Amendment XXV · Later Amendment
Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Presidential succession and disability
About 15 min total: 5 min reading + 10 min for its 7 practice questions
Vice President becomes President; filling a VP vacancy; temporary transfer of power when the President is unable to serve.
- Proposed by Congress
- July 6, 1965
- Ratified
- February 10, 1967
- Group
- Later Amendment
- Effect on the Constitution
- Affected Article II, Section 1, Clause 6.
The text
Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 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.
Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
National Archives note: Article II, section 1, of the Constitution was affected by the 25th amendment.
What it means
- Section 1: if the President is removed, dies, or resigns, the Vice President becomes President.
- Section 2: the President nominates a new Vice President, confirmed by a majority of both houses.
- Section 3: the President may declare himself unable to serve, and the Vice President becomes Acting President until he declares otherwise.
- Section 4: the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet may declare the President unable; Congress resolves any dispute (two-thirds vote needed to keep the President out).
Who proposed it
Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana (S.J. Res. 1) and Representative Emanuel Celler of New York (H.J. Res. 1) sponsored it in the 89th Congress. The Senate passed it February 19, 1965, the House April 13, and both houses accepted the conference version by July 6, 1965.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: July 6, 1965. Conference report agreed by the House June 30 and the Senate July 6, 1965.
- Ratified: February 10, 1967. Declared ratified February 23, 1967.
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
The original Constitution was unclear whether a Vice President became President or only "acting" President, it had no way to fill a vacant vice presidency, and it gave no procedure if a President was disabled. Seven Vice Presidents had died in office, the vice presidency had been vacant many times, and President Eisenhower's illnesses raised concern. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 made the gaps urgent.
Key Supreme Court cases
None of the FCLE landmark cases centers on this amendment. See all landmark cases.
FCLE tips
- Used in 1973 (Gerald Ford became Vice President after Spiro Agnew resigned) and 1974 (Ford became President after Richard Nixon resigned; Nelson Rockefeller became Vice President).
- Ford is the only President who was never elected President or Vice President.
- Section 3 has been used briefly during medical procedures; Section 4 has never been used.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 25th: succession and disability | 20th: term start dates; 22nd: term limits |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).