Informal sources of presidential power: The Executive Office of the President Flashcards
What is EXOP an umbrella term for?
The top staff agencies in the White House that assist the President in carrying out the major responsibilities of office by providing advice, cooperation and administrative support
What prompted the creation of EXOP in 1939?
The Brownlow Committee reported to FDR that ‘the President needs help’
List the three main reasons why Presidents now needed more support
- Westward expansion and industrialisation had increased the remit of the federal government and meant that by 1939 the President now had 8 government departments to oversee instead of 5
- FDR’s New Deal made the federal government a major employer
- The USA was becoming a major player in would politics, meaning as commander-in-chief, the President would have to spend much of their time dealing with the impact of the Cold War
How many offices did EXOP grow to include across the 20th century and which were the most notable?
A dozen, with the WHO, NSC and OMB becoming he most important
How many EXOP employees were there by the end of the 20th century?
Over 2000
What made Trump’s relationship with EXOP unique?
There was an 86% turnover of top officials and a culture of sackings and resignations, this contrasted with a long standing culture of stability within EXOP
What is the White House Office?
The personal office of the President within EXOP containing the staff that facilitate presidential communication with Congress, department and agency heads and the public
What kind of people will make up WHO?
The Presidents most trusted aids and advisers
Who is in charge of running the WHO?
The White House chief of staff
What does the WHO act as a liaison between?
The WH and the vast federal bureaucracy
What is the most important appointment the President will make in the executive branch?
WH chief of staff
What is the best model for a WH chief of staff?
Someone who seeks the President’s interests over their own and always protects the President from political harm
What did Dick Cheney say about his role when he was Ford’s WH chief of staff?
‘He takes credit; I take blame’
Why was Trump’s relationship with the role of WH chief of staff?
He only appointed one because he felt obliged, dismissing and undermining whoever held the role
Why was Trump’s dismissal of the role of WH chief of staff a bad political choice?
It is necessary to have people around you who will tell you the truth, because the Presidency is such an isolated position. The fact that Trump refused to have anyone critical around him left him with a blind spot. This could cause the President to sour crucial relationships
How was the OMB created?
When Nixon revamped the Bureau of Budget in 1970
List the three principle functions of the OMB?
- Advise the President on the budget
- Oversee spending in federal departments and agencies
- Act as a clearing branch for executive initiatives
Why must all executive initiatives go through the OMB?
So they can be analysed for their budgetary implications and their conduciveness to the President’s policy programme
What is the National Security Council?
The part of EXOP that acts as the President’s official forum for deliberating security and foreign policy ideas
When was the NSC established?
1947
Who heads up the NSC?
The National Security Advisor (NSA)
How did Nixon change the way the NSC worked?
He decided to use it as a means of coordinating foreign policy from the WH because he didn’t trust the state department, seeing it as too liberal
What was the problem with the way Nixon changed the NSC?
It enhanced and politicised the role of the NSC, which caused problems for future Presidents
What did Bush Jr, Obama and Clinton do to the NSC?
Changed it from its new role of foreign policy creation to its old role of foreign policy coordination
What will the NSC do to coordinate foreign policy?
Gather information coming in from, the CIA, State Department and Department for Defense and liaise with Congress on behalf of the President
Why did the NSC take a back seat under Obama?
Because Clinton was Secretary of State
What did Condeleeza Rice do as Bush’s NSA?
She was his enabler and enforcer, a translator of his instincts and intuitions into actual policy
Describe Obama’s NSAs
Men like general James Jones and Tom Donilon who fitted the ‘honest broker’ style of working and had a ‘passion for anonymity’, which is meant to characterise those who work in EXOP
Why were Trump and Nixon unusual in how they dealt with NSA?
They did not read briefing notes, preferring to receive oral reports
Why were Nixon and Trump still different here?
Because while Nixon would listen to Henry Kissenger, numerous sources suggested that Trump was resistant to advice that countered his own views
What was Trump thinking when he appointed his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as a permanent NSC member?
It seemed to signal his intention to use the NSC as a political - rather than a coordinating - forum
