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Explanation:
The letter wasn’t legal, however, and although Nixon became acting president when Eisenhower had a heart attack in 1955 and again when he had surgery in 1956, Nixon was never sworn in as president during Eisenhower’s terms.
25th Amendment Details
The need for a succession amendment came to light when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and there was confusion about whether Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson had also been injured and, if so, who would take their places in the line of succession.
On January 1, 1965, less than two years after the assassination of Kennedy, joint resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate recommending a succession amendment. By April, the House and Senate had approved their own versions and a committee created to resolve their differences.
On July 6, Congress passed a joint resolution and forwarded it to the states for ratification. President Johnson signed the 25th Amendment into law on February 23, 1967.
The amendment has the following four sections:
Section 1 states that if the president dies or resigns, the vice president shall become president.
Section 2 states that in the event of a vice-presidential vacancy, the president will nominate a vice president who will be confirmed by a majority Congressional vote.
Section 3 states that if the president tells the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House in writing that he is unable to perform his presidential powers and duties, the duties shall fall to the vice president as acting president until the president notifies them in writing otherwise.
As acting president, the vice president is not sworn in as president; the president keeps his designation and the right to return.
25th Amendment Section 4
Section 4 stipulates that when the vice president and a majority of a body of Congress declare in writing to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House that the president is unable to perform the duties of the office, the vice president immediately becomes acting president.
The president can then submit a written declaration to the contrary and resume presidential powers and duties—unless the vice president and a majority body of Congress declare in writing within four days that the president cannot perform his duties, in which case Congress will vote on the issue.
Section 4 of the 25th Amendment has never been used, although the Reagan administration came close. On March 30, 1981, after President Reagan was shot and undergoing surgery, his administration prepared the necessary papers to invoke the 25th Amendment and make Vice President George H.W. Bush acting president.
In 1973, Spiro Agnew became the first vice president to resign due to scandal after being charged with political corruption. The 25th Amendment required then-President Richard Nixon to nominate a new vice president for Congressional approval. Nixon appointed Gerald Ford and Congress approved the nomination.
In August 1974, the 25th Amendment compelled Vice President Gerald Ford to become president after Nixon resigned. This left the vice presidency unoccupied, so Ford invoked the 25th amendment again and nominated Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy.
