Oath of office of the vice president of the United States

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Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021. Harris oath of office.jpg
Kamala Harris being sworn in as the 49th vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021.

The oath of office of the vice president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the vice president of the United States takes upon assuming the vice-presidency but before beginning the execution of the office. It is the same oath that members of the United States Congress and members of the president's cabinet take upon entering office.

Contents

Before the president-elect takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, the vice president-elect will step forward on the inaugural platform and repeat the oath of office to ensure that the vice president can potentially be elevated to president if an unforeseen event (death, illness, etc.) caused the president-elect to not be able to assume the office. Although the United States ConstitutionArticle II, Section One, Clause 8—specifically sets forth the oath required by incoming presidents, it does not do so for incoming vice presidents. Instead, Article VI, Clause 3 provides that "all ... Officers ... of the United States ... shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution". [1] Pursuant to Article VI, the 1st United States Congress passed the Oath Administration Act (that remains in effect) which provides that "...the said oath or affirmation ... [required by the sixth article of the Constitution of the United States] … shall be administered to [the President of the Senate]". [2] Since 1937, Inauguration Day has been January 20 (was March 4 previously), a change brought about by the 20th amendment to the Constitution, which had been ratified four years earlier. The vice president's swearing-in ceremony also moved that year, from the Senate chamber inside the Capitol, to the presidential inaugural platform outside the building. [3]

The oath is as follows:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. [4]

Background

The 1st Congress passed an oath act in May 1789, authorizing only U.S. senators to administer the oath to the vice president (who serves as the president of the Senate). Later that year, legislation passed that allowed courts to administer all oaths and affirmations. Since 1789, the oath has been changed several times by Congress. The present oath repeated by the vice president, senators, representatives, and other government officers has been in use since 1884. [3]

When the vice presidency was established in 1789, and for the century that followed, the vice president was sworn in on the same date as the president, March 4, but at a separate location, typically in the United States Senate, where the vice president holds the office of President of the Senate. Up until the middle of the 20th century, the vice president-elect nearly always would be sworn in by the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. Senate which was the outgoing vice president or the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. Sometimes, although not always, a short address would be given by the new vice president to the Senate.

The oath of office has been administered most by the president pro tempore of the United States Senate (last in 1925) for a total of 20 times. Others to give the oath of office include the outgoing vice president (last in 1945) 12 times, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (last in 2021) 10 times, the chief justice of the United States (last in 2001) 6 times, U.S. senators that are not President Pro Tempore of the Senate (last in 1969) 5 times, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives (last in 2005) 4 times, a U.S. judge twice, and a U.S. consul once with one time being unrecorded. Former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger gave the oath the most times with three.

Of the 59 times the oath of office has been administered, 47 times have been at some location in the United States Capitol. The White House has seen 3 oaths of office, and Congress Hall in Philadelphia twice. The following locations all had the oath administered once in that location: Federal Hall, Old Brick Capitol, Havana, Cuba, a private residence in New York, and the Number One Observatory Circle. Reflecting the relative lack of importance of the office in the early 19th century, there are two instances where the location of the vice president's oath of office is unknown.

Due to Vice President-elect William R. King's deteriorating health, a bill signed on March 3, 1853, the last day of the 32nd United States Congress, allowed for the oath to be administered to him as he rested in Havana, Cuba. To date, King's swearing-in as vice president is the only occasion that either a vice presidential or presidential oath of office has been administered on foreign soil.

Oath-taking ceremonies

DateVice PresidentNo.LocationAdministered by
June 3, 1789
(Term began April 21)
John Adams 1st Federal Hall
New York, New York
John Langdon
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
December 2, 1793
(Term began March 4)
John Adams2nd Congress Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
John Langdon
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1797 Thomas Jefferson 3rdCongress Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
William Bingham
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1801 Aaron Burr 4th Senate Chamber, United States Capitol James Hillhouse
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1805 George Clinton 5thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1809George Clinton6thUnknown with no record given in the Journal of the Senate of the United StatesUnknown
May 24, 1813
(Term began March 4)
Elbridge Gerry 7thAppeared before the U.S. Senate on May 24, 1813, with a document stating the Vice President already "having taken the oath as prescribed by law" John Davis
United States District Court Judge
March 4, 1817 Daniel D. Tompkins 8thSenate Chamber, Old Brick Capitol John Gaillard
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 3, 1821
(Term began March 4)
Daniel D. Tompkins9thTompkins' Residence, Tompkinsville, Staten Island William P. Van Ness
United States District Court Judge
March 4, 1825 John C. Calhoun 10thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Andrew Jackson
U.S. Senator
March 4, 1829John C. Calhoun11thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Samuel Smith
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1833 Martin Van Buren 12thHouse Chamber, United States CapitolJohn Marshall
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1837 Richard Mentor Johnson 13thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol William R. King
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1841 John Tyler 14thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolWilliam R. King
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1845 George M. Dallas 15thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Willie Person Mangum
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
*March 5, 1849
(Term began March 4)
Millard Fillmore 16thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol David Rice Atchison
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 24, 1853
(Term began March 4)
William R. King 17th Havana, Spanish Cuba William L. Sharkey
U.S. Consul
March 4, 1857 John C. Breckinridge 18thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol James Murray Mason
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 2, 1861 [5]
(Term began March 4)
Hannibal Hamlin 19thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolJohn C. Breckinridge
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1865 Andrew Johnson 20thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolHannibal Hamlin
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1869 Schuyler Colfax 21stSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Benjamin F. Wade
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1873 Henry Wilson 22ndSenate Chamber, United States CapitolSchuyler Colfax
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1877 William A. Wheeler 23rdSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Thomas W. Ferry
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1881 Chester A. Arthur 24thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolWilliam A. Wheeler
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1885 Thomas A. Hendricks 25thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol George F. Edmunds
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1889 Levi P. Morton 26thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol John J. Ingalls
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1893 Adlai Stevenson 27thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolLevi P. Morton
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1897 Garret Hobart 28thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolAdlai Stevenson
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt 29thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol William P. Frye
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1905 Charles W. Fairbanks 30thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol William P. Frye
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1909 James S. Sherman 31stSenate Chamber, United States CapitolCharles W. Fairbanks
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1913 Thomas R. Marshall 32ndSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Jacob H. Gallinger
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1917Thomas R. Marshall33rdSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Willard Saulsbury Jr.
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1921 Calvin Coolidge 34thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolThomas R. Marshall
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1925 Charles G. Dawes 35thSenate Chamber, United States Capitol Albert B. Cummins
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
March 4, 1929 Charles Curtis 36thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolCharles G. Dawes
Vice President of the United States
March 4, 1933 John Nance Garner 37thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolCharles Curtis
Vice President of the United States
January 20, 1937John Nance Garner38thUnited States Capitol Joseph Taylor Robinson
U.S. Senator, Senate Majority Leader
January 20, 1941 Henry A. Wallace 39thUnited States CapitolJohn Nance Garner
Vice President of the United States
January 20, 1945 Harry S. Truman 40th White House Henry A. Wallace
Vice President of the United States
January 20, 1949 Alben W. Barkley 41stUnited States Capitol Stanley Forman Reed
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 1953 Richard Nixon 42ndUnited States Capitol William F. Knowland
U.S. Senator
*January 20, 1957Richard Nixon43rd White House William F. Knowland
U.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader
January 20, 1961 Lyndon B. Johnson 44thUnited States Capitol Sam Rayburn
Speaker of the House of Representatives
January 20, 1965 Hubert Humphrey 45thUnited States Capitol John William McCormack
Speaker of the House of Representatives
January 20, 1969 Spiro Agnew 46thUnited States Capitol Everett Dirksen
U.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader
January 20, 1973Spiro Agnew47thUnited States Capitol Warren E. Burger
Chief Justice of the United States
December 6, 1973 Gerald Ford 48thHouse of Representatives Chamber, United States CapitolWarren E. Burger
Chief Justice of the United States
December 19, 1974 Nelson Rockefeller 49thSenate Chamber, United States CapitolWarren E. Burger
Chief Justice of the United States
January 20, 1977 Walter Mondale 50thUnited States Capitol Tip O'Neill
Speaker of the House of Representatives
January 20, 1981 George H. W. Bush 51stUnited States Capitol Potter Stewart
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
*January 20, 1985George H.W. Bush52ndWhite House Potter Stewart
Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 1989 Dan Quayle 53rdUnited States Capitol Sandra Day O'Connor
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 1993 Al Gore 54thUnited States Capitol Byron White
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 1997Al Gore55thUnited States Capitol Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 2001 Dick Cheney 56thUnited States Capitol William Rehnquist
Chief Justice of the United States
January 20, 2005Dick Cheney57thUnited States Capitol Dennis Hastert
Speaker of the House of Representatives
January 20, 2009 Joe Biden 58thUnited States Capitol John Paul Stevens
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
*January 20, 2013Joe Biden59th Number One Observatory Circle Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 2017 Mike Pence 60thUnited States Capitol Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
January 20, 2021 Kamala Harris 61stUnited States Capitol Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Notes: Entries in the above list with an asterisk (*) indicate the official legal oath of office for terms of office that began on Sunday instead of the public ceremonial swearing-in the following day.

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References

  1. Rossiter, Clinton, ed. (2003). The Federalist Papers. Signet Classics. pp. 555–556. ISBN   9780451528810.
  2. 1  Stat.   23, Pub. L. Tooltip Public Law (United States)  1–1, 2 U.S.C.   § 22
  3. 1 2 "Vice President's Swearing-In Ceremony". The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. 5 U.S.C.   § 3331
  5. "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875. Senate Journal – Saturday, March 2, 1861". American Memory. Library of Congress. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. Lakritz, Talia. "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor mispronounced 'Kamala' while swearing in the vice president — a disappointing moment on a groundbreaking day". Insider. Retrieved 2021-05-01.