Executive Branch - Scriven

Question 1

Explain and analyse the informal powers - 9 marks

Answer 1

1- executive orders
Issued by president that carry the force of law e.g Clinton’s don’t ask don’t tell’
2- executive agreements
International agreements usually related to trade - does not need senate approval e.g Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana 1803
3- executive privilege
Claim by president whether it is best if info in withheld from public including courts and congress
E.g USA v Nixon

Question 2

Explain and analyse 3 features of presidential power - 9 marks

Answer 2

1- formal powers
Expressed/outlined in the Constitution
Commander in chief
Chief executive = faithfully execute laws
Chief legislature = deliver SOUA

2-informal powers
Not written
Executive orders, privilege and agreements
Similar to necessary and proper powers of congress

3- first 100 days
More likely to be sucessful
Obama care
Seen to have a mandate

Question 3

Examples of presidential abuse of power

Answer 3

FDR - threatening to pack the supreme court - broke 2 term limit
LBJ - gulf of Tonkin - blank cheque
Nixon - watergate
Reagan - Iran contra

Question 4

What is overshoot and collapse

Answer 4

Theory defends the us constitution from the charge that it has not been able to prevent successive us presidents from abusing the constitutional power allocated to them

Question 5

FDR’s overshoot/collpase

Answer 5

O= broke the convention that presidents should only serve 2 terms
C= congress pass 2nd amendment limiting the president to 2 terms in office

Question 6

Features of presidential power

Answer 6

Formal/infomal powers
First 100 dats
Overshoot/collpase
Theories of presidential success

Question 7

Notable executive orders

Answer 7

Lincoln - emancipation proclamation 1862
Clinton - ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ 1993
Trump - the wall and Muslim travel ban 2017

Question 8

Incumbency factor voting behaviour

Answer 8

The person already holding office is more likely to win office than the challenger
Incumbent attracts more campaign money and president obviously appears more presidential

Question 9

Qualifications to become president

Answer 9

Natural born citizen of usa
35+
Served 14years as a resident of usa
Win electoral college

Question 10

EXOP (executive office of president)

Answer 10

White House office - chief of staff
Council of economic advisors
Office of management and budget
National security council/advisor

Question 11

State of union address

Answer 11

50 to 80% of all bills considered by Congress cover the stump of executive branch
Established in 1950s
Bowles ‘this power to recommend is the foundation for presidential leadership of Congress’
Early time that Congress the Supreme Court and the president work together
Very high TV ratings ‘bully pulpit’

Question 12

Significant addresses

Answer 12

LBJ- war on poverty 1964
George W bush - the axis of evil- North Korea, Iran, Iraq 2002

Question 13

Veto

Answer 13

Allows the president to block congressionally initiated legislation/ amendments
Threat of veto can influence legislation
Reagan repeatedly threatened to veto bills that increased social programme spending
Pocket veto (is allowed ten days to consider a bill so can ignore bills that arrive with less than 10 days of congressional session)
Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses - very rare

Question 14

Notable vetos

Answer 14

1974- Ford vetoed a bill that would strengthen the Freedom of Information act
1986- Reagan pocket vetoed the Clean Water Act
1996- Bill Clinton vetoed a bill that would prohibit partial birth abortion
2006- Bush vetoed a bill that would have lifted restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research- Obama passed
2016- abama vetoed 9/11 victims suing Saudi Arabia - veto override

Question 15

National security council -exop

Answer 15

Responsible for national security and foreign policy
Formed by president, vice president, Secretary of State, secretary of defence and national security advisor
To both military and intelligence advisers

Question 16

White House office -exop

Answer 16

Headed by White House chief of staff
Made up of assistants of presidents who oversee policy
Political matters
Protects interests of president

Question 17

Office of management and budget-exop

Answer 17

OMB is largest department within the executive office
Main responsibility is to produce the budget
It overseas all financial aspects of their implementation of presidents agenda
Assesses the effectiveness of government programmes
Director of exop must be confirmed by a senate vote

Question 18

Ways the president can be removed from office

Answer 18

Impeachment for high crimes
Death
Resignation
Voted out by congress due to inability to Cary out office duty

Question 19

Notable first 100 days legislation

Answer 19

Ford pardoned Nixon
JFK ordered bay of pigs
On day 1 Reagan announced release of us diplomats being held hostage in Iran

Question 20

Imperial presidency modern dat examples

Answer 20

FDR- threatened to pack the Supreme Court and elected to four terms in office
Truman- atomic bomb and committed troops to Korean War
JFK- secret agreement with USSR to end Cuban missile crisis
LBJ- gulf of Tonkin - blank cheque
Nixon- Watergate

Question 21

Evidence of imperial presidency

Answer 21

Amount of staff in office has increased with lack of accountability
President is relying on personal advisors not cabinet
Many appointments to executive office are not confirmed by Senate
President possesses huge power over foreign policy
President only accountable at election time or impeachment
Reagan’s reliance on special advisers especially Iran Contra Affair

Question 22

Author Schlesinger jr main concerns

Answer 22

Office of president is out of control
It has breached the limits set out by the constitution

Question 23

Criticisms of imperial theory

Answer 23

The executive office by comparison with the rest of the federal bureaucracy is relatively small
Executive controls that are introduced post Nixon include: the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office
Reassert cheques and balances
Imperilled presidency?

Question 24

Politics of reconstruction

Answer 24

A president is elected to lead an era of reconstruction- old ideas on how to run the country is replaced by new ones – a new regime begins (roosevelt’s new deal)

Question 25

Politics of articulation

Answer 25

The president that follow this believe in the regime and to to expand/develop e.g Johnson’s segregation

Question 26

Politics of preemption

Answer 26

After a number of years in the regime comes under question and begins to be challenged- a president is elected who seeks to replace it but the regime is still strong enough to survive

Question 27

Politics of disjunction

Answer 27

Popular support for the regime is crumbling- presidents here support the old regime but represent the end of iT – they are disjunctive(weak presidents)

Question 28

Political time - skowronek thesis

Answer 28

A presidents power can be explained by their position within political time and their affiliation towards the regime

Question 29

Personal ability - the neustadt theory

Answer 29

‘The power of the president is the power to persuade’
Electorate - charisma
Us media
Congress - political bargaining
Own administration
World leaders - political bargaining

Question 30

Presidential style - stoessinger thesis

Answer 30

Crusaders- conviction politicians with reforming agenda/ vision e.g wWoodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, barrack Obama
Pragmatists- political realists who adjust to changing events/ circumstances e.g JFK, Lyndon Johnson, bill Bill Clinton
Pragmatists are more likely to succeed than crusaders also those who focus on foreign policy above domestic policy

Question 31

The legacy of watergate

Answer 31

The system had worked- the president had been held accountable to the law
The transfer of power had been smooth
Watergate also caused a widespread distrust of government and the attitude that all politicians are the same
Gerald Ford- ‘our constitution works’
Constitutional defence theory – ‘overshoot and collapse’

Question 32

Nixons abuses of power

Answer 32

Using of government agencies to support his election campaign- FBI and CIA used to spy on political opponents
Abused constitutional rights of U.S. citizens- bogging and wiretapping and hacking personal info
Conspiracy to burgle- authorised break in at the headquarters of Democrat party(Watergate building)
Perverting the Court of Justice - hush money used to pay the witnesses
Pursuing a secret foreign policy use of palm in Vietnam
Bombing Loas and Cambodia
Perverting the course of justice - claiming executive privilege when asked by Congress and Supreme Court to hand over the tapes

Question 33

Restrained definition

Answer 33

The PM in the UK or president in the USA faces cheques on the power they hold from other parts of the political system or internal and external factors during their time in office

Question 34

Unrestrained definition

Answer 34

The PM UK or president in the USA is the dominant influence within the political system and faces very limited cheques to the power they hold

Question 35

Evidence where president is restrained

Answer 35

Constitution imposes A 2 term limit
Nixon forced to resign or face impeachment
Response to Watergate (war powers act)
By the constitution - Bill of Rights and checks and balances
High likelihood of a president facing divided government
Judicial review e.g Muslim travel ban
Reserved powers of Congress/ control of purse
Congress must approve appointments and ratified treaties ‘advise and consent powers’
1989 Senate rejected John tower, reagan’s choice for defence - 1919 Senate refused to ratify TOV
Government shutdown - Obama 2003 budget
Impeachment threat forced Nixon to resign
Federalism- key powers held by individual stateS- policing, schools etc

Question 36

Evidence where president is unrestrained

Answer 36

Executive orders and executive agreements
The imperial presidency 1933 to 74
Appointment power to Supreme Court can alter ideological composition
Commander in chief of army
Doesn’t face rivals in cabinet
Informal powers
Extensive support from EXOP
Reagan and Iran Contra
Since 1973 all presidents have broken war powers act
Failed impeachment Clinton 1998 and trump x2 2020

Question 37

Evidence where the pm is restrained

Answer 37

In the UK parliament is soveriegn
Boris Johnson removed from office by his own party
Pms never the important of party unity for their electoral prospects
Can be stalked by big beast for leadership E.g Blair/brown
Coalition agreement- cameron had to appoint lib dem to cabinet
Can face civil service resistance
Coalition/ minority government/ supply and confidence
Damage of high profile ministerial resignations – Blair =cook/short
Faces official opposition party in parliament
James Callaghan- Commons vote of no confidence forced labour into a general election they lost
Liaison committee- PM has appeared before annually since 2002
Need to maintain support of party- Thatcher and Johnson lose support of own party
Need to maintain media and public support E.g Boris and party gate
Scrutiny under estimated
PM not head of state the monarch is
Ultra vires – bulger case
Devolved govt - different lock down rules in different parts of uk

Question 38

Evidence where the pm is unrestrained

Answer 38

No term limits
Blair as PM did not lose a vote in the House of Commons due to huge majority
Patronage powers- PM can promote BB into government and senior colleagues into cabinet
Relative weakness of parliamentary scrutiny E.g PMQ and committees
Large majorities in Chile PMS from big beast rebellions (Blair and anti terror legislation)
Control of cabinet- chairs meetings and sets agenda
Ease of change through statute law- House of Lords Reform Act and devolution, constitutional Reform Act 2005
House of Commons is adviserial
Increasing presidential style of PM- more bilateral meetings
Party MP’s elected on party manifesto and highly likely to back this in parliament

Question 39

War powers act -1973

Answer 39

Passed in response to the investigations into Watergate and gulf of Tonkin
- congresses blank cheque to Lyndon Johnson over Vietnam
- Nixon secret bombing campaigns against Cambodia and loas
President must notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action
Armed forces can only remain deployed abroad for 60 days
By day 60 the president must have gained congressional approval for them to remain
If approval not grantEd they have 30 days to organise withdrawal of U.S. troops
The resolution was passed by 2/3 overriding the veto of Richard Nixon

Question 40

Violations of war powers act

Answer 40

Clinton - Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, Yugoslavia
W bush - Iraq, Afghanistan
Obama - Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan
Trump - Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran

Question 41

Controversy of war powers act

Answer 41

All presidents have gone on record to say it’s unconstitutional
Congress claimed the right under the necessary and proper clause
Presidents claim interferes with their power as commander in chief
Breach of separation of powers?
Congress have never challenged presidential breaches of the war powers act through the Supreme Court - fear they will declare the law unconstitutional

Question 42

Explain and analyse three roles of the VP - 9 marks

Answer 42

1- Presiding officer of the Senate
Votes in Senate deadlocks
Cheney voted to protect Bush’s 1.6 billion tax cut
Kamala Harris- biden’s vice president
2020 Senate elections- Senate was divided 50/50
American rescue plan passed due to Harris
Most use of the tiebreak vote in their first year=15
Most tie breaking votes in a single day=4
Most high breaking votes buying vice president ever=31

2- Announces Electoral College result
January 2001 al gore announces his own defeat
First time president had to announce his defeat since Nixon 1961
Go rejected 20 objections from 14 Democrat House members
Most democratic members of the congressional Black Caucus challenged the result from Florida

3- first in line of succession
If president dies resigns or is removed from office
Has happened 9 times - 8 deaths 1 resignation
Bush and Biden were both vice president who went on to become president in his own right

4- acting president
25th amendment
Cheney was president for 2h while bush was sedated
2002/2021 - bush and Biden
Not invoked when Reagan was shot in 1981 - George h bush

Question 43

Arguments for us cabinets being helpful/useful

Answer 43

The cabinet is handpicked by the president and he can choose anyone- they are more experienced than UK cabinets e.g Steven chu energy secretary has a Nobel Prize in physics (Obama)

Obama said he wanted to create a team of rivals to give him critical advise e.g Hillary Clinton/ Robert gate who was in Bush’s cabinet as defence secretary

Cabinet reshuffles - 2014 Catherine sibelius resigned as health secretary after the disastrous rollout of obama care

Clinton said he wanted a cabinet which looked like America

Question 44

Arguments against us cabinets being helpful/useful

Answer 44

Most cabinet positions are tough short lived and not particularly prestigious E.g e Eric schmidt chairman of Google turn down Obama’s offer of Treasury Secretary
Unlike UK cabinet there is no doctrine of collective responsibility- not united by party loyalty or shared ideology
The president’s main source of advice is the EXOP they have greater proximity to the president and will provide him with daily advice this can lead to cabinet secretaries being left out the loop EG Colin Powell Secretary of State
Presidency their cabinet on average 6 times per year but they tend to have fewer as their agenda moves to foreign policy and their legislative success becomes less likely

Question 45

Reasons why pm is more powerful

Answer 45

Not restricted to 2-term limit
Have more power over devolution
Large majorities means legislation can be passed easily
Far fewer cheques and balances/ separation of powers
Easier to pass legislation
Unified government
Congress can refuse presidential budget/ refused project funding
PM can dissolve parliament and control the day of general election

Question 46

Reasons why president is more powerful

Answer 46

Can appoint anyone to cabinet
Not first among equals they’re just first
Head of state
Informal powers like executive orders/ agreements
Veto
Impeachment has proved impossible
EXOP is well resourced
Personal advisors – NSA
Bigger country = bigger resources
Chief of the largest military in the world