Presidency Flashcards
Which article of the Constitution prescribes the powers of the president?
Article 2
What are the formal needs the president must meet?
- 35 years old
- US born
- Resident for the past 14 years
What are the first 4 sections of article 2?
Section 1 - nature
Section 2 - powers
Section 3 - responsibilities
Section 4 - impeachment
What is the nature of the presidency?
- Executive powers
- 4 year terms
- Presidential election explanations
⤷ i.e. age requirements etc
What are the powers of the president?
- Commander in Chief
- Pardons and reprieves
- Treaties
- Appointment of ambassadors
- Recess appointments
What are the responsibilities of the president?
- State of Union address
- Special sessions
- Receive ambassadors
- Faithfully execute laws
What is meant by impeachment?
- For ‘treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours’
What else can the president control?
The federal bureaucracy
What is the executive branch made up of?
President
Vice President
Executive Office of the president (EXOP)
White House, Office of Management and Budget, National Security Council
Cabinet - 15 Heads of Departments (HOD) + other officers
Federal Bureaucracy
⤷ Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Corporations
Approx 2m civilian employees and 1.5m uniformed and military employees
What are the enumerated powers of the president?
- Commander in chief
- Negotiate treaties
- State of Union address
- Appointment of ambassadors/judges
- Recess appointments
- Pardon
- Convene special sessions
- Approval/ veto of legislation
What are the implied powers of the president?
- Establish a cabinet
- Executive agreements
- Executive orders
- Executive privilege
Which amendments relate to the president?
12th - refines presidential electoral procedures
20th - inauguration moved earlier
22nd - limits 2 term presidents
25th - clarifies line of succession and the procedure for an incapacitated president
What are the 12 formal sources of presidential power?
- Approval of legislation
⤷ i.e. signing bill, veto, pocket veto - State of Union address
- Appointments
- Executive orders
- Executive memoranda
- Presidential proclamations
- Signing statements
- Pardons and reprieves
- Special sessions
- Treaties and executive agreements
- Commander in Chief
- Receival of ambassadors
What are examples for approval of legislation?
- Bill signing
⤷ Bush - No Child Left Behind (bipartisan, standard levels)
⤷ Obamacare 2010
⤷ Trump - signed a $1.4tr spending bill hours after tweeting he’d veto it to avoid a third govt shutdown - Veto
⤷ Roosevelt - 635 total, 9 overridden
⤷ Obama - Keystone Pipeline bill 2015 (environmental concerns)
⤷ Trump - Iran War Powers Resolution (would have removed armed forced from Iran unless Congress declared war) had 49-44 to override but not 2/3
⤷ Trump - Yemen War Powers Resolution (same as Iran) - Veto override
⤷ Obama - 1/12 - Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASRA) 97-1 - Pocket veto
⤷ if Congress isn’t adjourned and the president doesn’t sign a bill within 10 days, it gets sent back to the beginning
⤷ e.g. Bankruptcy Reform Act 2000
What are examples of state of union successes?
Clinton - Assault weapons ban 1995
⤷ 10 year ban
W Bush - Healthcare reform 2003
⤷ made prescriptions more affordable
Obama - gay rights 2010
⤷ Don’t ask, Don’t tell Repeal Act (gays in the military)
Biden - abortion 2022
⤷ appointed Kentaji Brown Jackson
What are examples of state of union failures?
Clinton - healthcare reform 1994
⤷ failed in congress
Obama - gun control 2013
Trump - repeal Obamacare 2018
⤷ failed and courts left to decide
Trump - $1.5tr infrastructure bill 2018
⤷ longest govt shutdown over the wall
Biden - abortion 2022
⤷ Dobbs v Jackson
What are appointment successes?
Obama - Sotomayor
Trump - Kavanaugh and Barrett
Biden - Brown Jackson
Trump - all cabinet confirmed
⤷ e.g. RFK, Pete Hegseth, Musk
What are appointment failures?
w. Bush - Harriet Miers withdrew SC
H.W Bush - John Tower denied defence as he had rumoured to be a drunk
Obama - Judd Gregg for commerce withdrew over differences
Obama - Garland
What are examples of executive orders?
Obama - Congress refused to raise the min wage so he signed one to raise wage of federal employees to $10.10
Trump (1st) - weakening of Obamacare
Trump (2nd) - DOGE, ended covid vaccines mandates in schools, ending DEI, withdrawal from WHO, Gulf of America
How many EOs did Trump sign? Why was this controversial?
58 in his first year
72 in his first month 2025
controversial as he criticised their use under Obama
What is executive memoranda?
Acts to manage the actions of departments in the exec branch
What is an example of exec memoranda?
Trump 2025
- hiring freeze for all federal civilian positions
- return to in-person work
⤷ terminate remote work arrangements
What are presidential proclamations?
- Mainly ceremonial
- Mostly highlight a day of importance
⤷ Clinton - 554
⤷ Bush - 941, e.g. Sep 13th - National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
⤷ Trump - Feb 9th - Gulf of America Day 2025
What is the signing of statements?
Highlights the positives/negatives of a bill before signing it into law
What is an example of signing statements?
Positive
- Biden - COVID-19 Origin Act 2023
⤷ ending misinformation and releasing more info
Negative
- Obama - National Defence Authorisation Act 2011
⤷ concerns over detention and interrogation of prisoners
What was a controversial pardon Obama made?
Chelsea Manning
- leaked classified military intelligence showing Iraq atrocities
- charged with ‘aiding the enemy’, 35years
What pardons did Obama make to drug offenders?
- Tried to reform laws but was unsuccessful
⤷ reps had House and Senate in 2014 - 330 commutations
decided by a group of lawyers who reviewed applications
⤷ Clemency Project 2014
Why was Obama’s clemency controversial?
- More than the previous 13 presidents combined
⤷ over 1715
⤷ e.g. Clinton - 200 - the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act did not pass therefore was an overstep of his powers
What are special sessions?
When the president calls for the House/Senate/Congress to convene out of usual times
When have special sessions been used?
- Last time was 1948
⤷ Truman - Congress to address the cost of living
How are treaties and exec agreements limited?
- Treaties need Senate approval
⤷ EV - over 90% of international agreements are w/o Senate advice - Agreements need legal support in congressional legislation
What are examples of exec agreements?
Obama - Paris Climate Accord
⤷ split Congress
⤷ reversed by Trump
What is an example of a treaty?
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 2018
⤷ free trade
⤷ replaced NAFTA (essentially an updated version)
What are the powers of commander in chief?
- Head of army, navy, and air-force
- Const is unclear on their extent
How have the powers of commander in chief been limited?
War Powers Resolution 1973
- Congress must declare war before troops are sent
⤷ EV - state of emergency can get around this
When has the War Powers Resolution been overlooked?
9/11
- Congress authorised military force against terrorists
⤷ allowed for invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq
⤷ establishment of Guantanamo Bay
Operation Desert Fox 1998
- Clinton ordered the bombing of Iraq
- up to 1400 Iraqi soldiers killed and 120 civilians
- no authorisation
Libya 2011
- Obama sent attacks on Libyan air defences
- White House lawyers defended as he did not declare war
What is the purpose of receiving ambassadors?
- Shows allies and partnerships
⤷ e.g. Obama 2011 - Sudanese envoy represented his recognition of Sudan
⤷ e.g. Obama 2014 - meeting with Dalai Lama despite China’s issues
What are the 2 roles of the president?
Head of state (international)
Head of Government (domestic)
What does the role of head of state entail?
- Grant pardons
- Attend global summits
⤷ e.g. G7 - Being ‘consoler in chief’
⤷ e.g. Bush post 9/11 - Receiving/nominating ambassadors
What does the role of head of govt entail?
- Approval of legislation
- Appointing cabinet
- State of Union address
How does the role of the President compare to the role of the Monarch?
Limits
- UK - Bill of Rights 1689
- US - Constitution
To do:
Foreign policy
Imperial v imperilled
comparing to UK
