informal powers of the president

Question 1

list their informal powers:

Answer 1

1. persuasion
2. deal making
3. setting the agenda
4. de facto party leader
5. world leader
6. executive orders
7. signing statements
8. agreements
   (6,7+8 = direct authority)

Question 2

describe the power of persuasion with an example:

Answer 2

because power is shared between the federal branches and the states, persuasion is a key skill for any president so that agreements and compromise can be reached
-obama had 96.7% presidential support score in 2009 when the democrats held both houses, whereas in 2011 when republicans had won back the house it was at 57%, therefore earlier on in his presidency he was able to persuade and influence more effectively

Question 3

describe the power of deal making with an example:

Answer 3

-presidents still need the support of congress to pass their legislation, and often make deals with politicians to achieve this
-a president might offer to support a policy that a legislator is championing
-during times of divided gov., deal making is essential to avoid gridlock
-trump made bipartisan deals to pass the 2018 First Step Act, which reformed social justice

Question 4

describe the power of setting the agenda with an example:

Answer 4

-presidents determine what issues are discussed by journalists
-they can shape public opinion in speeches/statements
-in 2020 trump used his position to claim that the election had been ‘stolen’ and told his supporters to attack capitol hill

Question 5

describe the power of being de facto party leader with an example:

Answer 5

-president is effectively head of their party
-they can influence membership which is particularly helpful if their party controls both houses, meaning they can easily convince congress to pass legislation
-if a president doesn’t control congress their influence on their party will be limited
-however even a president whose party controls both houses may not have unconditional support, e.g. in 2017 the republicans supported both houses but Trump was unable to convince congress to fully reappeal obama’s affordable care act

Question 6

describe the power of being world leader with an example:

Answer 6

-often described as this because the US is the most powerful liberal democracy and military superpower
-US dominates global politics e.g. UN, NATO
-Reagan led western democracies against the USSR during the cold war
-however some presidents are less interested in international leadership e.g. trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal

Question 7

what is direct authority?

Answer 7

-the power of a president to take action directly without consulting congress
-this is achieved by ‘stretching’ the implied powers to create a new set of informal powers beyond those implied in the constitution…. see below

Question 8

describe the power of executive orders with an example:

Answer 8

-way in which the president can bypass congress, as executive orders don’t need to be approved by them
-Bush used executive orders to monitor suspected terrorist suspects after 9/11, essentially removing their rights

Question 9

describe the power of signing statements with an example:

Answer 9

-used when a president comments on a bill when signing it into law
-can be negative or argumentative if its unconstitutional
-2017 bill sanctioning Russia, Iran and North Korea (Trump)

Question 10

describe the power of agreements with an example:

Answer 10

-agreements made between the US and an international government
-they’re different from treaties as they don’t require senate ratification
-they’re very easy to remove
-Obama’s 2015 Paris agreement and 2015 Iran nuclear deal were both very easily reappealed by Trump as soon as he became president