Presidency Flashcards
Describe the role of the president as Head of State.
the President is seen as a figurehead of the country, the main authority and must be in charge in time of crisis. Bush was a good example after 9/11.
How can media influence the role of Head of State?
Presidents will often engage the media to make their presence more known. For example, Trump and his endless use of Twitter.
What does the role of Head of Government mean?
The President is chief executive of the federal office of the executive.
What are the executive powers of the President?
- chief executive of the federal govt
- prepares the annual budget
What are the legislative powers of the President?
- proposes legislation
- signs legislation
- can veto laws
What are the appointment powers of the President?
- nominates executive officials
- nominates federal judges
What are the foreign affairs powers of the President?
- commander-in-chief
- negotiates treaties
What other people does the president have?
pardons
Describe the power of acting as chief executive
- the power is giving in the first 15 words of Article 2
- allows them to control EXOP which helps with running the country
Describe the power of submitting the budget.
- the Office of Management and Budget draws up the federal budget before the president submits it to Congress. It can cause disputes as seen in the shutdown 2018-9
Describe the power of proposing legislation.
- can do it through the annual State of the Union address or after calling a press conference or at a public event.
- In 2018, Trump used his SOUA to promise a crackdown on immigration
Describe the power of signing legislation.
- there are often elaborate bill signing ceremonies which makes the president seen more prestigious.
Describe the power of vetoing legislation.
- altogether, presidents have used around 1500 vetoes
- Trump used 10 vetoes, 9 were successful
- can be overridden by a 2/3 majority
- Obama’s veto on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was overturned.
- they also have the pocket veto.
Describe the power of nominating exec branch officials.
- they have patronage to appt to the cabinet
- Biden’s cabinet was the most diverse ever.
- Antony Blinken - Sec of State
- Presidents can also make nominations to lower positions.
Describe the power of nominating federal judges.
- arguably the biggest legacy of a president
- Trump got 3 nominations which was huge
- needs a simple majority in the Senate.
Trump’s appts were Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney-Barrett.
Describe the power of acting as commander-in-chief.
- increased after 9/11
- Obama was drawn into conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria
- Trump withdrew troops from Syria and Afghanistan in 2019.
- Congress is increasingly losing its powers here. It has allowed for far more presidential control
Describe the power of negotiating treaties.
- Obama negotiated a Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia
- president’s power is checked by the Senate’s need to ratify.
- However, Presidents can sign executive agreements instead.
- In 1999, Clinton failed to get a majority on the Comprehensive test Ban Treaty.
Describe the power of Pardon.
- can remove criminal charges from people
- Obama pardoned 212 people
- Trump worked with Kim Kardashian to pardon Alice Marie Johnson who served 22 years for a non-violent related drug crime.
What are the 3 main powers of the VP?
- taking over from the president
- acting as presiding officer of the Senate
- presiding over the counting of the Electoral College votes
Describe the power of the VP to take over from the president.
- 9 VPs have become president after being VP
- In 1974, after Nixon resigned, Ford took over as president for example.
Describe the power of the VP to act as the presiding officer of the Senate.
- can cast the deciding vote in a tie
- Biden never used this in his two terms as VP
- Mike Pence however made 13 tie breaking votes
Describe the power of the VP to preside over the Electoral College counting.
- was purely ceremonial until 2021 when Trump used it to overturn and claim that the election results were fake. Pence followed the constitution and ignored Trump. The storming of the Capitol was mixed in all of this.
What are informal powers?
powers that are political not constitutional.
What are the informal sources of president power?
- the cabinet
- EXOP
- White House Office
- National security council
- OMB
- Power of persuasion
- Executive orders
- Executive agreements
- Signing statements
- electoral mandate
- public approval
- national events
What is the historical background of the cabinet?
- originally 3 departments, now there are 15
- was not outlined in the constitution
- Washington had a cabinet to help advise him
- generally have specialists appointed such as Lloyd Austin in 2021 who was an retired army general made defence secretary
- highly unusual for Senate to reject appts
When was a presidential appt to cabinet nearly dropped?
2017 - Pence had to cast the final vote on the appt of Betsy DeVos as education secretary.
What is a balanced cabinet?
A cabinet with a mix of gender, race, ethnicity, age and religion.
How was Trump’s cabinet descrived?
‘older, richer and whiter’ than his predecessors.
How many cabinet meetings did Obama and Trump hold?
Obama - 28
Trump - 25
Who attends cabinet meetings?
heads of exec departments, the VP, administration officials.
How many changes were made in Trump’s cabinet?
- Even before the end of his 3rd year, he was on his 5th secretary for defence.
Why are cabinet meetings largely not productive?
they are made up of people who are specialists on one policy area and therefore have little to contribute in other areas.
What are the functions of cabinet?
- create team spirit
- create media coverage - Trump used it to show his dominance
- exchange info
- present ‘big picture’ items - eg discussing the response to COVID
- monitor congress - 3rd Feb 2015, Obama called a meeting to discuss the progress of Congress.
- prompt action
- enable personal contact
What was on the agenda of Trump’s cabinet meeting on 19th May 2020.
response to COVID-19
Why is cabinet never hugely important?
- ‘all executive’ power is with the President
- no doctrine of collective responsibility
- not political rivals
- the existence of EXOP.
What is EXOP?
Executive Office of the President - people who help the president carry out the running of the country on a daily basis.
When was EXOP established?
1939
Why was EXOP established?
- there had been a huge increase in the size of the federal government
- after the great depression, the states needed federal support
- the USA was about to become a major player in world politics
How many members does EXOP have?
2000
What happened in EXOP while Trump was president?
there was an 86% turnover of top officials
What is the White House Office?
the personal office of the president within EXOP.
How many offices are in the WHO?
30
What is the function of WHO?
helping and advising the president
What is the most important job in the WHO?
White House chief of staff
What is the danger of the White House Chief of Staff?
they become too powerful - like a deputy president
What is the best type of WH chief of staff?
one who seeks the best interest of the president rather than their own.
What is a famous WH chief of staff moment?
Andrew Card telling Bush about 9/11 in front of the Primary School Class
How did Trump fire his first chief of staff?
On Twitter in July 2017 when he said he would be replaced by Kelly
What happened to Kelly?
Trump casually announced that he would be leaving to reporters in 2019 by saying ‘John Kelly will be leaving, I don’t know if I can say ‘retiring’. But he is a great guy.’
How many chief of staff did Trump have?
4
Who created the OMB?
Nixon 1970.
What are the 3 main functions on OMB?
- advising the president on the allocation of federal funds
- overseeing the spending of federal departments
- act as a clearing house for initiatives coming from the exec branch
When was the National Security council established?
1947
What does the NSC do?
it is a forum for deliberating about national security and foreign policy
Who is the national security adviser for Biden?
Jake Sullivan.
How did Trump want to run the NSC?
he preferred to receive oral reports and would not read what was given to him. he would also be reluctant to listen to the advice given to him.
What is the power of persuasion?
when the president uses their prestige and bargaining methods to get what they want.
Why does the president need the power to persuade?
Congress is getting more and more powerful and almost all the powers of the president are checked by Congress.
What makes president control of Congress even more difficult?
divided govts
How ca a president get persuasion through people?
- appt the main positions early to exploit the honeymoon period of the presidency - means the presidency starts off well
- appoint a good chief of staff - in recent times the most successful has been Andrew Card for Bush
- used closed discussions when forming plans - ensure that big reforms have some appeal to most parties. Biden did this when trying to introduce the American rescue plan
- build a feeling of pride and loyalty - this can ensure that it is easier to persuade staff
What are the 3 sources of direct authority?
- executive orders
- executive agreements
- signing statements
What is an executive order?
an official document issued by the exec branch through force of law.
What type of power is an executive order?
an extra-constitutional power
How many executive orders did Trump use?
206