Biden steps down as VP. Who replaces him?

[anvi]

It would be really tricky.  Obama would either have to pick someone who had declared no interest in running for president in 2016 or someone to whom Obama would be willing to give a de facto endorsement for in the 2016 race.  My guess is that, in order to avoid what would be perceived as tampering with the 2016 race among Dems, he would try to find an "elder statesman" type who had no intentions of running.  Maybe Kerry, but if not him, someone else like him.

I do think however that the House and Senate would have to confirm.  The Pubs in Congress want a reasonable shot at winning in 2016, and they would just so look brazenly partisan to the entire country by blowing off constitutional succession issues by only leaving their own guys in the line of succession until 2016 that they would discredit themselves.  It's not something they could use as a legislative bargaining chip either without totally burying themselves with the public.  But I think the catch for Obama would be that, for both Dems and Pubs, he would have to pick someone who won't run for president themselves, and would be willing to make such a declaration openly.