A different 25th Amendment.

Glass Onion

What if the 25th Amendment, did not provide for the filling of Vice Presidential vacancies?

Assume that this does not Butterfly Nixon/Watergate/Agnew's Resignation.

What happens?

Does Albert accept the job-or do we see the dark dark days of President Eastland?

(James Eastland is next in line after Albert-Eastland was a die hard segregationist.)

I know this is a somewhat unlikely situation but bear with me.
 

Lord Grattan

I presume you mean that there is no Constitutional Amendment addressing Vice Presidential succession, correct?

If there is no such amendment then Agnew's impropriaties don't suddenly become big, pressing and damning and he becomes POTUS when Nixon resigns or is removed from office upon conviction after impeachment. I'm not so sure that the Democrats would go after Agnew too for fear of being seen as power hungry userpers. If both Nixon and Agnew do go then I think Albert would move into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Does anyone know whether the 19th Century's "double vacancy" rule was still in effect up to the time the OTL 25th Amendment went into effect? If so, then Albert would become Acting President and an election for POTUS & VPOTUS (for full 4 year terms) would be held within one year of his assuming office. If not, then he serves until 1/20/1977 as the 38th or 39th (if Agnew briefly succeeds Nixon) POTUS.
 

Mark E.

Lord Grattan said:
If there is no such amendment then Agnew's impropriaties don't suddenly become big, pressing and damning and he becomes POTUS when Nixon resigns or is removed from office upon conviction after impeachment. I'm not so sure that the Democrats would go after Agnew too for fear of being seen as power hungry userpers.
Click to expand...

Agnew resigned BEFORE Nixon's impeachment was inevitable. In fact, he resigned in October, 1973, about ten months before Nixon stepped down. The absence of the 25th Amendment will not prevent Agnew's improprieties from becoming big enough to force him out of office. Had he not resigned, he would have been impeached. The VP office would have been vacant.

Carl Albert made it clear he did not want to be president. In OTL, he would have used the 25th Amendment to nominate a successor. Without the amendment, he could have read the writing on the walls and resigned the speakership long enough for the house to elect a new speaker to assume the presidency.
 

Glass Onion

Yes, ITTL Vice Presidential Vacancies cannot be filled.

I can see what you mean about Agnew being in a better position, but considering the circumstances, I still think he's forced out of the Vice Presidency.

If so, when Nixon is removed, Albert is next in line, but he may not accept, unless there really is a special election like you said, in which case he accepts.

Albert was conflicted over this kind of situation, had Nixon resigned before Ford's appointment, he would have appointed a Republican VP and resigned.

But of course ITTL he can't do that. So there's a chance he refuses the office, and one would hope he would persuade Eastland to do the same.

If he does, William Simon is Nixon's immediate successor.

If not, well things just got interesting. As I said, Eastland was a die hard segregationist, not a man most northern Democrats would feel comfortable supporting
 

Glass Onion

Mark E. said:
Agnew resigned BEFORE Nixon's impeachment was inevitable. In fact, he resigned in October, 1973, about ten months before Nixon stepped down. The absence of the 25th Amendment will not prevent Agnew's improprieties from becoming big enough to force him out of office. Had he not resigned, he would have been impeached. The VP office would have been vacant.

Carl Albert made it clear he did not want to be president. In OTL, he would have used the 25th Amendment to nominate a successor. Without the amendment, he could have read the writing on the walls and resigned the speakership long enough for the house to elect a new speaker to assume the presidency.
Click to expand...

Any candidates?
 

Glass Onion

I think an O'Neil Presidency would be interesting.
I think you get a situation not unlike Mills, if Albert keeps the speakership but refuses the Presidency, and as a result James Eastland is President.
 
Mad Bad Rabbit

Mad Bad Rabbit

Glass Onion said:
I think an O'Neil Presidency would be interesting.
I think you get a situation not unlike Mills, if Albert keeps the speakership but refuses the Presidency, and as a result James Eastland is President.
Click to expand...

By 1974, even James Eastland knows enough to keep his racism in the closet
(though he probably gets along disturbingly well with the South African regime).
His main excess is likely to be anti-Communism.

(In your scenario, Nixon was still in power during the Yom Kippur War, right?
Otherwise we get Very Radioactive 1974...)
 

faubert

I would say that If there was no 25th Amendment that Ford might of become Speaker and then President.

When Agnew Resigned Speaker Albert calls a meeting of the Democratic leadership of the House and tells them that a Democrat assuming the office of President would be unacceptable. That it might cause Republicans to support Nixon making his removal by the Senate impossible.

So he tells them that he plans to resign as Speaker but only if Minority leader Ford is elected the new Speaker. They agree and The House elects Gerald Ford to be the next Speaker of the House.

Understanding the unique situation Ford allows the Democrats to keep the chairmanships and while Speaker only presides over the House

When Nixon resigns Ford as Speaker becomes President
 

Derek Jackson

I think that a succession act similar to that of the 1790s providing for a special electikon in this context is likely. I think Republicans are anilhilated in the 1974 election.
 

Glass Onion

If there is such a special election, I think it's a safe bet Ronald Reagan is the Republican nominee.

For the Democrats, I've got no idea. Certainly not Jimmy Carter.
 
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