4. Executive Flashcards
Sources of formal presidential power
The Constitution/Constitutional Powers - power to propose legislation, power from Article 2 giving the President power
Congress/Delegated Powers - e.g. Congress has delegated the power to impose trade tariffs against a country engaged in ‘unfair’ trade practices. (Trump’s Steel import tariffs of 25% in 2018 as part of his ‘America First’ economic policy)
Implicit authority from the Constitution or Congress/Implied Powers - president can claim powers from either, even if he hasn’t been given specific authority. (executive agreements e.g. 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the Iran Nuclear Deal. Was an agreement where Iran would reduce its stockpile uranium stopping it from making nuclear bombs
Role as Head of the Executive/Inherent Powers - not laid out in the Constitution, but required for the president to carry out his/her role as chief executive. (W. Bush argued that his Constitutional war powers gave him authority to detain terrorist suspects for an indefinite period, as well as transport them to other countries for interrogation and torture – Was overturned by SCOTUS)
Ways in which the presidency has been weakened in recent years
1.Post-Watergate action by Congress – the 1973 War Powers Act attempted to stop presidents from entering into military action without congressional approval. However, presidents have still been able to take military action without asking Congress, e.g. President Obama’s military intervention in Libya in 2011.
- An increasingly partisan and divided Congress resulting in gridlock and government shutdowns, making it very difficult for presidents to govern effectively during periods of divided government, e.g. President Obama after the 2010 midterms in which the Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives.
- Divisions within the Republican Party preventing President Trump from relying on his own party’s support in Congress – despite having a united government, Trump faced a brief 2 day government shutdown in January 2018 because of Republican Senator Rand Paul’s objections to the budget.
- Frustrated presidents increasingly turning to direct authority to achieve their policy aims, resulting in criticism of an ‘imperial’ presidency, though these actions actually stem from a serious presidential weakness: an inability to win support from Congress. e.g. Obama’s 2012 executive order DACA giving temporary citizenship to get around the DREAM Act being rejected
Formal powers of the president - Vetoing legislation
Success - Iran War Powers Resolution – May 06 2020 - Trump vetoed bipartisan resolution of Congress to limit President’s use of military force against Iran
Failure - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 - Trump’s Presidential Veto overridden by the House in a 322-87 vote and overridden in the Senate by an 81-13 vote
President Bush had 4/12 vetos overriden whereas Obama only had 1/12 overriden
Formal powers of the president - Nominating executive branch officials
Success - In 2009 Obama appointed Timothy Geithner who had prevously worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as secretary for the treasury. The Senate appointed him 60-34 and with his expertise he was able to help America through the recession following the 2007 economic crash
Failure - Senate can block appointments. most cabinet members failed to take office on Inauguration Day. By February 8, 2017, President Trump had fewer confirmation than any president two weeks into his mandate, except George Washington. Due to opposition from Senate Democrats and delays in submitting background-check paperwork. The final initial Cabinet member to take office, Robert Lighthizer, took office as U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, more than four months after his nomination
Formal powers of the president - Nominating all federal judges
Success - President Trump nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett from 2017-2020, swinging the court from a 5-4 conservative majority to a 6-3 majority
Failure - Senate can block appointments, The Republican majority Senate took no action on Democratic Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland, in 2016, to replace Antonin Scalia.
Formal powers of the president - Recess appointments (don’t do Angus)
Success - President Clinton made 139 recess appointments and President Bush made 171
Failure - Obama only made 32.
National Labour relations Board v Noel Canning (2014) ruled the President had exceeded his powers in making the recess appointments in a unanimous decision. Obama made no further appointments during his last 4 years
Formal powers of the president - Negotiating treaties
Success - The president can make international treaties which have fundamental importance for US development e.g. USMCA 2019 that replaced NAFTA 1994 with newly negotiated terms for a US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement
Failure - Can be blocked by Senate. On October 13th 1999, the Republican controlled Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed by Democrat President Bill Clinton
Formal powers of the president - Power of the pardon
Success - Preident Ford and Carter in the 1970s used the power en mass to pardon thousands of men who evaded the Vietnam War draft. So, the power can be used for good.
Failure - there are no checks by Congress on this power. Allowed Obama on his final day in office to issue 330 commutations to people convicted of drug offences which was the biggest number made by a president in a single day bringing his total to 1,715 the most of any president.
Formal responsibility of the president - State of the Union address
Success - Bush Jr in his union address called for healthcare reforms and was successful as he signed the Medicare Modernization Act 2003 making prescriptions more affordable
Failure - Obama called for tighter gun control in his speech (2013) but no meaningful change was made
Informal Powers of the President - Executive agreements
Success - 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the Iran Nuclear Deal. Was an agreement where Iran would reduce its stockpile uranium stopping it from mkaing nuclear bombs
Failure - just beacuse presidents are able to make execuitve agreements doesn’t mean it won’t anger Senators who have had their power avoided. E.g. in 1994 Clinton made the Agreed Framework executive agreement to normalise relations between the US and North Korea making a number of Republican senators angered including John McCain as they beliveed a deal of this magnitude ought to be brought before Congress
Informal Powers of the President - Executive orders
Success - Trump signed 58 in his first year, despite railing against their use in his campaign ending his first 100 days with more execuitve order than any president since WW2. Used them for reimposing sanctions on Iran, separating families that cross the US borer illegally and the ‘Muslim travel ban’
Failure - President Trump’s Executive Order Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the US in 2017 which stated that jurisdictions that did not comply with immigration enforcement measures would not be eligible to receive Federal grants was overturned by judge Orrick III and was upheld by a 4-4 in the SCOTUS
(Poppy) Obama’s 2009 executive order aimed to close Guantanamo Bay within the year, but Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2009 to block funds for transfer or release of detainees, despite a Democrat majority in both Houses
Informal Powers of the President - Inherent Powers in Role as Head of the Executive
Role as Head of the Executive/Inherent Powers - not laid out in the Constitution, but required for the president to carry out his/her role as chief executive. (W. Bush argued that his Constitutional war powers gave him authority to detain terrorist suspects for an indefinite period, as well as transport them to other countries for interrogation and torture – Was overturned by SCOTUS)
The social makeup of the cabinet - race
Success - Biden’s cabinet is 13 white, 4 hispanic, 6 Black/African American, 3 Asian American & Pacific Islander, 1 Native American (Deb Haaland 1st ever)- 50% white, 50% non-white, 13 white, 13 non-white. The most ethnically diverse cabinet ever selected in US history
Failure - Trump’s 2017 cabinet had the ‘white male’ look about it with just 3 members being from ethnic minorities- Ben Carson (Housing), Elaine Chao (Transportation) and Alexander Acosta (Labor)
The social makeup of the cabinet - gender
Success - Biden has 12 women
Failure - Trump’s cabinet had just 2 women in 2017
The social makeup of the cabinet - age
Success - Obama’s average age was 58 so while this appears older there was a high level of expereince while still reflecting some of the yougner members in society.
Failure - The youngest ever cabinet was appointed by the youngest ever president JFK. their average age was just 47. This shows a lack of political experince making them vulnerable to errors and lack of knowledge on how the system runs. Whereas, Trump appointed an average age of 62 with 7 having zero experience in government.
The social makeup of the cabinet - political ideology
Success - not unusual for the president to pick someone from the other party- in his second term, Obama appointed former Republican senator Chuck Hagel as his Secretary of Defense
Failure - Trump selected no members from the Democrat Party. Broke with tradition of having varying views meaning he failed to get the other perspective
The functions of cabinet meetings for cabinet officers
Speaking to the President
Possible to see them after a meeting as they may linger
But this can be dangerous for a President who agrees too readily. E.g. George Bush’s secretary explained how he would ‘hover’ around at the end so no one could take advantage of him in an unscheduled moment.
Function of cabinet meetings for the president
Presenting ‘big picture items’:
-President can present ‘big picture items’ that affect all cabinet officers such as; the budget, up-coming elections, a major legislative initiative, or foreign trips
-e.g. President Obama used his cabinet meeting on the 30th September 2013 to discuss the likely implications of the then upcoming partial shutdown of the federal government
Monitoring Congress:
-Some Presidents have used them to check up on the legislation going through Congress in which they have a particular interest
-President George W. Bush used his cabinet meeting on the 24th September 2002 to push for congressional action on; authorisation for military action against Iraq, the passage of the Homeland Security Bill
Prompting action: (negative - don’t help the President fulfill their goals)
-Presidents can use cabinet meetings to push cabinet members into action
-President Obama used his cabinet meeting on the 1st July 2014 to confront Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, as he was seemingly dragging his feet over the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, instructing the White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to fix this with Hagel
EXOP - the White House Office and WHO chief of staff
Role - The White House Office (WHO) is headed by the president’s chief of staff, and contains senior aides and advisers as the president wishes. The president is able to appoint senior advisers’ without Senate approval, and therefore surround himself with people whose advice he trusts the most
Important - Keeps the President informed with current events. E.g. Andrew Card (George W. Bush) told the President about the second plane hitting the World Trade Centre
Not important - Obama had 4 in his 1st term- Denis McDonough had a lot of experience in Congress but was a ‘control freak’ spending hours on tasks that could be delegated and, controlling who had access to Obama (deprived him of a variety of views)
EXOP - the Office of Management and Budget - the OMB director
Role - Job is to direct the OMB and to give advice and speak on behalf of the President on budgetary matters
Important -OMB Director Richard Darman persuaded H.W. Bush to break his ‘no new taxes’ pledge which he made during his 1988 election campaign. This proved to be political suicide and cost the President dearly in his 1992 re-election campaign
Not important - Under President Obama the OMB was an unstable instrument of government as he went through 7 OMB directors in his 8 year administration
EXOP - the National Security Council
Role - Established to help the President coordinate foreign, security, and defence policy
Important - In 2011, under Obama, the NSC co-ordinated and kept the president updated on the killing of Osama bin Laden, providing a vital role in this historic moment in American history
Not important - During Obama’s first term the leading voices in foreign policy were the President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, such a big name at the State Department meant the NSC stayed in the background
Not important - Trump slimmed down the size in 2017 and made cuts in 2018. Additionally, he stopped attending the daily security briefings instead sending his VP Pence in his place
The cabinet - functions of the VP - Power to break a tie
Success - Kamala Harris has used it 29 times the 2nd highest of any VP. Used to pass key Democratic legilsation like the American Rescue Plan in 2021 which extended unemployment benefit.
Failure - Not a consistently used power. Under Trump’s presidency Mike Pence used it 13 times whereas Biden never used it when Obama was President for 8 years. Not a consistent power. Dependent on the maekup of the Senate.
The cabinet - functions of the VP - fulfilling the 25th Amendement
Significant - President Johnson took over from Kennedy when he was killed in 1963. In 2002 and 2007, VP Dick Cheney temporarily took over from President Bush as he was receiving medical treatment that meant he would be unconscious.
Not significant - very rare that the VP needs to take over
The cabinet - functions of the VP - the balancing ticket
Significant - provide experience - In 2008, Barack Obama balanced his ticket by choosing Joe Biden to be his running mate.
Not significant - Don’t always provide experience - Kamala Harris doesn’t have as much experience as Joe Biden. Al Gore didn’t have as much experience as Bill Clinton
The cabinet - functions of the VP - advise the president
Significant - President Bush and Dick Cheney: Bush was inexperienced in foreign policy but Cheney, had been Secretary of Defence, so made frequent media appearances to build support for Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
Not significant - Cheney was able to advise Bush on foreign policy due to his strength of character and experience in foreign policy but would struggle in other areas like the economy
Forms of presidential persuasion in Congress - members of Congress
Effective - In an important budget vote in the House in August 1993, Clinton phoned Democrat House member Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky in a hallway just off the chamber of the HofR. She cast the crucial 218th vote to ensure passage of his budget by 218 votes to 216.
Forms of presidential persuasion in Congress - party leadership in Congress
Ineffective - In 2011 Obama was frustrated by the slow recovery in the nation’s economy and wanted to go on the record to show his support for a major new stimulus package currently in Congress, The American Jobs Act. The Republican speaker refused Obama to talk no the 7th of Septmeber when the Republicans were announcing their 2012 candidates which had scheldued televised debate
Forms of presidential power - imperial presidency
Presidency characterised by the misuse of presidential powers and high handedness in dealing with Congress
For President George W. Bush, Congress was more docile in it’s scrutiny due to external threats in the wake of 9/11
e.g. During the 108th Congress, a Republican trifecta over the legislature and executive meant, there were only 37 oversight hearings held
Forms of presidential power - imperalled presidency
A term referring to a presidency characterised by ineffectiveness and weakness, resulting from Congressional over-assertiveness.
President Obama after the 2014 midterms (in the second half of his second term), Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress
e.g. March 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. The Republican controlled Senate refused to hold hearings on Garland’s nomination
Forms of presidential power - ‘Bifurcated’ presidency
It can be argued that the presidency is almost like two separate roles, with different levels of power in Foreign policy where they have almost unchecked power and Domestic policy where they have hugely constrained by Congress
President Clinton is often seen as an example of a bifurcated President as He was easily able to send troops to Bosnia and Kosovo, whilst he couldn’t pass his healthcare bill
Factors limiting Presidential power - Formal checks and balances
Overturning veto
Rejecting nominations
Impeachment
Power of the purse
Factors limiting Presidential power - Key political factors - unified/divided government:
Yes - Congressional oversight of the executive is only really effective when Congress is not controlled by the President’s party. seen During Republican President George W. Bush’ eight-year term, his first six years saw the Republicans control both house of Congress and in 2003-2004 the Republican-controlled Congress held only 37 oversight hearings. That all changed following the Republicans loss of control in both houses of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. George W. Bush then found himself facing feisty committee chairs
No - During these years (2001-2006) Congressional oversight was extremely light, even by the standards of other times the executive and legislature were united under one party. In 1993 and 1994 when Democrats controlled Congress during Democrat Bill Clinton’s first 2 years there were 135 oversight hearing held
Factors limiting Presidential power - Key political factors - Midterms
Yes - Voters often see midterms as a chance to express their disapproval with the president e.g. In 2006 voters expressed their disapproval with W. Bush’s failure to conclude the military operation in Iraq when the Democrats took majority in the House and took 49-49 in the Senate, thus placing Bush’s administration and legislation under far more scrutiny
No - If a certain event has galvanized the country and united the country behind the president, his administration, and his party, then it is possible to continue with a majority e.g. In 2002, this was the only midterm in 40 years which the president’s party gained seats in both chambers, mostly due to 9/11
Factors limiting Presidential power - Prevailing orientation of the Supreme Court
Yes - If the supreme court has an overall judicial makeup that does not align with presidents overall views then the president is far more likely to have his action struck down such as Obama’s administration losing 13 cases out of 21 cases which it was directly involved in, a failure rate of over 60%
No - The president can nominate judges to the Supreme Court when the opportunity presents itself, potentially influencing the court into having an overall view that is more similar to the president’s. President Trump nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett from 2017-2020, swinging the court from a 5-4 conservative majority to a 6-3 majority. However, does depend on whether replacing judge of a different view or not
Factors limiting Presidential power - Attitudes of the media and public opinion - Public approval
Yes - The presidents approval ratings will affect his ability to get things done and will affect his political clout to a large extent e.g. It was likely Bill Clinton’s high approval ratings during 1999 that saved him from conviction in his impeachment as Democrat senators were reluctant to remove a president of their own party who was still popular with the electorate
No - In the current era of partisanship, public approval ratings mean increasingly less as their has been a widening of the gap in Americans approval of the presidents according to party e.g. Obama had an average of an 80% approval rating among Democrat voters but only a 14% approval rating among Republican voters
Factors limiting Presidential power - Attitudes of the media and public opinion - Electoral mandate
Yes - If a president is elected without a majority of the popular vote then it is more open to criticism from members of the other party and they are likely to find it more difficult to get members of Congress on board with their proposals e.g. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 meaning despite having a clear majority of Electoral College votes, his election mandate was weak
No - The vast majority of the time, the presidents election mandate has little impact firstly as in the early 21st century’s era of hyper-partisanship no president has come close to getting 55% of the popular vote, and losing the popular vote is extremely rare and has only happened 5 times in history although it has happened twice in the 21st century already
Factors affecting presidential success - public approval
Yes - Obama in 2009 had a 96.7% approval rating with both houses being Democrat. However, by 2015 the approval rating was 45.7% with the Republicans having a majoirty in both houses. This limited Obama’s ability to persuade
Factors affecting presidential success - crises (dont do angus)
Positive - Hurricane Sandy 2012 affected 24 states in total with the worst hit being New Jersey and New York. This allowed Obama to use this event to make media headlines. At the time, he was in the middle of the 2012 presidential race but this dominated media coverage, allowing Obama to gain headlines atnthe expense of his rival
Negative - Hurricane Katrina in 2005 hit New Orleans killing nearly 2,000 people. Bush’s percieved slow response to this and support of FEMA made embarrassing national headlines.
