1974 United States vice presidential confirmation

1974 United States vice presidential confirmation

← 1973 December 10, 1974 (1974-12-10) (Senate) December 19, 1974 (1974-12-19) (House) 1976 →
100 and 435 members of the Senate and House Majority of both Senate and House votes needed to win
Nominee Nelson Rockefeller Party Republican Home state New York Electoral vote 90 (Senate) 287 (House) Percentage 92.8% (Senate) 69.2% (House)
Vice President before election Gerald Ford Confirmed Vice President Nelson Rockefeller

On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon (a Republican) was forced to resign amid the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald Ford ascended to the presidency, leaving the office of vice president vacant. 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, which were controlled by the Democrats.

On August 20, 1974, Ford announced his nomination of former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy.^[1] Ford also considered picking Tennessee Senator Howard Baker^[2] and former Republican National Committee Chairman George H. W. Bush.^[3] Rockefeller was generally considered to be a liberal Republican, and Ford decided that picking Rockefeller would help his candidacy gain support in the 1976 presidential election.^[3] Rockefeller's nomination dismayed many conservatives; many conservative Democrats and Republicans opposed the nomination. This was especially true among members of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, some House opponents were liberal Democrats who looked askance at some minor improprieties disclosed during Rockefeller's confirmation hearings and whose partisanship had been hardened due to the leftover effects from the political and psychological trauma of Watergate.

The confirmation hearings for Rockefeller lasted for months, but Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States on December 19, 1974.^[3] Due to the pressure on Ford by the party hardliners, Rockefeller was ultimately passed over for the 1976 ticket, and Ford instead chose Kansas Senator Bob Dole as his running mate. Ford, however, regretted this move later.^[3]

By a vote of 90 to 7 on December 10, 1974, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Nelson Rockefeller.^[4] Among those opposing and voting against Rockefeller's confirmation were 3 conservative Republicans: Barry Goldwater, Jesse Helms, and William L. Scott.^[5] The following week, on December 19, the House of Representatives gave its approval, 287 to 128.^[6]

• Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
• 1973 United States vice presidential confirmation

• Nelson Rockefeller Confirmation Hearings transcript, Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
• Rockefeller's Opening Statement to Senate Rules Committee, YouTube.
• United States Congress. "1974 United States vice presidential confirmation (id: R000363)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Rockefeller Archive Center: Nelson Rockefeller, Contains details on the collection of public and private papers available to researchers at the center.