The Executive BranchPRESIDENT

&

VICE – PRESIDENT

Top political job in the Country/World

1st President = George Washington

Qualifications for President & V-P

• @ least 35 years old

• A native-born American Citizen

• A resident of the United States for @ least 14 Yrs

Terms of Office and Benefits

• Serve 4 year terms• Elections every 4 yrs

in years divisible by 4• $400,000.00 per yr

salary• Use of Camp David

(in MD) as president’s retreat & place to host foreign leaders

• Use special vehicles– Special cars

– Helicopters

– Air Force I

22nd Amendment limits each president to two elected terms or a maximum of 10 years

Electing a President

• An indirect method: Voters actually select their state’s electors, who are pledged to vote for the chosen candidate

• Each state has as many electoral votes as the total of its members in Congress– Larger # Electoral votes in largely populated

states.

Electing a PresidentElecting a President

• The winning candidate receives ALL the electoral votes from a state.

• 270 of 538 Electoral votes are needed to win the election.

• The outcome is NOT official until the electoral college casts ballots and Congress counts them.

Role of the President

Head of State Commander in Chief

Legislative Leader Chief Diplomat

Party Leader Chief Executive

Economic Leader

Legislative Leader

• Executive Branch proposes much legislation.

• All presidents have a legislative program they want congress to pass.

Head of State

• As Head of State, president hosts visiting foreign leaders & Carries out ceremonial functions

Party Leader

• Party helps the President get elected.

• In return, the President gives speeches, raises $, and helps fellow party members win office

Economic Leader

• President must plan Federal Budget & try to deal with such problems as Unemployment, Inflation, and High taxes

Commander in Chief

• In charge of all branches of the armed forces.– President is only to sent troops into battle– WAR POWERS ACT: requires President to

notify Congress immediately when troops are sent into battle. Troops must be brought home w/in 60 days unless Congress approves a longer stay or DECLARES WAR

Chief Diplomat

• President directs Foreign Policy–Making decisions how U.S. acts towards other countries

Chief Executive

• In charge of 14 cabinet departments– Appoints heads of cabinet department– Can Issue executive orders (rules/commands

that have the force of law)– Presidents appoints federal judges, grants

pardons, issues reprieves, and grants amnesty.

Making Foreign Policy

• Foreign Policy: A nation’s overall plan for dealing with other nations

• National Security: The ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm.

• THE BASIC GOAL OF FOREIGN POLICY IS NATIONAL SECURITY

MAKING FOREIGN POLICY

• International Trade: is another goal & is vital for economic policy– Can create markets for

American products and jobs for American workers.

• World Peace: is a 3rd goal: Even distant wars can disrupt trade & endanger U.S. National Security.

• Promote Democracy & Human Rights around the world

Making Foreign Policy

• The Executive Branch includes a LARGE foreign-policy bureaucracy.–Includes: State Department,

Defense Department, C.I.A. and N.S.C.

Foreign Policy

• The President & Congress shares the power to conduct foreign affairs.– The President as Chief Diplomat &

Commander in Chief– Congress: Holds power to Declare War,

Prohibit certain military actions, and spend or withhold $ for Defense

Foreign Policy

• The Constitution DOES NOT make clear how the Executive & Legislative branches can use their powers.

– So, the branches compete for control of Foreign Policy

Treaties

Formal agreement b/t the government of two or more nations

• Senate must approve a treaty by 2/3 vote

• President can make an Executive Agreement with the leader of another country without Senate approval

Ambassadors

• Is an official representatives of a country’s government.– President appoints with senate

approval– Ambassadors are sent only to

countries where the U.S. accepts the government as legally in power.

Foreign Aid

• U.S. gives foreign aid: $, Food, Military assistance, or supplies to help other nations.

• The President makes agreements with other nations about what products may be traded & rules of trade.

– Sometimes the rules include trade sanctions: efforts to punish another nation by imposing trade barriers

– Another punishing tool is the embargo: an agreement b/t a group of nations that prohibits them all from trading with the target nation.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

1. Executive Office of the President (EOP)1. The employees of the executive office of the

president help the president by preparing reports, helping to write bills and checking the work of various agencies.

2. The people of the White House Office work directly for the president.

1. About 10 to 12 of these 500 people are the president’s closest advisers.

2. They make up the White House Staff, the most powerful is the chief of staff.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

1. Executive Office of the President (EOP)3. The White House Staff screens the flow of information

and people to the president.• As a result, this group has a lot of power.

4. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepares the federal budget and monitors government spending.

1. The federal budget lays out the administration’s plans and goals for the coming year

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

1. Executive Office of the President5. The National Security Council help the president

coordinate the military and foreign policy.

1. It includes the vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group made up of the top commanders of each of the armed services.

2. the NSC supervises the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

1. Executive Office of the President6. George W. Bush created the office of

Homeland Security to deal with terrorist activities.

1. It includes members of the cabinet and of agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Border Patrol.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 1. Executive Office of the President– 7. The three members of the Council of

Economic Advisors advise the president about complex economic matters, such as employment, tax policy, inflation, and trade.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 2. Cabinet– The Cabinet is a group of adviser that includes the

heads of the 15 top level executive departments.• The head of the Department of Justice is called the attorney

general.

• The other department heads are called secretaries

– Cabinet members advise the president on issues related to their departments.

• The president decides when the cabinet meets and how much to rely on their advice.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 3. The Vice President and the 1st Lady.– Most president have delegated little authority to

their vice presidents, though this is changing somewhat.

– Modern vice presidents have served on special advisory boards.

– They often visit foreign countries as representatives of the president

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 3. The Vice President and the 1st Lady.– The Constitution does not mention the

president’s spouse.– Many 1st Ladies, though have served the

country in useful ways. – Today 1st Ladies have an office and staff in the

White House.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– The executive branch is shaped like a pyramid.– Directly below the president are the cabinet

secretaries and their departments.– At the next level are hundreds of agencies.

• Together, the agencies and employees of the executive branch are known as the federal bureaucracy.

• The workers are called bureaucrats, or civil servants.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– These departments and agencies carry out

government programs by performing three basic jobs:

• Develop procedures for putting new laws into practice.

• Administer day-to-day operations of the government

• Regulate, or police, various activities– In doing these jobs they help shape government policy.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– Independent Agencies are not part of the

cabinet, but they are not independent of the president.

– The 3 types are:• Executive agencies

• Regulatory commissions

• Government Corporations

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– Executive agencies deal with certain specialized areas.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one example.

– Government Corporations are like private businesses, except that the government owns and runs them.

• Like businesses, they charge fore their services, but they are not supposed to make a profit.

• The United States Postal Service is a government corporation

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– Unlike other independent agencies, regulatory

commissions do not report to the president.– The president appoints members, but only

Congress can remove them through impeachment.

– Regulatory commissions protect the public by making and enforcing rules for certain industries.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– Top department jobs generally go to political

appointees – people who the president has chosen because they have ability or were supporters of the president’s election campaign.

– Their employment usually ends when the president leaves office.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– About 90% of national government employees

are civil service workers.– Unlike appointees, they usually have permanent

employment.– The civil service system hires government

workers on the basis of open, competitive examinations and merit.

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– Before 1883 government jobs went to people as

a reward for their political support.– Abuses of the spoils system led Congress to

pass the Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.

• This law limited the number of jobs the president could give to friends and backers.

• It also created the civil service system

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

• 4. The Federal Bureaucracy– The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

directs the civil services system.– Its sets jobs standards and gives written tests to

job seekers.– The civil service system is a merit system.

• Government officials hire new workers from lists of people who have passed the test or otherwise met civil service standards.