The vice president of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the United States federal government after the president of the United States. The vice president also serves as the president of the Senate and may choose to cast a tie-breaking vote on decisions made by the Senate. Vice presidents have exercised this latter power to varying extents over the years. Two vice presidents—George Clinton and John C. Calhoun—served under more than one president.

There have been 50 U.S. vice presidents since the office was created in 1789. The incumbent vice president is JD Vance, who assumed office as the 50th vice president on January 20, 2025. Originally, the vice president was the person who received the second-most votes for president in the Electoral College. But after the election of 1800 produced a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, requiring the House of Representatives to choose between them, lawmakers acted to prevent such a situation from recurring. The Twelfth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1804, creating the current system where electors cast a separate ballot for the vice presidency.

The vice president is the first person in the presidential line of succession—that is, they assume the presidency if the president dies, resigns, or is impeached and removed from office. Nine vice presidents have ascended to the presidency in this way. Also, six vice presidents have gone on to be elected as president in their own right.

Before adoption of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967, an intra-term vacancy in the office of the vice president could not be filled until the next post-election inauguration. Sixteen of these vacancies occurred: seven vice presidents died, one resigned and eight succeeded to the presidency. This amendment allowed for a vacancy to be filled through appointment by the president and confirmation by both chambers of Congress. Since its ratification, the vice presidency has been vacant twice (both in the context of scandals surrounding the Nixon administration) and was filled both times through this process. The amendment also established a procedure whereby a vice president may, if the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, temporarily assume the powers and duties of the office as acting president. Three vice presidents have briefly acted as president under the 25th Amendment: George H. W. Bush on July 13, 1985; Dick Cheney on June 29, 2002, and on July 21, 2007; and Kamala Harris on November 19, 2021.

Vice presidents

+ PortraitNameTermPartyElectionPresident1April 21, 1789–March 4, 1797Pro-Administration1788–89Federalist17922March 4, 1797–March 4, 1801Democratic-Republican17963March 4, 1801–March 4, 1805Democratic-Republican18004March 4, 1805–April 20, 1812Democratic-Republican18041808data-sort-value="4.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, A" 5March 4, 1813–November 23, 1814Democratic-Republican1812data-sort-value="5.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, B" 6March 4, 1817–March 4, 1825Democratic-Republican181618207March 4, 1825–December 28, 1832Democratic-Republican1824Nullifier1828data-sort-value="7.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, C" 8March 4, 1833–March 4, 1837Democratic18329March 4, 1837–March 4, 1841Democratic183610March 4, 1841–April 4, 1841Whig1840data-sort-value="10.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, D" 11March 4, 1845–March 4, 1849Democratic184412March 4, 1849–July 9, 1850Whig1848data-sort-value="12.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, E" 13March 4, 1853–April 18, 1853Democratic1852data-sort-value="13.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, F" 14March 4, 1857–March 4, 1861Democratic185615March 4, 1861–March 4, 1865Republican186016March 4, 1865–April 15, 1865National Union1864data-sort-value="16.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, G" 17March 4, 1869–March 4, 1873Republican186818March 4, 1873–November 22, 1875Republican1872data-sort-value="18.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, H" 19March 4, 1877–March 4, 1881Republican187620March 4, 1881–September 19, 1881Republican1880data-sort-value="20.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, I" 21March 4, 1885–November 25, 1885Democratic1884data-sort-value="21.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, J" 22March 4, 1889–March 4, 1893Republican188823March 4, 1893–March 4, 1897Democratic189224March 4, 1897–November 21, 1899Republican1896data-sort-value="24.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, K" 25March 4, 1901–September 14, 1901Republican1900data-sort-value="25.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, L" 26March 4, 1905–March 4, 1909Republican190427March 4, 1909–October 30, 1912Republican1908data-sort-value="27.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, M" 28March 4, 1913–March 4, 1921Democratic1912191629March 4, 1921–August 2, 1923Republican1920data-sort-value="29.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, N" 30March 4, 1925–March 4, 1929Republican192431March 4, 1929–March 4, 1933Republican192832March 4, 1933–January 20, 1941Democratic1932193633January 20, 1941–January 20, 1945Democratic194034January 20, 1945–April 12, 1945Democratic1944data-sort-value="34.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, O" 35 January 20, 1949–January 20, 1953Democratic194836January 20, 1953–January 20, 1961Republican1952195637January 20, 1961–November 22, 1963Democratic1960data-sort-value="37.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, P" 38January 20, 1965–January 20, 1969Democratic196439January 20, 1969–October 10, 1973Republican19681972data-sort-value="39.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, Q" 40December 6, 1973–August 9, 1974Republican1973data-sort-value="40.5" —colspan=6 data-sort-value="Zz, R" 41December 19, 1974–January 20, 1977Republican197442January 20, 1977–January 20, 1981Democratic197643January 20, 1981–January 20, 1989Republican1980198444January 20, 1989–January 20, 1993Republican198845January 20, 1993–January 20, 2001Democratic1992199646January 20, 2001–January 20, 2009Republican2000200447January 20, 2009–January 20, 2017Democratic2008201248January 20, 2017–January 20, 2021Republican201649January 20, 2021–January 20, 2025Democratic202050January 20, 2025–IncumbentRepublican2024

See also Acting President of the United States Founding Fathers of the United States List of presidents of the United States Presiding Officer of the United States Senate United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection

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Expert studies