Cabinet Ford
Gerald Ford was the only President of the United States who was never elected by popular electors. He came into office through the resignation of his predecessor Richard Nixon (see Watergate affair ) . Ford had been named Vice President on the basis of the 25th Amendment the year before , since the previous incumbent Spiro Agnew resigned in October 1973. On this basis, Ford's Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was elected in December 1974 . In November 1976 Ford ran for re-election, but was defeated (relatively narrowly) by the Democrat Jimmy Carter .
During his comparatively short term of office there were numerous personnel changes in his cabinet . This was because Ford took over all of its predecessor's ministers, of which only Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Treasury Secretary William E. Simon remained in office until 1977. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency , Russell E. Train , also remained in office until 1977.