The PresidencyThe Presidency

Chapter 8

Executive Checks

• On Congress– Power to Convene Congress– Veto Power– Carries out laws passed by Congress

• On Judiciary– Appoints federal judges– Refuse to implement decision– Pardon Power

Checks on the Executive

• Congress Checks on Executive– Impeach the President– Refuse to confirm nominees– Refuse to approve treaties (2/3 Senate)– Override a president’s veto by 2/3 vote– “Power of the purse”: Congress can fund

• Judicial Checks on Executive– Declare executive actions unconstitutional– Chief Justice presides over impeachment trial

Presidential QualificationsPresidential Qualifications

• Article II requires president and vice-president to be…– At least 35 years old– Natural-born citizen– Resident of the United States for 14

years• Why?

TermsTerms

• 4 year terms• Initially no term limit in the Constitution• 2 terms established by George

Washington– “Constitutional Monarch” feared by Framers– Fear was eased when all presidents only

served two terms

• Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully elected to 4 terms (1932-1944)– Passage of 22nd Amendment, limiting the

president to 2 terms or 10 years

Vice-President

• Same Constitutional qualifications as the president

• Two Constitutional duties– Take over for the president– Be the presiding officer of the Seante

ImpeachmentImpeachment

• Article II• “Treason, bribery, and other high

crimes and misdemeanors”• House may impeach with majority

vote• Senate may remove an official with

2/3 vote– Chief Justice presides over

impeachment• Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton –

neither man was removed by Senate

Rules of SuccessionRules of Succession

• 8 presidents have died in office• Article II: VP will take over duties for

President• Congress passed Presidential

Succession Act(1947) lists in order those in line to succeed the president (after the VP):– Speaker of the House– President pro tempore of the Senate– Secretaries by creation (state, treasury,

defense…and so on)

Rules of SuccessionRules of Succession

• 25th Amendment– Should a vacancy occur in the office

of the VP, president would appoint a new VP with majority approval of Congress

– Nixon chose Ford to replace Agnew– Ford chose Rockefeller after taking

over for Nixon

20th Amendment

• Moved the ending and beginning of president/vice-president’s terms from March 4th to January 20th. – Pushed Congress start date from March 4th

to January 3rd.

• “Lame-duck” Amendment– New President-elect chosen in November,

doesn’t take office until January– “Lame-duck” period: time in which an

officeholder’s term is coming to an end– Difficult to enact new policy/legislation

Constitutional PowersConstitutional Powers

• Administrative head of the nation• Commander in Chief• Convene Congress• Veto legislation• Appoint various officials• Make Treaties• Grant Pardons

Administrative Head of the Nation

• Article II• “The executive power shall be

vested in a President of the United States of America”

• “Laws be faithfully executed”

Commander in ChiefCommander in Chief

• Commander in Chief– Article II states president is

“Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States”

– Constitution names the president as the highest-ranking officer in the armed forces

– War Powers Act

War Powers ResolutionWar Powers Resolution

• an attempt by Congress to take back their power regarding war• reaction to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1. President notifies Congress 48 hours in advance of sending US troops into battle.2. Troops cannot stay longer than 60 days

without Congressional approval.3. If Congress does not OK the action, the President has 30 days to remove the troops

Convene Congress

• Inform Congress of “the State of the Union”

• Can call Congress into special session on “extraordinary Occasions”

• Was important when Congress did not sit in nearly year-round sessions– Little more than symbolic significance

today

Veto Legislation

• President can veto any bill or resolution enacted by Congress– Famous vetoes: Nixon vetoed War Powers

Act (overridden by Congress), FDR vetoed 635 bills

• Threat of a presidential veto often prompts Congress to create legislation they know will receive presidential compliance

• Congress can override with a 2/3 vote in House and Senate

• Last 200 years, there have been 2,500 presidential vetoes and only 100 were overridden

Veto LegislationVeto Legislation

• Veto Power– 1873 Uylsses S . Grant proposed

amendment giving presidents a line-item veto

– 1996 Congress enacted legislation giving the president power to veto provisions of bills w/o vetoing whole bill.

– Clinton v. City of New York: Supreme Court rules line-item veto unconstitutional

Appoint Various Officials

• President is given authority to appointed federal court judges, ambassadors, cabinet members, and other lesser officials

• Most are subject to Senate confirmation (majority vote)

Make Treaties

• President can make treaties with foreign powers

• Consent of the Senate (2/3)• President can enter into an

executive agreement, which does not need the consent of Senate– Not binding on subsequent

administrations

Power to PardonPower to Pardon

• President can grant pardons to individuals who have committed “offenses against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment”– Ford pardoned former President Nixon

• Cost Ford a reelection

– Carter pardoned approximately 10,000 men who had fled the U.S. or gone into hiding to avoid draft (a.k.a draft-dodging)

Inherent PowersInherent Powers

• Derived or inferred from powers in the Constitution– Executive orders: presidential directives

that carry the force of law• Dwight Eisenhower ordered the Arkansas National

Guard into Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce court orders to desegregate the schools

– Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase– Lincoln suspending the writ of habeas corpus– Lincoln’s blockade of southern ports

Presidential EstablishmentPresidential Establishment

• Vice President• Cabinet• First Lady• Executive Office of the President

(EOP)• White House Office

The Vice President

• "[The Vice Presidency] is the most insignificant office that ever the

invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived." - John Adams, 1st Vice President

• I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead."- Daniel Webster, on not accepting the Vice Presidency

Vice PresidentVice President

• The VP’s primary job is to assume office if the president dies or is incapacitated.

• A vice president is chosen for a few reasons:– Balance the presidential ticket– Geographically or politically

CabinetCabinet

• Composed of the heads of the departments of the executive branch and a small number of other key officials

• NO Constitutional basis• Membership based by tradition and

presidential discretion• 15 Positions• Heads known as Secretaries (exception

is Attorney General) See Page 297

Executive Office of the Executive Office of the PresidentPresident

• Established by FDR in 1939• Created to provide the president w/

a general staff to help him direct the activities of the executive branch

• National Security Council, Council of Economic Advisors, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Vice President, and U.S. Trade Representative

Office of Management and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)Budget (OMB)

• Located within the Executive Office of the President, works with president, employing budget and policy experts

• Many responsibilities– Preparing president’s budget– Designing president’s program– Reviewing progress, budget, and

program proposals of the executive department

National Security CouncilNational Security Council

• Established in 1947• Advises the president on military

affairs and foreign policy

White House StaffWhite House Staff

• Personal assistants, senior aides, clerical and administrative aides who are responsible for advising the president

• Not subject to Senate confirmation.

• Usually some form of personal relationship with the president.

President’s Role In President’s Role In Legislative ProcessLegislative Process

• More difficult with a divided government, creating gridlock– Easier when there is a unified (one

party controls legislative and executive braches) government

• Propose key plans during the honeymoon period

Budgetary Process and Budgetary Process and Legislative ImplementationLegislative Implementation

• President sets national policy and priorities through his budget proposals

• Congress’s power of the purse • FDR inserted himself into the

legislative process after stock market crash

Policy Making Through Policy Making Through RegulationRegulation

• Executive Orders– Major policy changes– Have the effect of making new policy– Truman ends segregation– Affirmative Action by LBJ

Limits on the Presidents ability Limits on the Presidents ability to influence domestic to influence domestic

policymakingpolicymaking• Mandatory Spending: Spending not

controlled by annual budget decisions makes it difficult to accomplish his/her policy goals

• Party Polarization: an increase in interparty differences could lead to the opposing party blocking policy goals

• Lame-Duck Period: Period where Congress is less responsive to the president’s policies and agenda

Public’s Perception of Public’s Perception of PresidentPresident

• Popularity follows a cyclical pattern• Highest public approval at beginning

– Best chance of convincing Congress to follow his policy, known as the honeymoon period

– Factors that result in an increase in presidential popularity: Use of media positively, economy is good, crises and war

– Factors that result in a decrease in presidential popularity: scandals, expectations gap, economy is bad, and overall decline over terms