# Can the POTUS appoint "anyone" as his VP? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399 "2008-02-27T18:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/1 "2008-02-27T18:16:54Z")
During my Friday night card game, one of the guys was saying how the President can appoint anyone he wants to be his Vice President. Is this really true? Anyone at all? No stipulations? The next President can appoint his 21 year old nephew if he wants? Thanks Gus ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/2 "2008-02-27T18:20:26Z")
Not “anyone.” The VP has to meet the requirements for President, and the VP-appointee has to be approved by either the voters (selected before the election) or by the Senate **and** the House(appointed after the election). The 25th Amendment lays it out: \ ***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. \* ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/3 "2008-02-27T18:21:20Z")
The VPOTUS must meet the requirements to be POTUS…age, term limits, native born, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/4 "2008-02-27T18:21:44Z")
The person the POTUS appoints as VP must have all the qualifications to take over as President. Native born, minimum 35 years old, etc. Plus that person must be approved by the Senate (I don’t think the House is involved???) So it’s not like Hillary could appoint Bill to be her VP. So your friend is full of it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/5 "2008-02-27T18:25:16Z")
A presidential candidate, on the other hand, may appoint anyone he likes to be his running mate, whether or not he/she/it meets the requirements to hold office (unless he is a party’s candidate in which case his nominee must meet the party’s requirements.) Should he then win the election, his VP nominee would be enjoined from taking the office, though. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/6 "2008-02-27T18:28:39Z")
As others have noted (but they hadn’t when I first wrote this!), the VP, if appointed to fill a vacancy, “shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress,” not just the Senate (25th Amendment, Sec. 2). Specificially, he or she must be: - A “natural born Citizen” at least 35 years old, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years (Art. II, 12th Amendment). - Cannot be from the same state as the President, unless the President in effect wishes to give up the Electoral College votes of his or her home state, which is highly unlikely (Art. II; 12th Amendment). - Not have been previously elected President more than twice (debatable, I know, but that’s how I read the 22nd Amendment). ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/7 "2008-02-27T18:50:01Z")
Thanks, **El**. Wasn’t sure about the “both houses” clause. Appreciate the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/8 "2008-02-27T18:51:08Z")
Damn it - forgot my wife was logged in. That was me, **El**. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/9 "2008-02-27T18:51:54Z")
My guess is that the OP’s friend was really trying to say that a presidential nominee can name anyone to be his running mate. Whether that person will be approved by the delegates at the party convention is another matter. And if that person gets by the convention, he/she will still need to be qualified per the Constitution in order to take office. A sitting president has to abide by the 25th Amendment to fill a VP vacancy, as others have already posted. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/10 "2008-02-27T19:08:59Z")
Don’t forget that the electoral votes for VP are cast separately. It’s quite possible that if some dirt about the VP-elect came up, the electors could go and vote someone else in. When Martin Van Buren was elected president in 1836, a lot of his electors didn’t like his VP Richard Johnson (he had an “interesting” life) and Johnson didn’t get a majority of the electors and the Senate had to choose the VP. And it picked Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/11 "2008-02-27T19:12:48Z")
[QUOTE=BobT] When Martin Van Buren was elected president in 1836, a lot of his electors didn’t like his VP Richard Johnson (he had an “interesting” life) [/QUOTE] With a name like Dick Mentor Johnson, you’d better believe his life would be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/12 "2008-02-27T19:17:26Z")
[QUOTE=Gus\_Handsome] During my Friday night card game, one of the guys was saying how the President can appoint anyone he wants to be his Vice President. [/QUOTE] Are you talking about a sitting president with a vacancy or about a presidential candidate selecting a running mate? Because Electoral College electors are constitutionally barred from casting their ballots for a presidential and a vice-presidential candidate from the same state. So while the candidate can select someone from his own state, no elector can vote for both candidates, which will likely result in the president and the VP being from different parties. That’s why long-time Texas resident Dick Cheney had to switch his voter registration back to Wyoming in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/13 "2008-02-27T19:31:10Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] So it’s not like Hillary could appoint Bill to be her VP. [/QUOTE] This is not [100% clear](http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/could_former_president_bill_clinton_be_vice.html). ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/14 "2008-02-27T19:52:04Z")
[QUOTE=BobT] When Martin Van Buren was elected president in 1836, a lot of his electors didn’t like his VP Richard Johnson (he had an “interesting” life) . [/QUOTE] I’ll say. > [@Wiki](#): > > Family tradition holds that Johnson broke off an early engagement because of his mother’s contention that his bride-to-be was not worthy of the family. Johnson vowed revenge for his mother’s interference, and when his father died, he began a long-term relationship with Julia Chinn, a family slave left to him by his father. Chinn was a light-skinned octoroon; nevertheless, the law considered her a Negro and prevented Johnson from marrying her. Throughout his career, Johnson treated Chinn as his common law wife. > > Julia Chinn died in an outbreak of cholera in the summer of 1833. Following his wife’s death, Johnson engaged in a relationship with another family slave. When she ran off with another man, Johnson had her captured and sold her at auction. He then began a relationship with her sister. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/15 "2008-02-27T20:48:21Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Are you talking about a sitting president with a vacancy or about a presidential candidate selecting a running mate? \*\*Because Electoral College electors are constitutionally barred from casting their ballots for a presidential and a vice-presidential candidate from the same state. \*\*So while the candidate can select someone from his own state, no elector can vote for both candidates, which will likely result in the president and the VP being from different parties. That’s why long-time Texas resident Dick Cheney had to switch his voter registration back to Wyoming in 2000. [/QUOTE] You’ve got that bolded part wrong, **Otto**. Electors (meaning the dudes chosen by the voters to select the President) are constitutionally barred from voting for a President and Vice-President \*\*both \*\*of whom are from **their own** state. In other words, suppose Nancy Pelosi runs for President and chooses a running mate of Barbara Boxer. Electors from California would be prohibited on voting for both; presumably they’d vote for Pelosi and hope they have a comfortable enough electoral-college majority that the other states will be able to elect Boxer. Electors from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, or Alabama would have no bar to voting for both, as the prohibition is on voting as an elector for two candidates both from your own state. For somewhat obvious reasons, it’s therefore not a wise idea for a candidate to select a running mate from his own state – there is no point in throwing away a state’s electoral votes needlessly. But if North Dakota happened to turn out two outstanding men from the same party simultaneously, the one nominated for President might well choose the other as running mate, forgoing the state’s three electoral votes for VP in order to have a candidate, albeit from ND, well loved in NY, FL, TX, and CA, and likely to be an asset in carrying them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/16 "2008-02-28T00:09:58Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] …Should he then win the election, his VP nominee would be enjoined from taking the office, though. [/QUOTE] In addition some states won’t even list the VP’s name on the ballot if she isn’t constitutionally qualified for the office. This happens occasionally with minor parties (Greens, Socialists, etc) that nobody actually pays attention to. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/17 "2008-02-28T00:27:51Z")
If you mean appoint under the 25th Amendment, then no the appointment (called a nomination in the Amendment) must be approved by a majority vote of both houses. If you mean select a running mate, then again no, technically. The running mate is selected by a vote of the convention. Now pretty much, nowadays, they vote for whomever the Presidential nominee wants. While anyone could, in principle I guess, be so selected, it would be pointless at best to select someone ineligible to be Vice President (35 years of age, citizen of the US, 14 years a resident in the US). Furthermore, since the electors in the electoral college cannot cast votes for both a President and Vice President who are residents of the same state as themselves, the VP is always chosen from another state. This was relevant in the 2000 election as to whether Cheney was a resident of Texas (like Bush) or Wyoming. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/18 "2008-02-28T13:15:39Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] You’ve got that bolded part wrong, **Otto**. Electors (meaning the dudes chosen by the voters to select the President) are constitutionally barred from voting for a President and Vice-President \*\*both \*\*of whom are from **their own** state. [/QUOTE] You are correct and my wording was sloppy. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/19 "2008-02-29T04:09:49Z")
Thanks everyone 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399/20 "2008-02-29T07:42:02Z")
If the presidency passes to someone ineligible to be president – say the Speaker of the House was born a Cambodian national – can he or she fulfill the job? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-potus-appoint-anyone-as-his-vp/439399.md?page=2)