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It's safe to say that most of us have an idea of what the role of the President of the United States is. But how much do we know about the vice president, really? You are probably familiar with the fact that this is the person who steps in if something happens to the president (i.e. resignation or death), but what the job actually involve?
In this gallery, you'll get to know what the vice president does, as well as some interesting facts about the vice presidency. Click on.
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.
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.
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.
The vice president sits among those who advise the president on matters of national security.
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.
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.
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.
Only four VPs ran for president and won. These were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, and George H.W. Bush.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
President Woodrow Wilson was the first to invite his vice president, Thomas Marshall, to attend Cabinet meetings.
Dallas, Texas takes its name from VP George Dallas, who served under President James K. Polk from 1845 to 1849.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.”
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.
Vice Presidents Charles Dawes, Lyndon Johnson, and Hannibal Hamlin, were all born on August 27.
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.
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.
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.
The tune ‘Hail, Columbia’ announces the arrival of the vice president during public appearances.
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
What does the vice president actually do?
And other facts about the vice presidency
LIFESTYLE Us politics
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.