities four times a year as an ex officio member.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
The VP is responsible for the official count of the US Electoral College
- The vice president presides over and certifies the official count of the Electoral College. This means that the VP is responsible for opening the envelopes containing the counts from the Electoral College. This becomes even more tense when the vice president is in the race, as has been the case in many elections.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
Five VPs had to announce their presidential defeats to the Senate
- First, in 1860, VP Breckinridge declared Lincoln the winner. Then, in 1960, Nixon had to announce JFK as the winner. In 1968, VP Hubert Humphrey announced Nixon’s victory. In 2000, it was Al Gore's turn to declare Bush the winner. And in 2025, Kamala Harris certified Donald Trump's win.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
Four VPs announced their presidential wins to the Senate
- Only four VPs ran for president and won. These were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George H.W. Bush.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
The VP presides over (most) impeachment trials of federal officers
- While most of us are familiar with the term applied to presidents, any federal officer, including the VP, can be impeached. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides in the case of presidents, but all others are the responsibility of the VP.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
The VP acts as an advisor to the president
- How much a VP is involved in an administration and its policies depends on the relationship between them and the president. Many have become the person the president relied on most for advice and counsel.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
The VP stands in for the president abroad
- While this is not always the case, many VPs have done so in the past and continue to do so. The VP often travels abroad and represents the US in an official capacity.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
The VP hasn’t always had an official residence
- It wasn’t until 1974 that the vice president was given an official residence at Number One Observatory Circle. The first VP to live there was Walter Mondale.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
The first vice president didn’t earn a lot of money
- Back in 1789, Vice President John Adams earned US$5,000. Sure, this was a respectable amount back then, but not quite the $284,600 the VP was earning in 2024.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt had mixed views about the role
- In 1896, Theodore Roosevelt said that the vice president should be given more power and a seat in the Cabinet, but he didn’t give it to his own VP, Charles W. Fairbanks.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
Vice presidents only started to attend Cabinet meetings in 1913
- President Woodrow Wilson was the first to invite his vice president, Thomas Marshall, to attend Cabinet meetings.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
Cities named after vice presidents
- Dallas, Texas takes its name from VP George Dallas, who served under President James K. Polk from 1845 to 1849.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
Cities named after vice presidents
- The same goes for Fairbanks, Alaska, which was named after Charles Fairbanks, who was the vice president during the Theodore Roosevelt administration from 1905-1909.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
The origins of the term "veep"
- The term “veep” was coined by Stephen M. Truitt. Truitt was the grandson of Vice President Alben W. Barkley, who served under Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
There is no term limit for VPs
- Vice presidents can, in theory, hold their jobs for life. While presidents have a limit of two terms in office, there is no term limit for vice presidents.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
One vice president fled to Cuba
- President James Buchanan's VP, John Breckinridge, fled to Cuba after being charged with treason. Breckinridge returned to the US after years in exile when President Andrew Johnson granted him amnesty.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
Treason
- John Breckinridge isn't the only VP in history who was charged with treason. Aaron Burr was also charged with treason after trying to form his own nation!
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
Veeps autograph their desks
- The vice presidential desk contains the signature of every vice president since the 1940s. A list of names of all the VPs who used the desk is found inside the top drawer.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
VP Andrew Johnson was drunk during Lincoln's second inauguration
- One senator wrote at the time that “the Inauguration went off very well except that the Vice President Elect was too drunk to perform his duties & disgraced himself & the Senate by making a drunken foolish speech.”
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
First pitch
- In 1968, Hubert Humphrey was the first VP (out of eight) to throw out the first pitch at the opening of the baseball season. The tradition was revived by Joe Biden in 2009.
© Getty Images
24 / 31 Fotos
Three vice presidents share the same birthday
- Vice Presidents Charles Dawes, Lyndon Johnson, and Hannibal Hamlin, were all born on August 27.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
President James Madison buried two VPs
- Two vice presidents died under President Madison’s administration. The first one was George Clinton, who died in 1812, and then Elbridge Gerry, who died not long after one year on the job.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Gay veep?
- William R. King, who served as vice president in 1852 under James Buchanan, was rumored to be gay. There are even suggestions that he was romantically involved with the president.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Marriage
- Vice President Alben Barkley was 72 when he tied the knot with 38-year-old Jane Hadley. Barkley was the first VP to get married while in office.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
The vice president has a theme song
- The tune ‘Hail, Columbia’ announces the arrival of the vice president during public appearances.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Three VPs are Nobel Peace Prize laureates
- Vice presidential Nobel Peace Prize winners include Charles Dawes for his role in reducing tensions between Germany and France after WWI, Teddy Roosevelt for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war, and Al Gore for his work on global warming. Sources: (Ranker) (Time) (Politico) (The Atlantic) See also: American presidents and vice presidents who didn't like each other
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
The vice president succeeds the president
- If the president resigns or dies, the vice president succeeds him. This has happened a few times in American history. The VP had to step in when JFK, Lincoln, and McKinley were assassinated, as well as when Nixon resigned.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
The VP presides over the Senate
- One of the duties of the VP is to act as the president of the Senate. They oversee votes in the chamber and are responsible for casting the deciding vote in case of a tie.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
The vice president can remove the president from office
- Yes, the VP can actually invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution and remove the president from office. The final decision would need either a majority of the Cabinet or a committee appointed by Congress to attest that the president is unfit for office.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
The VP sits on the National Security Council
- The vice president sits among those who advise the president on matters of national security.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
The VP is on the board of The Smithsonian
- From museums to the National Zoo, The Smithsonian is one of the greatest institutions of America. The VP joins other important personalities four times a year as an ex officio member.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
The VP is responsible for the official count of the US Electoral College
- The vice president presides over and certifies the official count of the Electoral College. This means that the VP is responsible for opening the envelopes containing the counts from the Electoral College. This becomes even more tense when the vice president is in the race, as has been the case in many elections.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
Five VPs had to announce their presidential defeats to the Senate
- First, in 1860, VP Breckinridge declared Lincoln the winner. Then, in 1960, Nixon had to announce JFK as the winner. In 1968, VP Hubert Humphrey announced Nixon’s victory. In 2000, it was Al Gore's turn to declare Bush the winner. And in 2025, Kamala Harris certified Donald Trump's win.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
Four VPs announced their presidential wins to the Senate
- Only four VPs ran for president and won. These were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George H.W. Bush.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
The VP presides over (most) impeachment trials of federal officers
- While most of us are familiar with the term applied to presidents, any federal officer, including the VP, can be impeached. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides in the case of presidents, but all others are the responsibility of the VP.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
The VP acts as an advisor to the president
- How much a VP is involved in an administration and its policies depends on the relationship between them and the president. Many have become the person the president relied on most for advice and counsel.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
The VP stands in for the president abroad
- While this is not always the case, many VPs have done so in the past and continue to do so. The VP often travels abroad and represents the US in an official capacity.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
The VP hasn’t always had an official residence
- It wasn’t until 1974 that the vice president was given an official residence at Number One Observatory Circle. The first VP to live there was Walter Mondale.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
The first vice president didn’t earn a lot of money
- Back in 1789, Vice President John Adams earned US$5,000. Sure, this was a respectable amount back then, but not quite the $284,600 the VP was earning in 2024.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt had mixed views about the role
- In 1896, Theodore Roosevelt said that the vice president should be given more power and a seat in the Cabinet, but he didn’t give it to his own VP, Charles W. Fairbanks.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
Vice presidents only started to attend Cabinet meetings in 1913
- President Woodrow Wilson was the first to invite his vice president, Thomas Marshall, to attend Cabinet meetings.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
Cities named after vice presidents
- Dallas, Texas takes its name from VP George Dallas, who served under President James K. Polk from 1845 to 1849.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
Cities named after vice presidents
- The same goes for Fairbanks, Alaska, which was named after Charles Fairbanks, who was the vice president during the Theodore Roosevelt administration from 1905-1909.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
The origins of the term "veep"
- The term “veep” was coined by Stephen M. Truitt. Truitt was the grandson of Vice President Alben W. Barkley, who served under Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
There is no term limit for VPs
- Vice presidents can, in theory, hold their jobs for life. While presidents have a limit of two terms in office, there is no term limit for vice presidents.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
One vice president fled to Cuba
- President James Buchanan's VP, John Breckinridge, fled to Cuba after being charged with treason. Breckinridge returned to the US after years in exile when President Andrew Johnson granted him amnesty.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
Treason
- John Breckinridge isn't the only VP in history who was charged with treason. Aaron Burr was also charged with treason after trying to form his own nation!
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
Veeps autograph their desks
- The vice presidential desk contains the signature of every vice president since the 1940s. A list of names of all the VPs who used the desk is found inside the top drawer.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
VP Andrew Johnson was drunk during Lincoln's second inauguration
- One senator wrote at the time that “the Inauguration went off very well except that the Vice President Elect was too drunk to perform his duties & disgraced himself & the Senate by making a drunken foolish speech.”
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
First pitch
- In 1968, Hubert Humphrey was the first VP (out of eight) to throw out the first pitch at the opening of the baseball season. The tradition was revived by Joe Biden in 2009.
© Getty Images
24 / 31 Fotos
Three vice presidents share the same birthday
- Vice Presidents Charles Dawes, Lyndon Johnson, and Hannibal Hamlin, were all born on August 27.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
President James Madison buried two VPs
- Two vice presidents died under President Madison’s administration. The first one was George Clinton, who died in 1812, and then Elbridge Gerry, who died not long after one year on the job.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Gay veep?
- William R. King, who served as vice president in 1852 under James Buchanan, was rumored to be gay. There are even suggestions that he was romantically involved with the president.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Marriage
- Vice President Alben Barkley was 72 when he tied the knot with 38-year-old Jane Hadley. Barkley was the first VP to get married while in office.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
The vice president has a theme song
- The tune ‘Hail, Columbia’ announces the arrival of the vice president during public appearances.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Three VPs are Nobel Peace Prize laureates
- Vice presidential Nobel Peace Prize winners include Charles Dawes for his role in reducing tensions between Germany and France after WWI, Teddy Roosevelt for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war, and Al Gore for his work on global warming. Sources: (Ranker) (Time) (Politico) (The Atlantic) See also: American presidents and vice presidents who didn't like each other
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
What does the vice president actually do?
And other facts about the vice presidency
© Getty Images
It's safe to say that most of us have an idea of what the role of the President of the United States entails. But how much do we know about the vice president's work, really? You probably know that the VP is the person who steps in if something happens to the president (i.e. resignation or death), but what does the job actually involve day-to-day?
In this gallery, you'll learn what the vice president actually does, as well as some interesting facts about the vice presidency. Click through to get started.
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