imperial presidency 3.4

Question 1

how are ‘executive order’ a sign of imperial presidency

Answer 1

• president can instruct the executive branch to carry out/not carry out certain practices without consulting Congress.
• cannot pass new laws but only enforce existing ones or use his/her power to govern the executive branch.

Question 2

how are ‘signing statement’ a sign of imperial presidency

Answer 2

• line-item veto = allowing to strike out individual lines of a bill
• Supreme Court has declared the line-item veto unconstitutional in Clinton v New York 1998
• defense secretary to notify congressional committees at least 30 days before moving someone from Guantanamo Bay (Obama traded Bowe Bergdahl, for five Taliban members)
• doesn’t mean they will act it out and checks and balances ends this

Question 3

how are ‘executive agreement’ a sign of imperial presidency

Answer 3

• a deal between the president and the leader of another country
• Unlike a treaty, does not need approval from the Senate
• Obama agree on lifting trade embargoes and freezing
  Iranian assets <-> Iranian efforts to end aims to be military nuclear power
• only an agreement with the incumbent president, not future ones

Question 4

how are ‘unilateral’ a sign of imperial presidency

Answer 4

• Presidents have made military decisions without consulting Congress
• Libya 2011 Obama ordered air strikes without consulting Congress
• War Powers Act = limits the president’s power to send the military into combat without approval from Congress.