Presidency Unit 4 practice Flashcards
Explain how the president can implement a policy agenda.
Presidents use powers and perform functions of the office, with support from the Vice President, Cabinet, and Executive Office of the President, to accomplish a policy agenda.
The powers of the president include both formal and informal powers.
i. Vetoes and pocket vetoes are formal powers that enable the
president to Check Congress, but vetoes can be overridden with a
2/3 vote while pocket vetoes cannot be overridden with a 2/3 vote.
ii. Foreign policy powers that influence relations with foreign nations
are both formal (commander-in-chief and treaties) and informal
(executive agreements)
iii. Bargaining and persuasion are informal powers that enable the
president to secure congressional action.
iv. Executive orders allow the president to manage the federal
government and are implied by the president’s vested executive
power or by power delegated by Congress
v. Signing statements are informal powers that inform Congress and
the public of the president’s interpretation of laws passed by
Congress signed by the president.
Explain how the president’s agenda can create tension and frequent confrontations with Congress.
Senate confirmation is an important check on appointment powers but there can be a potential for conflict based on who is chosen by the president for appointments, including:
i. Cabinet members
ii. Ambassadors
iii. Some positions within the Executive Office of the President
iv. Supreme Court Judges, Court of Appeal judges, and District Court judges
Senate confirmation is an important check on:
appointment powers, but the president’s longest-lasting influence lies in life-tenured judicial appointments.
Policy conflicts with the congressional agenda (the formal list of policies Congress is considering at any given time) can lead the president to use:
executive orders and directives to the bureaucracy to address the president’s own agenda items.
