Implied Powers Of The President

Question 1

What are implied powers?

Answer 1

-informal powers of the president
-not specifically stated
-but powers suggested by words + phrasing of constitution (subjective)

Question 2

What is the implied power of the president having the power to persuade?

Answer 2

-power shred between federal branches + states
-persuasion a key skill for any pres so agreements + compromise can be reached

Question 3

What is an example of the power to persuade?

Answer 3

-Obama enjoyed 96.7% support score 2009 when dems held both houses congress
-but fell to 57% 2011 when repubs won back the house
-then it reached 45.7% 2015 when lost senate 2014
-earlier in presidency able persuade + influence more than later in presidency

Question 4

What is the implied power of deal making?

Answer 4

-pres needs support of congress to pass their legislation but can make deals with politicians to get this
-pres may support policy that legislator is championing — support with election campaigning or deliver funding to their home-state or district

Question 5

What is an example of the implied power of deal making?

Answer 5

-periods of divided gov bipartisan deal making is essential to avoid gridlock
-trump made bipartisan deals to pass first step act 2018 - reformed criminal justice
-Trump made concessions to allow 1.4 trillion spending bill to pass dec 2019 avoiding repeal of previous 35 day gov shut down

Question 6

What is the implied power of setting the agenda?

Answer 6

-pres can command media spotlight + set political agenda
-pres decides whats discussed by journalists, political commentators + public
-also make speeches or statements to shape public opinion to promote own policies

Question 7

What is an example of a president setting the agenda?

Answer 7

-Trump commandeered political agenda with controversial tweets
-2019 tweeted that 4 democrats congresswomen of colour (the squad) should go help fix broken countries they came from
-2020 Trump said covid ‘Chinese disease’ + blamed Chinese gov for pandemic

Question 8

What is the implied power of the president being De facto party leader?

Answer 8

-pres head of party + can influence membership
-helpful if pres controls both houses as easier convince congress pass legislation
-if pres doesn’t control both then influence on party limited — obamas low pres support score in final years

Question 9

What is an example of the president being de facto party leader?

Answer 9

-pres who controls both houses can still struggle
-2017 repubs controlled both but Trump unable convince congress fully repeal Obamacare 2010 even thought it was a pledge in trumps campaign

Question 10

What is the implied power of the president being world leader?

Answer 10

-pres often called ‘leader of the free world’
-US dominated global policies + international institutions like UN, NATO, WTO + G7 group of advanced economies

Question 11

What is an example of the president being world leader?

Answer 11

-following 9/11 W. Bush led international coalition in ‘war on terror’
-Obama convinced nations to sign up to 2015 Paris agreement on climate change + 2015 Iran nuclear deal

Question 12

What did Trump do as world leader?

Answer 12

-Trump less interested in international leadership
-withdrew from Paris agreement + Iran deal
-he sent mixed signals about US commitment to NATO

Question 13

What was the impact of Trumps policy on being world leader?

Answer 13

-‘America first’ policy led Trump to take abrasive approach to USA traditional allies

Question 14

What is direct authority?

Answer 14

-means power of pres to take action directly without consulting congress

Question 15

How is direct authority of the pres achieved?

Answer 15

-by stretching implied powers to create new set of informal powers beyond those set out by constitution
-e.g. exec orders, signing statements + agreements

Question 16

What is an example of the president using direct authority?

Question 17

Who other implied powers come under the president direct authority?

Answer 17

-executive orders
-signing statements
-executive agreements

Question 18

What are executive orders?

Answer 18

-official order made by pres directly to federal gov
-has affect of law but can be easily reverse by next pres unlike real law by congress

Question 19

How did Eisenhower use his executive order?

Answer 19

-used 1957 to send federal troops to enforce racial desegregation of central high school in Little Rock, Arkansas

Question 20

How did Obama use his executive order power?

Answer 20

-relied on executive orders after became frustrated with congress’s resistance to his agenda
-used orders as alternative to legislation - increased federal minimum wage

Question 21

What is the president direct authority power of signing statements?

Answer 21

-use them when sign bill into law but wish to comment on it
-positive comment or argue aspects of bill are unconstitutional + gov won’t enforce them
-controversial - used to achieve line-item veto

Question 22

What is an example of the president signing statements?

Answer 22

-SC declared the line-item veto unconstitutional 1996 via line-item veto act
-used to criticise legislation — Trump used ur to criticise 2017 bill imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran + North Korea
-it affected his constitutional powers to conduct foreign policy

Question 23

What are executive agreements?

Answer 23

-made between USA + international govs
-signed by pres + don’t require senate ratification like normal treaty
-used to avoid lengthy + unproductive negotiations with senators

Question 24

What is an example of executive agreements?

Answer 24

-easy to make but are easier to remove than ratified treaties + can be abandoned
-Trump withdrew from Obamas 2015 Paris agreement + 2015 Iran nuclear deal