Evaluate The View That The President’s Informal Powers Are More Significant Than Their Formal Powers.

Question 1

Introduction - Define formal and informal powers

Answer 1

The formal powers of the Presidency are those explicitly given to the President in the
Constitution.

The informal powers of the Presidency are those exercised by the President that go beyond
those outlined in the Constitution.

Question 1

Paragraph One ➡️ Legislative Powers
AGAINST: Formal Powers Are More Significant

Answer 1

• Formal power = President can formally recommend legislation
  to a joint session of Congress in the annual State of the Union Address. Allows the President to seek to influence the legislative agenda, effective when they’re popular.
  – (Example): Obama used his 2010 State of the Union Address to focus on passing the Affordable Care
  Act, which was passed a few months later.
• They can also veto bills Congress pass or stop it into law.
  – (Example): Trump veto’d 10 bills, including the Iran War Powers resolution, which would’ve limited the President’s authority to use military force against Iran without congressional approval
  -> Biden 11 veto’s - he veto’d a bill that would’ve blocked his student loan forgiveness plan.

Question 2

Paragraph One ➡️ Legislative Powers -> FOR: Informal Powers Are More Significant

Answer 2

• informal power of Presidency is the power to make executive orders decisions made by the President which give federal officials instructions to take certain actions. They don’t require congressional approval and aren’t explicitly mentioned in the constitution, instead the power of the President to issue them is implied from their role as chief executive.
  – (Example): Trump signed 220 executive orders when President, including high profile
  ones early in his Presidency having a big influence on US government policy.
• Bush’s response to 9/11 through executive orders, especially the creation of the Department
  of Homeland Security, shows they give the President major powers to respond to national crises, despite being an informal power.
• Presidents and Vice Presidents also use their personal relationships and negotiation
  skills to influence Congress for support for their legislative priorities.
  – (Example): Vice President Mike Pence, under President Trump, frequently met with
  congressional members to negotiate and push forward Trump’s legislative priorities,
  like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Question 3

Paragraph Two ➡️ Foreign Policy Powers
Against: Formal Powers Are More Significant

Answer 3

• They set the President up to be the Head of State and central decision maker in relation to
  national security and foreign policy.
  – (Example): Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power of being the Commander-
  in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.
• This allows the President supreme command over the military forces, allowing them to
  make key decisions regarding military operations and defense strategy. The President can respond to immediate threats without
  needing prior Congressional approval.
  – (Example): This can be seen in the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani when Trump was
  President in 2020. Trump’s power as commander in chief allowed him to make the
  decision quickly and decisively without Congressional approval.
• Another key formal power given to the Presidency in relation to foreign policy in the constitution
  is the power to negotiate treaties with other nations, also outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the
  constitution.
  – (Example): President Woodrow Wilson’s role in negotiating the
  Treaty of Versailles in 1919 to end World War I

Question 4

Para 2 -
For: Informal Powers Are More Significant

Answer 4

• Presidential Power - Deploying military forces without formal declaration of war from Congress
  – (Example): During the Vietnam War, President Nixon authorized a covert bombing
  campaign in Cambodia, aimed at disrupting North Vietnamese supply lines, without
  Congressional approval or public knowledge.
• Another key informal power that has allowed the President to dominate foreign policy is the use
  of executive agreements.
  – (Example): President Obama entered two important international agreements without Senate
  ratification: The Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) in 2015 and the Paris Climate Agreement in
  2016.

Question 5

Paragraph Three ➡️ Judicial Powers and Powers As Head Of
Executive
Against: Formal Powers Are More Significant

Answer 5

• The role as head of the
  executive. This gives them all executive power in the constitution, putting them in charge of
  running the whole of the federal government.
  – (Example): Their powers as Chief Executive means that each President nominates around 4000 of Gov Officials at the start of their Presidency, Cabinet - includes: Treasury, Defence
• Politically aligned with the President and tasted with implementing the President’s agenda in specific areas of policy & power to shape US gov and the policy’s it’ll implement
• President has highly significant judicial powers in the Constitution, allowing them to influence the application of laws across the US
• The President has power to nominate all federal judges including Supreme Court, when there is a vacancy - shape ideological leaning of court.
  – (Example) : Trump made 3 appointments to the Supreme Court during his presidency, all 3 were conservatives.

Question 6

Para 3 - Judicial Powers & Head of Executive

Answer 6

• Executive Office of the President (EXOP) provides President with support to influence Congress
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversees the preparation and administration
  of the federal budget. This allows the President to push their
  policy and legislative agenda and negotiate effectively with Congress.
  – (Example): Under Trump, the OMB was instrumental in drafting budget proposals that prioritized
  increased military spending and substantial cuts to environmental, health, and social
  services programs.

The formal power of nominating all Supreme Court justices
is limited by the face that nominations have to be confirmed by the Senate.
When there is divided government, this has led to the Senate politicising the process and
preventing Presidents from appointing who they wish.
– (Example): Obama’s Supreme Court nomination Merrick Garland was blocked from being appointed
by the Republican controlled Senate in March 2016 on the premise that that it was right
to wait for the next President to appoint the next Supreme Court justice.