3.2 Informal powers Flashcards
the cabinet
How has the cabinet developed? how many originally, how many departments now?
- originally: state, war, treasury, attorney general
- now: 15 heads of departments
cabinet power
how do cabinet members show power through specialism?
- they should be policy specialists
- able to offer opinions on policy that lend support to the president in their policy objectives
cabinet power
example: Timothy Geithner obama’s choice…what was his plan? how was it effectivde?
- secretary of the treasury
- introduced a Financial Stability Plan
- committed billions of dollars to a ‘lending initiative’ to boost the economy
- while also requiring ‘stress tests’ to ensure they could withstand and prevent a further economic crash
cabinet power
how do the cabinet’s show power just by existing
- president would not be able to manage so many departments alone
cabinet power
president maintains…
- final say over policy
- cabinet has no constitutional power
cabinet power
Obama’s secretary of defense example
- churck hagel (republican)
- obama compared Islamic State to a junior varsirty basketball team
- Hagel described it as ‘An imminent threat to every interest we have’ … later in 2014 Obama was concerned Hagel was not transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay quickly enough
- Hagel publicly replied ‘I owe that to the American people, to ensure that any decision i make is, in my mind, responsible’
- By November 2014 he resigned
cabinet power
what work can cabinet level officials also undertake?
Mike Pompeo
- work on behalf of the president
- on the election of a new president of Mexico in July 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was sent to meet him to improve relations
cabinet power
Finally, what does the cabinet represent?
- symbolic value of presidential power
- media presence at government meetings allows president to project the image of their government to the public
cabinet power
clinton’s cabinet
- famously wanted his cabinet to ‘look like America’
- Clinton aimed for greater diversity made the cabinet more representative of America and therefore reflected a government governing all of America
cabinet power
Biden’s cabinet
- 45% women and 55% non-white members
- most diverse in history
power of persuasion
what is the power of persuasion? what does it mean?
Neustadt quote
- ‘the power of the presidency is the power to persuade
- the president has the same constitutional powers that are checked by congress, so must rely on persuasion
power of persuasion
first method of persuasion?
congress and morals
obama in 2013
- appealing morally to congress through the media
- Eg. Obama in his Rose Garden speech in 2013 when he maintained the view that military action was needed in Syria over it’s government’s use of chemical weapons
power of persuasion
second power of persuasion?
white house
Obama 2015
- white house as a stage
- the oval office is particularly useful, as it represents the whole office rather than the president
- Obama used this platform to call for gun control after the San Bernardino shooting in 2015
- Trump bussed the entire senate to the white house for a briefing on North Korea in 2017
power of persuasion
third power of persuasion, president himself?
personal
Obamas chief of staff
- personal gravitas
- Eg. Obama’s chief of staff Jim Messina called senators to ensure they would still vote to ratify Sonia Sotomayor after a controversial quote came to light during her confirmation hearings
power of persuasion
fourth power of persuasion, cameras?
2011 Obama
- media
- 2011 Obama asked the public to contact their members of congress to ask them to agree to raise the debt cieling
- Speaker Boehner had 203 calls waiting on 1 day in july
- press conferences/interviews
power of persuasion
last power of persuasion, appeasement?
Obama
- offering Inducements to members of congress in return for their support
- Eg. Obama’s promises about syrian intervention being limited
- Eg. Obama deported more people than any other president to show he could be trusted with immigration policy and to show he could be trusted with immigration policy and to gain support for his reforms
power of persuasion
other factors that help with power of persuasion: presentation?
- popularity helps greatly
- Obama was well spoken and intellectual but averse to schmoozing congressional leaders
- Trump was more aggressive but frequently in touch directly with people
Vice President
2 constitutional power
- take over the role of president if necessary
- cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the senate
Vice President
Biden (OBAMA) what was his experience? what was his expertise?
- 30 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meant he was well versed on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
- as well as economic issues
Vice President
Pence (trump): who did he make resign? publicly, how was he presented?
- Michael Flynn as national security adviser
- had lots of power in the white house
- publicly disagreed with Trump who calimed the VP could invalidate teh election result on 6 Jan 2021
Vice President
Harris (BIDEN): how was she unique in history?
- casted more tie breaking votes in 1 year than any vice president in history
- first woman to hold presidential powers when Biden underwent a health check for 85 minutes in November 2021
Vice President
what does the power of the VP depend on?
- how much the president delegates to them, but this is increasingly common
the executive office of the president
what is EXOP
- refers to agencies that work within the white house
- organised by the president
the office of management and budget
key role? what does it also oversee? which role is subject to senate confirmation
- develop the annual budget for the presdient for submission to congress
- it also oversees effectiveness of federal programmes and advises the president on policy, budget, and legality
- director of the OMB is subject to senate confirmation
National Security Council
what is its role? Who attends? what is its significance?
- provides advice and a daily security briefing on the president
- attended by the VP, secretaries of state, treasy, defence, as well as joint chiefs of staff and the director of national intelligence, etc.
- significance depends on the preferences of the president
National Security Council
who might the NSC come into conflict wiht?
obama
- department of defence
- Eg. Susan Rice and Obama’s security adviser, and chuck hagel
National Security Council
where does the NSC operate?
- the situation room
- secure conference room in the white house
National Security Council
how was Trump criticised for his treatment of the NSC?
appointments, breifing
- appointment of Steve Bannon, senior adviser and campaign strategist to the NSc led to accusations of politicisation of this body
- controversially also he made Pence recieve the daily briefing because he didn’t want to hear the daily briefing.
white house office
what is the white house office? who is the most public figure?
- headed by president’s chief of staff containes senior ades and advisors as the president’s wishes
- press secretary is the most public figure
- Eg. Sean Spicer often ridiculed for his role, with him being mocked in an SNL skit.
- Eg. Biden’s Jen Psaki became known for her ‘Psaki bombs’ referring to her quick sarcastic responses.
white house office
who can the president appoint without senate approval?
- ‘senior advisers’ in WHO
white house office
how can senior advisers hold power over the presdient?
- Nixon’s closest advisers were known as the ‘berlin wall’ becaise they made it difficult for other advisers to get to him
- Eisenhower went for approval through his chief of staff Sherman Adams and Eisenhower would only read documents that bore his approval.
Nixon + Eisenhower
white house office
how can these staff create controversy for the president?
- Eg. Jan 2022 Biden had to defend his chief of staff Ron Klain from claims he pushd the white house too far to the left.
executive power (inc. executive orders)
broad definition
things the president can do without congressional approval
executive power inc. executive orders
executive orders: what are they?
- directions to the federal bureau telling them how a law (new/existing) should be carried out.
- ‘faithfully execute’ laws that have been passed by congress.
- this is not legislative and instead refers to giving instructions to federal departments regarding the ENFORCEMENT of legislation
executive power inc. executive orders
When do presidents sometimes attempt to use executive orders?
- to creaet policy when congress would not pass a law they wanted
- Eg. Obama in 2014 State of the Union address said, ‘i’ve got a pen and a phone, and i can use that pen to sign executive orders’
executive power inc. executive orders
although how are executive orders not too poweful?
- they are easily overturned by a new law, the supreme court or a new president’s executive order
executive power inc. executive orders
executive order 13990 under Biden
- cancelled the keystone pipeline and 100 other environmental actions of trump
executive power inc. executive orders
how many executive orders did Biden sign in his first year?
- 52 (record breaking until trump)
- by 30 april
executive power inc. executive orders
how are executive orders important?
- with the gridlock and hyperpartisanship of congress
- executive orders can be an important way for a president ot try to push with their policy goals
executive power inc. executive orders
executive memoranda: how are they different from executive orders?
- they are not recorded in the federal register and therefore not numbered
- there is also no formal process
executive power inc. executive orders
executive memoranda: 2012 Obamas programme involving childhood arrivals
- 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
- came from the Department of Homeland Security
- issued to postpone the deportation of illegal immigrants who met a certain criteria
- Eg. Biden used a presidential memorandum to secure DACA in 2021 after Trump had to end the programme in 2017
executive power inc. executive orders
presidential proclamations: what are they? how are they similiar/different from executive orders?
- they are numbered and recorded on the federal register, and have the force of law (Similiar)
- ## unlike executive orders, they give directions to people usually outside the executive (different)
executive power inc. executive orders
presidential proclamations: examples, G.W.Bush, Clinton, Obama, Trump.
- 2001 G.W. Bush declared ‘national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks’ in presidential proclamation
- Clinton made 652 proclamations
- Obama made 1227 proclamations
- Trump made 570 proclamations
executive power inc. executive orders
signing statements: what are they? what do they do?
- signing statement when they sign a bill into law
- points out negative or positive aspects from the presidents point of view
executive power inc. executive orders
signing statements: obama in 2011 NDAA
- National Defense Authorisation Act 2011
- he highlighted concerns over ‘detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists’ and the restrictions it placed on the presidency which conflicted with seperation of powers
executive power inc. executive orders
how have signing statements been increasingly used? What did the American Bar Association claim?
- since Reagan
- the American Bar Association claimed these ‘undermine the rule of law’
