4.Executive Flashcards
Formal Power of the President to Propose Legislation
Trump used his 2020 State of the Union Address in Congress to propose his policies on infrastructure, immigration, healthcare, and foreign policy
Formal Power of the President to Veto Legislation
Iran War Powers Resolution – May 06 2020 - Trump vetoed bipartisan resolution of Congress to limit President’s use of military force against Iran
Formal Power of the President to Nominate Executive Branch Officials
President Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Pudzer in 2017
Formal Power of the President to Nominate Federal Judges
President Trump nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett from 2017-2020
Formal Power of the President as Commander-in Chief
President George W. Bush, Invasion of Iraq 2003
Formal Power of the President to Submit an Annual Budget
e.g. In October 2013 no agreement was made and parts of the federal government shutdown for 16 days when Republicans demanded the spending bill include provisions to strip funding from Obamacare or delay its implementation
Formal Power of the President to Negotiate Treaties
President Clinton negotiating the 1999 `Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Formal Power of the President to make Executive Orders
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
Cabinet meetings Presenting ‘big picture items’
-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
Cabinet meetings Monitoring Congress
e.g. 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
Cabinet meetings Prompting action
e.g. 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 to fix this with Hagel
(EXOP) White House Chief of Staff
- Some chiefs of staff become too obtrusive and powerful and become a kind of ‘deputy president’ e.g. John Sununu under H.W. Bush who was thought by many to be pursuing his own conservative policy agenda
- Some chiefs of staff are simply overwhelmed due to a lack of experience e.g. Thomas McLarty under Clinton
(EXOP) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director
- Bill Clinton benefited hugely from the efficient work of his first OMB director, Leon Panetta
- 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
- Under President Obama the OMB was an unstable instrument of government as he went through 7 OMB directors in his 8 year administration
(EXOP) National Security Council (NSC)
- 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
- President Trump used the NSC as a more political role when he placed his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as head of the NSC
EXOP-Cabinet Rivalries - Policy ‘czars’
Obama’s cabinet resented the White House czars and the Chief of Staff Emanuel, who they felt did not treat them like major administrative officials
Imperial Presidency
President George W. Bush
Congress was more docile in it’s scrutiny due to external threats in the wake of 9/11
During the 108th Congress, a Republican trifecta over the legislature and executive meant, there were only 37 oversight hearings held
Imperilled Presidency
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
‘Bifurcated’ Presidency
Foreign Policy - almost unchecked power, Domestic Policy - Hugely restrained by Congress
President Bill Clinton
Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress for the entirety of both his terms in office
He was easily able to send troops to Bosnia in 1999, whilst he couldn’t even pass his healthcare bill
Congress can reject the President’s legislative proposals
President Obama’s DREAM Act 2010
which would have given citizenship to millions of children brought to the USA by illegal immigrant parents, was killed in the Senate due to a Republican filibuster
The Senate can reject the President’s treaties
On October 13th 1999
the Democrat controlled Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the vote to ratify the treaty failing 48-51
The Senate can reject the President’s appointments
On the 15th of February 2017
President Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Pudzer did not reach the required number of votes to be confirmed
Congress can also use the Power of the Purse to defund the President’s proposals
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
If Congress is controlled by the President’s party, the President can usually get members of his party to vote for his proposals
The Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate after the 2008 elections
President Obama was able to pass acts such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) 2010
Supreme Court can declare the President’s actions to be unconstitutional
- Rasul v Bush 2004
- struck down the Bush administration’s view that the detainees in Guantanamo Bay were outside the jurisdiction of federal courts
- Acting as a check on the President’s power
Supreme Court usually goes along with Presidential actions so that it isn’t labelled as being judicially active
e.g. National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius 2012 mostly upheld President Obama’s policy of Obamacare (2010).
Congress can overturn the President’s veto
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 - Trump’s Presidential Veto overridden in both Houses on a bipartisan basis
It is hard for Congress to get the 2/3 vote needed to override the President’s veto
Iran War Powers Resolution – May 06 2020 - Trump vetoed bipartisan resolution of Congress to limit President’s use of military force against Iran
Despite the bill being bipartisan in the first place, there was not enough bipartisan support to have the veto overturned
Congress can impeach the President
President Trump was impeached, for the second time, in 2021 for the 2021 Capitol attacks
It is extremely difficult to get a 2/3 majority in the Senate to impeach a President
Especially as it would most likely require Senators to vote against a President of their own party
No President has ever successfully been impeached
Delegated Powers from Congress
e. g. Congress has delegated the power to impose trade tariffs against a country engaged in ‘unfair’ trade practices
e. g. (Trump’s Steel import tariffs of 25% in 2018 as part of his ‘America First’ economic policy)
Implied Powers from the Constitution or Congress
President can claim powers from either, even if he hasn’t been given specific authority in his authority over foreign policy
e.g. executive agreements (e.g. USMCA 2019 that replaced NAFTA 1994)
Inherent Powers from their Role as Head of the Executive
Not laid out in the Constitution, but required for the president to carry out their role as chief executive
e.g. 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
Ways in which the presidency has been weakened as Commander-in-Chief
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
Ways in which the presidency has been weakened due to an increasingly partisan Congress
Making it very difficult for presidents to govern effectively during periods of divided government
e.g. President Obama’s DREAM Bill 2010, giving millions of children of illegal immigrants citizenship, was blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate
Ways in which the presidency has been weakened due to intra-party divisions
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
George W. Bush showing how divided government still works
President Bush’s 2007 State of the Union Address about increasing troops in Iraq
Democrat majority Congress comes up with a bill funding the war but with timelines for troop withdrawals but Bush vetoes this
Congress then passes a bill funding the war but without troop withdrawal timelines
