Vice President of the United States (Shattered)

The Vice President of the United States (informally referred to as VPOTUS, or Veep) is a constitutional officer in the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States as the President of the Senate under.

The vice president is a statutory member of the under the, 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. 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, 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 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.

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.

of is the 48th and current vice president. He assumed office on January 20, 2017.