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US Politics > President > Flashcards

President Flashcards

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1
Q

President definition

A

head of US government, head of state and commander-in-chief of the military

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2
Q

Formal powers

A

powers given to the president by the constitution or congress

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3
Q

Informal powers

A

powers that have political not constitutional basis

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4
Q

Enumerated powers

A

explicitly granted to the president by article II or delegated by Congress

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5
Q

Inherent powers

A

not set out in the constitution but are needed by the president to carry out their constitutional role

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5
Q

Implied powers

A

implied by the text of the constitution

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6
Q

Roosevelt’s use of implied powers

A

1940’s as USA entered the second world war, he issued an executive order to suspend the civil liberties of 120000 Japanese Americans and forced them into camps

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6
Q

Bush’s use of inherent powers

A

After 9/11 Bush ordered the detention of terrorist suspects for an indefinite period despite laws against torture (he was largely criticized for this)

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7
Q

FP: Executive powers

A
  • control the federal bureaucracy (15 departments)
  • prepares annual federal budget using OMB but cannot pass
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8
Q

FP: Power to influence passage of legislation through Congress

A
  • can propose legislation
  • signs bill into law
  • leaves bills ‘on the desk’ (pocket veto)
  • veto a bill (Trump used 10 times)
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9
Q

FP: Appointment powers

A
  • nominates officials to key posts (4000 possible positions)
  • impact of judicial appointments can be long lasting even after the president has left office
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10
Q

FP: Foreign policy powers

A
  • commander in chief head of US armed forces
  • ability to use nuclear weapons
  • use drone strikes and special forces to kill terrorists
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11
Q

FP: Power to grant pardons

A
  • can pardon anyone convicted of a federal crime (except impeachment)
  • can be pre-emptive (Ford pardoned Nixon after he resigned to avoid impeachment- Watergate scandal) or after death (Trump and Jack Johnson white woman)
  • Clinton granted 140 on his final day in office
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12
Q

IP: Power to persuade

A
  • convince other political actors that they should be on their side
  • they use influence, authority and capital to win support
  • can be constrained based on control over Congress
  • Obama presidential support score 96.7% in unified government dropped to 57% after divided government
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13
Q

IP: Deal-making

A
  • make deals to secure support of Congress
  • Eg. Offering to support a policy a legislator is championing
  • in divided government, bipartisan deal making important to avoid gridlock
  • Trump did this to pass First Step Act 2018
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14
Q

IP: Setting the agenda

A
  • determines what issues are discussed by journalists, commentators and the public
  • can shape public opinion through things like speeches
  • Trump and his tweets (COVID the ‘Chinese virus’)
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15
Q

IP: De facto party leader

A
  • head of the party so can influence membership
  • most powerful when president controls Congress
  • Trump had majority and couldn’t repeal Obamacare
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16
Q

IP: Direct authority

A
  • power to take action without consulting Congress
  • done by stretching implied powers
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17
Q

DA: Executive orders

A
  • official order directly to the federal government
  • effect of law but can be easily reversed
  • not in Constitution
  • Roosevelt had 3721
  • Eg. Eisenhower used to send federal troops to enforce racial desegregation in Little Rock
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18
Q

DA: Signing statements

A
  • when they sign bill into law and want to comment on it
  • controversial as it may allow for an illegal type of veto
  • can be use to criticize legislation
19
Q

DA: Executive agreements

A
  • between USA and international government
  • signed by president and do not need Senate ratification
20
Q

DA: Bureaucratic power

A

EXOP offices help president to:
- run federal government
- develop policy
- write legislation
- communicate with the public
- negotiate trade deals

21
Q

Prevailing judicial philosophy of the Supreme Court

A
  • balance of the SC depends on how many justices are liberal/conservative
  • presidents with same ideology as majority in SC most likely to receive favourable rulings
22
Q

Attitudes of the media and public opinion

A
  • Obama felt that his administration was unfairly attacked by Fox News
  • Trump claimed his agenda was be undermined by ‘fake news’ and was aggressive towards liberal leaning channels (Eg.CNN)
  • presidents with high approval ratings are more likely to win re-election
23
Q

Cabinet definition

A

Group of advisers and policy specialists chosen by the president to help run the federal government
- includes the vice president and heads of 15 executive departments

24
Q

Cabinet officers backgrounds

A
  • Former politicians: Hilary Clinton was Obama’s secretary of state
  • Academics: Obama appointed Nobel prize winner
  • Experts in their field: Trump’s secretary of the treasury was previously an investment banker
  • Military officers: formal general as Trump’s secretary of defense
  • Lobbyists: former coal lobbyist head of Environmental Protection Agency
25
Q

The Cabinet

A
  • makeup of cabinet reflects perspective and experience (Bush wanted business experts, Obama wanted Ivy League, Trump wanted rich people)
  • presidents do not have to take their advice and can be dismissed if the president is not satisfied
26
Q

Cabinet meetings

A
  • chaired by the president
  • meets a few times a year
  • presidents have one on one meetings with specific cabinet officers
  • Reagan held many meetings
27
Q

EXOP

A

Group of offices that support the president
- set up by Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression
- employs 3,000 - 4,000 staff headed by White House chief of staff

28
Q

White House office

A
  • works closest with president
  • 400 employees
  • includes office of: legislative affairs, cabinet affairs, communications etc.
  • in the West Wing
  • appointments at the discretion of president
29
Q
A
30
Q

National Security Council

A
  • discussing and managing national security or foreign policy issues
  • chaired by president and includes secretary of state, military advisor and vice president runs the room where the president and team coordinates responses to domestic or international crises
31
Q

Federal bureaucracy and agencies

A
  • leader of each executive department is directly accountable to the president
  • more than 60 federal agencies (independently run)
32
Q

Example of executive departments

A
  • Agriculture
  • Labour
  • Justice
  • Defense
  • Energy
33
Q

Examples of independent federal agencies

A
  • US Postal Service
  • National Science Foundation
  • Federal Reserve System
34
Q

The relationship between the president and their chief of staff

A
  • crucial to the running of the executive branch
  • Obama’s chief coordinated the work of cabinet officers
  • Trump’s chief resigned after 6 months
35
Q

The presidents approach towards their wider staff

A
  • during every presidency,advisors hockey for access to the president to increase their influence and personal status
  • Obama’s White House was run effectively with a sense of shared purpose among most of the staff
  • Trump failed to fill 280 positions (led to reports of chaos)
  • advisors that did not agree were usually sacked
36
Q

The extent to which the president uses EXOP

A
  • policy czars work in the White House
  • Obama criticized fro him use of policy czars
  • policy czars arguably subject to less scrutiny
37
Q

Policy czars definition

A

Government officials who are responsible for a particular area of policy (Eg. Paul Volckar the economic czar)

38
Q

The extent to which EXOP staff act as political operatives

A
  • political advisers are political appointees but should be able to speak truth to power to assist the president
  • many EXOP staff act as political operatives not neutral assistants
39
Q

Presidents view of the federal bureaucracy and agencies

A
  • democrats usually increase the scope as they believe federal government plays a positive role (Eg. Roosevelt)
  • republicans usually think federal government is wasteful and inefficient, removing too much power from states (Trump saying he’ll ‘drain the swamp’)
40
Q

The waxing and waning of Obama’s power

A
  • elected in 2008
  • first black president
  • received highest approval ratings since 1970’s in his first 100 days
  • unified government at that time so he passed Obamacare
  • lost control of Congress 2010
  • divided government but personal popularity was strong
  • after Sandy Hook shooting he couldn’t pass gun control legislation
  • last 2 terms he was a lame duck president
41
Q

Imperilled president

A

Presidency is weak and ots effectiveness is limited by Congress and an excessively large federal bureaucracy that prevents it from taking action
- argued by Ford

42
Q

Imperial presidency

A

Presidency has an emperor like character
- argued by Nixon

43
Q

Ford as imperilled

A
  • new laws passed after his time in office to restrict presidents power (forcing president to seek congressional approval before ordering military action)
44
Q

Nixon as imperial

A
  • authorized military intervention without telling Congress
  • Watergate scandal (illegal methods to advance his own interests)
45
Q

Imperial arguments

A
  • Nixon’s actions during Vietnam War
  • presidents do not ask Congress to declare war
  • they have access to emergency powers
  • make use of direct authority to bypass Congress
46
Q

Imperilled arguments

A
  • Congress responded with War Powers Act 1973
  • presidents can be forced to use direct authority to avoid gridlock
  • lame duck periods
  • government shutdowns

US Politics (8 decks)

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