PRESIDENT - power to persuade Flashcards
Richard Neustadt and Presidential Power
in his 1960 book, he suggested that ‘presidential power is the power to persuade’
this indicates that the president has limited constitutional power to enforce political change so the president can ask congress to accept his views but he has limited power to back this up and enforce it successfully.
the current system of separation of powers means that almost every power that the president possesses, is checked by Congress and so it has been more difficult for presidents to use their persuasive powers (worsened with divided governments)
Mckay’s four rules for new presidents organising the White House to help with PoP
- exploit the honeymoon period of presidency
Biden ensured key roles in their cabinets were appointed when they came to office.
Trump was slower at appointing which hindered his progress in the earlier months of his presidency.
Mckay’s four rules for new presidents organising the White House to help with PoP
- appoint a good chief of staff
Biden appointed a veteran political operative Ron Klain.
Trump got through four chiefs of staff within the first term.
Mckay’s four rules for new presidents organising the White House to help with PoP
- use closed discussion for the nitty gritty
Obama was successful at this - ensured his healthcare reforms were tailored to achieve most of what he wanted and to gain support from the whole party.
he dropped radical elements of the reform so that he sold the final programme more effectively.
Biden did this too for the American Rescue Plan in 2021 ($1.9 trillion stimulus bill for struggling people due to covid-19 pandemic). He reached out to ALL sections of his party.
Mckay’s four rules for new presidents organising the White House to help with PoP
- build an esprit de corps between staffers and cabinet secretaries
esprit de corps = mutual pride and shared loyalty between members of a group.
Bush was great on this as he capitalised off of 9/11 - his whole administration united around him and his war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11 –> Barbara Lee was the only representative to vote against AUMFs on Sep 14th 2001.
Define lame duck presidency
when a president is coming to the end of their second term, then this is where they lose most of their political power and struggle to implement policy objectives.
esprit de corps usually reduces during the lame duck presidency stage.
What three forms of direct authority can a president impose to ensure some of the political goals that presidents may seek?
Exec orders
Exec agreements
Signing statements
DIRECT factors affecting PoP
Exec orders
Trump example
whilst they cannot use exec orders to create new legislation, presidents use exec orders to give instructions to federal departments and agencies regarding enforcement of legislation.
while he criticised exec orders on the campaign trail, Trump signed more exec orders in his first 100 days than any other president since WWII - this rate slowed and exec orders have been rapidly declining.
Muslim Ban exec order 13769 2017
Eval - Biden spent his first 100 days in office reversing many Trump policies, including the Muslim Ban.
DIRECT factors affecting PoP
How Exec orders can be overturned by deeming them unconstitutional
exec orders can be deemed unconstitutional by federal courts, SCOTUS, and by congress -
e.g., Trump issued exec order 13768 on Jan 25th 2017 which is a legally binding order dealing with enforcement of immigration. It announced a massive expansion of interior immigration enforcement - puts Dreamers, families, and long-term residents at risk of deportation if they are unauthorised.
In Nov 2017, the exec order was declared unconstitutional by Judge Orrick who issued a nationwide injunction (judicial order restraining a person from beginning or continuing an action) against its implementation.
the exec order was rescinded by Joe Biden in Jan 2021.
DIRECT factors affecting PoP
Exec agreements
Climate
agreement reached between president and a foreign nation on matters that do not need formal treaties.
presidents typically sign 200 exec agreements annually. - they circumvent the senate because they do not require senate ratification, so they are useful for divided governments.
Obama, in 2015, joined the Paris Accord which was an exec agreement. In Jan 2021, Biden re-joined the agreement, essentially undermining Trump’s rescind.
DIRECT factors affecting PoP
Signing statements
K-12 Cyber Security Act
Oct 2021
statement issued by president on signing a bill which challenges specific provisions of the bill on constitutional /other grounds.
they are criticised for overusing presidential power because the correct and constitutional action would be to veto the bill or await ruling on the law’s constitutionality from SCOTUS.
in his signing statement for the Act, B praises the bipartisan support of Congress in passing the law which highlights the significance of protecting sensitive information maintained by schools across the country.
What three indirect factors affect the power of persuasion of a president?
electoral mandate
public approval
national events
INDIRECT factors affecting PoP
Electoral mandate
hyper-partisanship = presidents are less likely to be able to sweep the board in an electoral landslide.
no president has been elected with more than 55% of the vote since Reagan’s landslide in 1984.
divided govt = even an electoral mandate wouldn’t help a president to pass legislation in congress.
Biden came into office with just over 51% , beating Trump (47%) but this was hardly enough to get things done.
INDIRECT factors affecting PoP
Public approval
even if Bush had these stats:
Sep 7-10 = 51%
Sep 14-15 = 86%
but in his last three years in office, his approval rating rarely went above 40%
INDIRECT factors affecting PoP
National events
they can make or break a leader -
Bush capitalised on 9/11 and it was successful for him.
Trump was impacted heavily by coronavirus = his handling of the pandemic plunged his approval rating to 35%
