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US Politics > Chapter 3 - Informal sources of presidential power > Flashcards

Chapter 3 - Informal sources of presidential power Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the informal sources of presidential power?

A
  • The Cabinet
  • EXOP
  • White House Office
  • National Security Council
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • Powers of persuasion
  • Executive orders
  • Executive agreements
  • Signing statements
  • Electoral mandate
  • Public approval
  • National events
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2
Q

Where is the cabinet implied from?

A

Article II states that the president ‘may require the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive departments’

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3
Q

What did presidential scholar Richard Fenno say about the cabinet in 1959?

A

That it is ‘institutionalised by usage alone’

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4
Q

What is the president looking for in a cabinet officer?

A

Policy specialist

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5
Q

Who is Biden’s Secretary of Defence and what did he do prior?

A

Lloyd Austin, retired army general.

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6
Q

What did Dr Janet Yellen do before her role in Biden’s cabinet?

A

Chair of the Federal Reserve

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7
Q

What is needed to confirm a cabinet appointment?

A

A simple majority in the Senate.

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8
Q

What did Henry C Jackson say of Trump’s cabinet?

A

‘older, whiter and richer’

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9
Q

How many of Trump’s heads of departments lacked any government experience?

A

6

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10
Q

Who is Biden’s Secretary of State?

A

Antony Blinken

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11
Q

How many cabinet meetings did Trump hold?

A

25

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12
Q

How many cabinet meetings did Trump hold in his first two years?

A

18

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13
Q

How many cabinet meetings did Trump hold in his final two years?

A

7

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14
Q

How many personnel changes did Tump make in his four years compared to Obama’s first term?

A

Trump made 20; Obama made just 3

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15
Q

What did Zbigniew Brzezinski say about President Carter’s cabinet meetings?

A

‘Carter cabinet meetings were almost useless’

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16
Q

Why might cabinet meetings be considered useless?

A

Since the heads of departments are policy specialists, they will not have anything to contribute to discussions they are not knowledgeable on.

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17
Q

What are the functions of the cabinet?

A
  • Create team spirit
  • Create media coverage
  • Exchange information
  • Present ‘big picture items’
  • Monitor Congress
  • Prompt action
  • Enable personal contact
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18
Q

How do cabinet meetings create team spirit?

A

This is important early on in an administration since many members will be strangers to the cabinet. This also explains why cabinet meetings are held less and less over time. The meetings help to unify the team.

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19
Q

How do cabinet meetings create media coverage?

A

They provide a photo opportunity to show the public they are open and effective.

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20
Q

How do cabinet meetings offer a chance to share information?

A

The president can make statements knowing everyone will hear, and cabinet meetings are the only time the heads of departments will be all together in one room, meaning they can exchange information.

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21
Q

How do cabinet meetings monitor Congress?

A

The president can use the meetings to check on legislation going through Congress and lay out their policy agenda for the year.

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22
Q

What did Robert Shrum say of cabinets in 2008?

A

‘No one in a cabinet outshines the president’.

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23
Q

Why can the cabinet never be of prime importance?

A
  • The Constitution grants them no power.
  • Cabinet officers are not the president’s political rivals; the last person to go from the cabinet to the White House was Herbert Hoover in 1929.
  • The existence of the EXOP.
24
Q

What did the Brownlow Committee report to President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939?

A

‘the president needs help’

25
Q

When was the EXOP created?

A

1939

26
Q

Who created the EXOP?

A

Franklin D Roosevelt

27
Q

What were the three original executive departments?

A

State, War, and the Treasury

28
Q

What was F.D.R.’s New Deal?

A

A series of federal government programmes to help the economy recover.

29
Q

Who is the president’s closest aide?

A

The White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain.

30
Q

What is the most important appointment a president will make?

A

Their White House Chief of Staff.

31
Q

Who was President Gerald Ford’s Chief of Staff?

A

Dick Cheney

32
Q

What did Dick Cheney say of the role of Chief of Staff?

A

‘He takes the credit; I take the blame’

33
Q

What experience does Ron Klain have?

A

He was chief of staff to Biden when he was vice president and also to Al Gore, Clinton’s vice president.

34
Q

Who created the Office of Management and Budget?

A

President Richard Nixon

35
Q

When was the Office of Management and Budget created?

A

1970

36
Q

What functions does the OMB perform?

A
  • They advise the president on the allocation of federal funds.
  • They oversee the spending of all federal departments.
  • Assess all legislative initiatives coming from the executive branch to see if they can be afforded and whether they will aide the president’s policy programme.
37
Q

When was the National Security Council created?

A

1947

38
Q

What does the National Security Council do?

A

Assist the president on national security and foreign policy.

39
Q

What did Richard Neustadt say of presidential power in 1960?

A

‘the president’s power is the power to persude’

40
Q

What is a lame duck presidency?

A

The last two years of a president’s second term when they lose political power and struggle to implement policy objectives.

41
Q

What are executive orders?

A

An extra-constitutional power; a directive that contains the full force of the law but does not require congressional approval.

42
Q

How many executive orders did F.D.R. make?

A

3552

43
Q

How many executive orders did Obama make?

A

276

44
Q

How many executive orders did Trump make?

A

206

45
Q

What executive order did Obama issue in 2009?

A

Closure of Guantanamo Bay.

46
Q

Why did Obama’s executive order to close Guantanamo Bay fail?

A

Congress refused to fund it.

47
Q

What executive order did Trump sign in 2018?

A

Keep Guantanamo Bay open, which had been one of his election promises.

48
Q

What did Trump say he wanted to do with Guantanamo Bay?

A

‘load it up with some bad dudes’

49
Q

What are the pitfalls of executive orders?

A
  • They can be overturned by an incoming president.

- They can be ruled unconstitutional.

50
Q

What executive order was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court?

A

President Truman’s nationalisation of the US steel industry in 1952.

51
Q

What is an executive agreement?

A

An agreement between the president and a foreign nation that does not require formal treaties.

52
Q

When was the first recorded executive agreement?

A

1817 by President James Monroe.

53
Q

What two executive agreements did Obama sign in 2015?

A
  • The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal with Iran.
  • The Paris Accord.
54
Q

What is a signing statement?

A

A statement from the president when they sign a bill which states their understanding of how the bill is to be implemented, and may challenge certain provisions.

55
Q

When was President James Monroe in office?

A

1817-1825

56
Q

What are the criticisms of signing statements?

A

If the president disagrees with a bill then they should either veto it or wait for a Supreme Court ruling.

57
Q

Why are executive agreements important to the president?

A

They allow them to perform foreign policy which can be difficult in both divided and united government.

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