What Is the Name of the Vice President of the United States Now? Civics Question 39

The answer is the name of whoever is Vice President on your interview day, and USCIS publishes it at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates.

Question 39 asks for the current Vice President of the United States. The answer changes, so use the name listed on the USCIS updates page. This is a starred question, so it can also appear on the shorter test for applicants who are 65 or older.

What the Vice President Does

The Vice President is first in line if the President can no longer serve. That is the subject of question 40, and it is the main reason the office exists.

The Vice President is also President of the Senate and casts a vote there when the senators are tied. One person with a job in two branches, in a government built to keep the branches apart.

Why the Answer Changes

The President and the Vice President are elected together on the same ticket, every four years, so both names usually change at the same moment in January.

This name can also change on its own. A Vice President who moves up to the presidency leaves the office empty, and a replacement is nominated by the President and confirmed by both houses of Congress.

Where the Current Answer Lives

Go to uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates and read the answer listed for this question.

Read the President and the Vice President in one sitting while you are there. Question 38 sends you to the same page.

How to Remember a Name That Changes

Learn the habit rather than the fact.

Open uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates in the week of your interview. Say the President and the Vice President out loud together, in that order. They were elected as a pair, and saying them as a pair holds them in place.

Then say the last name five times on its own. Under pressure, the last name is what comes out.

What to Say on Test Day

Say the name you found on the USCIS page, then stop.

You do not need to say the words Vice President, name a party, or mention the Senate. One name, said once.