Claim: Richard Nixon was in an election.

The Vice President of the United States -LRB- informally referred to as VPOTUS , or Veep -RRB- is a constitutional officer in the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States as the President of the Senate under Article One , Section Three of the U.S. Constitution .   The vice president is a statutory member of the National Security Council under the National Security Act of 1947 , and through the 25th Amendment is the highest-ranking official in the presidential line of succession in the executive branch of the federal government . The executive power of both the vice president and the president is granted under Article Two , Section One of the Constitution . The vice president is indirectly elected , together with the president , to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College . The Office of the Vice President of the United States assists and organizes the vice president 's official functions .   As the president of the United States Senate , the vice president votes only when it is necessary to break a tie . While Senate customs have created supermajority rules that have diminished this constitutional tie-breaking authority , the vice president still retains the ability to influence legislation ; for example , the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was passed in the Senate by a tie-breaking vice presidential vote . Additionally , pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment , the vice president presides over the joint session of Congress when it convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College .   While the vice president 's only constitutionally prescribed functions aside from presidential succession relate to their role as President of the Senate , the role of the vice president evolved during the 20th century into more of an executive branch position . Currently , the vice president is usually seen as an integral part of a president 's administration and presides over the Senate only on ceremonial occasions or when a tie-breaking vote may be needed . The Constitution does not expressly assign the office to any one branch , causing a dispute among scholars whether it belongs to the executive branch , the legislative branch , or both . The modern view of the vice president as a member of the executive branch is due in part to the assignment of executive duties to the vice president by either the president or Congress .   Mike Pence of Indiana is the 48th and current vice president . He assumed office on January 20 , 2017 .