Answer(s)
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Vice President of the United States.
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Vice President of the United States.
The second-highest official, who becomes president if needed.
To lead or be in charge of a meeting or organization.
The deciding vote when a vote is evenly split.
The part of the White House where the president and staff work.
DOUGLAS GINSBURG, Federal Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit:
The vice president of the United States now is JD Vance.
If you didn’t know the answer, you’re not alone. President Obama: “The world does not always hear about the success …” During the Obama administration, 41 percent of Americans couldn’t name his vice president, Joe Biden.
Time was when you didn’t much hear the name of the vice president – because they usually didn’t do much. Under the Constitution the vice president has only two jobs. One is to preside over the Senate – which isn’t much of a job. The vice president votes only when needed to break a tie. The other job: Be available to replace the president. John Adams – America’s first vice president – told his wife, “In this I am nothing. But I may be everything.”
Because of the vice president’s role in the Senate, the office was once viewed as part of the legislative branch. The vice president had no executive duties.
One of the most powerful men in Washington became one of the weakest by becoming vice president. John Nance Garner was the speaker of the House of Representatives before signing on as Franklin Roosevelt’s vice president. Garner’s famously quoted for having said the vice presidency isn’t worth a bucket of warm spit. Well, actually, his words were more colorful than that.
Not until Jimmy Carter became president in the late 1970’s did the vice presidency change. His vice president, Walter Mondale, spelled out a new vision of the job – including an office in the West Wing of the White House. Mondale functioned as Carter’s adviser and partner. Mondale set the pattern for later vice presidents – including Al Gore, Dick Cheney, and Joe Biden who went on to become president in 2020.
