Who became President after Nixon?
Answer
Gerald Ford
Explanation
Gerald Ford became President of the United States after Richard Nixon's resignation, taking the oath of office at noon on August 9, 1974, and serving until January 20, 1977. Ford was the only person to serve as both vice president and president without having been elected to either office. He was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska, and was renamed Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. by his stepfather.
He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1935, where he was a star center on the football team, and then from Yale Law School in 1941. Ford served as a Navy lieutenant commander aboard the aircraft carrier USS Monterey during World War II, surviving a typhoon in December 1944 that nearly cost him his life. He won election to the United States House of Representatives from Michigan's Fifth District in 1948 and served 25 years, becoming House Republican Leader in 1965.
After Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973, amid bribery and tax evasion charges, Nixon nominated Ford under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, which had been ratified in 1967 and provided for filling vice presidential vacancies. The Senate confirmed Ford 92 to 3 on November 27, 1973, and the House confirmed him 387 to 35 on December 6. He took the vice presidential oath that same day.
When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Ford became the 38th president. In his brief inaugural remarks, he told Americans that our long national nightmare is over and that our Constitution works. The most controversial decision of his presidency came on September 8, 1974, when he granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he might have committed during his time in office, arguing that prolonged prosecution would tear the country apart. Public opinion turned sharply against Ford, and his approval ratings dropped from about 71 percent to 49 percent in a single week.
Ford signed legislation aiding Vietnam War refugees, signed the Helsinki Accords on August 1, 1975, and presided over the fall of Saigon in April 1975 and the bicentennial celebration of American independence in 1976. He survived two assassination attempts in September 1975. He lost the 1976 presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter by a narrow margin and retired to Rancho Mirage, California. He died on December 26, 2006, at age 93.
Why this matters for your test
USCIS asks who succeeded Nixon to confirm applicants understand the unique constitutional process by which Ford reached the presidency. The story illustrates how the Twenty-Fifth Amendment provides for an orderly transfer of power even in crisis.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
