Executive Branch Flashcards

1
Q

E+A 3 checks and balances on the power of the president

A
  1. Congress rejecting legislation
    Obamas gun control legislation
    significant during a divided government and a presidents LDP
    Can happen when unified Trump could get Obamacare repealed in 2017
  2. Supreme court can use Judicial review
    2006 Bush military commission for terrorist and Guantanamo Bay were unconstitutional
    Significant as president cannot overrule. Some question brought into judicial activism is it right for court to interfere in what is seen as political matters
  3. Congress can impeach
    Trump 2019 and 2021
    No president found guilty by senate and removed from office
    does encourage to act lawfully when not the threat used to leave office e.g. Nixon
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2
Q

E+A 3 differences between formal and informal presidential powers

A
  1. Formal powers are constitutional but informal powers are political
    Although enumerated, implied and inherent powers are derived from the constitution implied powers have been stretched to give the president the informal powers of executive orders, signing statements and executive agreements
  2. Formal powers don’t fluctuate due to public opinion but informal powers of persuasion, agenda setting world and party leader do
    FDR forced Japanese Americans into internment camps during WW2 which the public supported as they saw him as a war hero
  3. Formal powers limited by scope and C+B but informal powers continued to develop to expand presidents power
    Direct authority and imperial powers allow president to bypass congress in a way formal powers cannot.
    FDR and bush expanded scope of formal powers during emergencies showing they can be used to expand the framework of the president even if this was not the constitutions intention
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3
Q

E+A 3 ways in which the relationship between the presidency and other government’s institutions varies from one president to another

A
  1. Relationship between president and their chief of staff depends on their personalities
    Obama had an effective relationship with Rahm Emanuel but Trump had four chiefs of staff in four years
    White House was dysfunctional under Trump but smoother under Obama
  2. Differences with cabinet relations
    Ronald Reagan used regular cabinet meetings as an opportunity for debate but Obama held fewer cabinet meeting and used them to brief his team on his agenda
    Although can’t generalise cabinet as a whole. Some highly influential figures like Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state from 2009- 2013 received more access which made others feel undermined
  3. Relationship with federal bureaucracy and federal agencies varies on president’s ideology. Reps want to cut the size and Dems want to increase it.
    Fords description of an imperilled presidency stemmed from presidents being unable to restrain the growth. Supported by the growth under bush’s presidency despite him promising to cut it
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4
Q

E+A 3 ways structural theory could be used to study the extent of the PM and president’s accountability to their respective legislators

A
  1. Fusion of powers in uk means parliament holds them accountable in PMQ but the separation of powers means the president isn’t a member of congress and doesn’t appear before them excluding inauguration, state of the union address and special occasions of national importance
    Pms more personally accountable eg tony Blair criticised for not spending enough time in the dispatch box
  2. Pms with large majorities and tight party control are less accountable that parliaments with small majorities. Similarly presidents will face stronger oversight from congress and more resistance to their legislation during divided governments.
    Easier for pm to maintain control of party due to pay roll vote (160 mps) and cabinet system but due to separation of powers president can’t persuade party to follow their lead
  3. Uk Pm is more easily removed from office than president due to the structural processes. Difficult for congress to impeach president as both houses must agree with a super majority needed for senate conviction. HOC needs a simple majority on a vote of no confidence
    the last was James Callaghan in 1979 showing it’s still difficult yet no president has been successfully impeached despite trump having faced it twice.
    Both resign when clear they are in threat eg Theresa may and Nixon
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5
Q

E+A 3 ways that rational theory could be used to study the relationship of the PM and the President with their Cabinets

A
  1. Cameron and Obama both had bad relationships with their cabinet as a rational response to not having control of their legislative
    Cameron used the Quad cabinet committee to ensure the survival of his coalition government
    Obama used direct authority to bypass congress.
    Each leaders response was a reaction to specific circumstances instead of an inherent part of their leadership style.
    Cameron governed without the Lib Dems as soon as he won a majority in 2015
    Obama used direct authority less frequently at the start of his presidency when he had control of both houses of congress
  2. Use cabinet to prioritise their policies
    Bush and Blair war on terror.
    Bush’s cabinet highly focused on foreign policy objectives
    Blair’s tight cabinet discipline led to two minister resigning over the Iraq war
    Presidents can also use policy czars and to influence policy areas
    PMs can use SPADs to keep cabinet ministers focused on political priority
  3. When PM loses cabinet support rational thing is to resign like Margret Thatcher
    Presidents can simply sack them like Trump did repeatedly
    Rational for PM with small majority to be careful about maintaining support of key figures in cabinet but one with a large majority can be more relaxed but cannot alienate a power faction in the party
    Presidents free to remove cabinet officers regardless if their party has control of congress as they are the sole executive
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6
Q

E+A 3 ways that cultural theory could be used to study the relative power of the PM and president

A
  1. President has more respect and status than pm
    gives president more informal powers then pm
    increasing divisions in us politics erodes this respect for the precedency as an institution
    Clear in the “Birther movement” that claimed Obama was not born in the US
    Trumps state of the union address where Nancy Pelosi (speaker of HOR) publicly ripped up his speech
  2. US created as alternative British rule so hostility over powerful government apart of US culture and achieved by separation of powers
    Sovereignty of parliament is UK culture since English Civil War (1642- 51) meaning president has to maintain support in parliament
    Allows pm with a majority and party discipline to exert power with little constraint unlike president who has fewer levers to control congress despite the culture of respecting the president
  3. The US expects president to take executive action as required. president only criticised as being imperial if exceed normal parameters of authority
    In UK pm expected to be primus inter pares (first amongst equals) so needs to work collaboratively with cabinet and parliament
    sufficiently collegiate approach with their cabinet
    colleagues are often portrayed pms when not collaborating as ‘presidential’, demonstrating the cultural difference between parliamentary and presidential government.
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