Video: 'Nixon Nominates Gerald R. Ford as VP'
(Friday, October 12, 1973, 9:04 p.m. EDT) — Urging Americans to look to the future, U.S. President Richard Nixon tonight nominated U.S. Representative Gerald Ford, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to succeed Spiro Agnew as vice president of the United States.
Nixon’s nomination of the 60-year-old Michigan lawmaker came two days after Agnew, who had served in the office 57 months, resigned and pled no contest to income tax evasion and was fined $10,000 and placed on three years probation.
Agnew was investigated by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud. Agnew took kickbacks from contractors during his time as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland.
The payments had continued into his time as vice president; they had nothing to do with the Watergate scandal, in which he was not implicated.
Ford’s nomination was the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the 25th Amendment had been implemented.
According to The Washington Post, Nixon’s first choice, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Texas Governor John B. Connally, said in a phone discussion with White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig that he doubted that he could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate; Nixon’s other three potential nominees under consideration were New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, California Governor Ronald Reagan, and U.S. Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson.
According to The New York Times, Nixon “sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement.” The advice was unanimous. House Speaker Carl Albert recalled later, “We gave Nixon no choice but Ford.”
Ford agreed to the nomination, telling his wife that the vice presidency would be “a nice conclusion” to his career.
The United States Senate would vote 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on Nov. 27. On Dec. 6, 1973, the House would confirm Ford by a vote of 387 to 35.
After the confirmation vote in the House, Ford would take the oath of office as the 40th vice president of the United States.
