Presidents Flashcards
Explain the theories of Presidential Power
Power of Persuasion
1) Power of persuasion
= Refers to the power of the Pres to bargain and persuade those around him to achieve his policy goals
1960 – Professor Richard Neustadt suggested “the power of the President is the power to persuade” + all Pres have had the same constitutional power but success depends on how well they can persuade
– ‘Johnson Treatment’ - Lyndon B Johnson used gifts, talked to people individually in enclosed spaces, flattery, intimidation
Different methods
[I] Can appeal directly and morally to Congress, often through media
– Obama - Rose Garden Speech 2013 (convinced of need to take military action in Syria over govt’s use of chemical weapons)
[II] White house can be used as a ‘bully pulpit’
- Putting pressure on people
- Addresses from oval office
– Obama - used for gun control after San Bernardino shooting in 2015
– Trump transported entire Senate to White House for briefing on North Korea in 2017
[III] Pres can use his personal gravitas directly (phoning congressional leaders / personal meeting)
Examples:
Obama had meetings with Rep Speaker John Boehner to advance his leg agenda
Obama’s deputy chief of staff Messina phoned congressional leaders to ensure they’d vote for Sonia Sotomayor after a difficult quote of hers came to light in the Confirmation Hearings
[IV] Inducements
Imperial Presidency
= when constitutional checks are against the Pres are ineffective and as a result have huge power
1973 - Arthur Schlesinger - ‘The Imperial Presidency’
Factors that define imperial presidency:
1) Increase in size of executive office
- Pres can appoint 4,000 officials, only 1,200 need Senate approval - lack oversight
2) New executive agencies
Can imply fall in power of cabinet
E.g. Space Force - Trump
3) Power over foreign policy
4) Only accountable at election / impeachment –> ‘plebiscitary Presidency’
– Nixon - ‘when the Pres does it, it is not illegal’
–> Refused to spend funds Congress appropriated
–> During Vietnam War ordered harbours mined + bombing raids launched without consulting Congress
–> Reorganised executive branch without Congressional approval
–> Ordered military intervention in Cambodia and Laos without Congressional approval
– Iran Contra Affair
(when he left he had one of highest approval ratings - so didn’t matter)
– Woodrow Wilson = Sedition Act 1918 = prevented anyone criticising the govt
– During military intervention in Libya (2011), Obama justified bombing targets without Congressional approval
– 2020- Trump = diverted $3.8bn in Pentagon funding to build the wall
Imperilled Presidency
Pres who finds it difficult to exercise his constitutional powers in the face of overly effective checks and balances
‘Lame duck’ - lose election for 2nd term (Carter, Ford, George H. W. Bush) or serve 2 terms (Obama)
– 2016- Sup Court blocked Obama nominating Sup Court justices
– Passage of the Case Act (1972) = Pres must declare all executive agreements
– War Powers Resolution (1973) = restricted commitment of armed personnel in combat situations
– Impound Control Act (1974) = prevented Pres from impounding appropriations that didn’t fit with his agenda
– Creation of Accountability Office after Nixon
Explain the factors (/variables) that affect the power of a President
Elections (divided/united govt & electoral mandate)
Landslide victory - greater mandate
2008: Obama vs McCain = 365-175
– LBJ vs Barry Goldwater = 486-52
– Reagan vs Carter = 489-49
– Nixon vs McGovern = 520-17
Reagan vs Mondale = 525-13
FDR vs Langdon = 523-8
Cottails Effect – ability of a Pres to bring out supporters for other members of his party due to his own personality
Trump mocked in 2016 for having short coattails effect after Reps failed to gain office
Divided/united govt:
– FDR’s New Deal, LBJ’s Great Society, and Obama’s Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) were implemented when the same party controlled all three parts of government
Although divided, Dems worked with Ronald Reagan in 1980s
Events
Clinton
Oklahoma bombing – bomb in Oklahoma killed 168 people – Clinton used story f Richard Dean (who re-entered building 4 times to rescue people) to highlight Congress’ failings in allowing 2 govt. shutdowns
Monica Lewinsky scandal – Accused on lying under oath about relationship with Lewinsky – subject to impeachment (embarrassing, only narrowly found not guilty)
Bush Jr
9/11 – 90% approval rating - popularity
Hurricane Katrina – slow response + support of FEMA embarrassing
Obama
2007-2008 economic crash - bad
Sandy Hook shooting – 20 kids aged 6-7 killed – Obama appeared as mourner-in-chief to nation + advanced a gun control agenda (but no real change)
Hurricane Sandy – used it to make media headlines during 2012 presidential race so his rival didnt have much media mention
Trump
Hurricane Maria – slow response, later said it was a ‘great success’ - not a success
Trump 2018 had an improving economy but declining approval ratings
Relationship with other branches
–Obama openly criticised the Supreme Court in his 2010 State of the Union address. Thus, Obama suffered defeats in having his DAPA executive order and his recess appointments deemed unconstitutional
– Affect ideology:
ideology examples
– Trumps veto threats, attacks on congressional failure to repeal Obamacare and pressure to confirm Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court appointment frustrated Congress and led to it pushing back power
Explain the President’s control over foreign policy
Commander in chief
- These powers have broadened over time- last time Congress dec. war= 1941
- Congress tried to gain power back = War Powers Resolution (1973), but since then has been interpreted by pres. as unconstitutional + them not adhering to it hasn’t been challenged
– Afghanistan (Bush), Iraq (Bush), Vietnam (LBJ)
–Other examples - George HW Gulf War, Neo-con era of Bush, LBJ = ‘big fat win for aggression’
Reception of ambassadors
- Receives amb. from foreign nations, appointed to be their ambassador to the USA
- More sig. in recent times
– George Bush recognied Kosovo = 2008
– Obama recognised Sudan = 2011
– Vietnam not rec. till 1995 (prev war)
– Obama met with Dalai Lama 4 times in white house (he’s an exhile + campaigner of Tibetan independence, angered Chinese gov)
Treaties+ executive agreements
– Obama = Iran Nuclear Deal + Paris Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1992)
– Before 1940 = 1,200 executive agreements,
– 1940 - 1989 = 13,000+ executive agreements (with 800 treaties)
– New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (NEW START) in 2010 required negotiation by Pres + supermajority (2/3) in Senate
- During first 200 years, Senate has approved more than 1,500 treaties, only rejecting 21
– Treaty of Versailles rejected twice
– Clinton: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996) rejected
– Obama: Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2012)(treaty) rejected
– Jimmy Carter: Panama Canal Treaty (1977)
Explain the President’s relationship with Congress
Persuasion through people
The vice president:
- Many VPs have been past members of Congress, which has proved useful to persuade Congress
– Biden became the lead man of the Obama administration on in Congress and his role was critical on big-ticket issues.
Cabinet officers: Cabinet officers can be used to talk to members of Congress about their own policy area
– W Bush used Education Secretary Paige to sell his education reform package to Congress.
Party leadership in Congress: The Speaker, majority and minority leaders of both houses, party whips, committee chairs and ranking minority members
– W Bush was known to have a frosty relationship with the Democrat speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. – Charismatic presidents like Reagan or Clinton can more easily develop good relations with members of Congress
Persuasion through perks
- Pres might offer help with legislation that benefits that member’s state or district
– Senator Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) received funding for Medicaid expansion in her state for her vote for Obamacare
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- Might offer to campaign for them in the next congressional election
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- Might go on TV to appeal directly to the people = Johnson = “putting Congress’s feet to the fire”
– Nixon = called for support for Vietnam War on TV
– 1961 = 90% had watched at least one of JFK’s first 3 press conferences
– By 1963, JFK had 64 news conferences
– FDR’s fireside chats
Direct authority
= actions that require no congressional approval
- Executive orders:
– FDR = 3,721
– FDR - ‘Destroyers-for-bases deal’ - America gave Britain 50 overage destroyers in WWII in return for 99 year leases to certain naval bases
– Trump = repealed Obamacare
– Trump = temp. halt to refugee admissions
– 1957 = Eisenhower = end to racial segregation in schools
– FDR = transferred Japanese-Americans + German-Americans to camps in WW2
– Obama = banned torture (2009)
– Truman = nationalised steel industry
– Sup Court ruled in Youngstown v Sawyer Pres Truman couldn’t place steel mills under federal control because he couldn’t seize private property
– 1953 - Pres Eisenhower = allowed homosexuality to be a valid reason for rejecting an application/ firing someone from federal govt (only fully removed in 2017)
–1948 = Truman = desegregating military
- Signing statements, Recess appointments and Executive Agreements:
– Obama = Iran Nuclear Deal + Paris Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1992)
Before 1940 = 1,200 executive agreements, 1940 - 1989 = 13,000+ executive agreements (with 800 treaties)
or
Direct authority
Power of persuasion
People ~ relationship with speaker, vps being pres persuasion person
Explain the limitations of the President
Congress
1) Veto override
– Since 1789- 2590 vetoes, 112 overridden
– Bush- 4/12 vetoes
– Obama- 1/12 overridden
– Congress overrides the Pres less than 5% of the time
– Override Reagan’s veto of Civil Rights Act (1987) which banned discrimination based on gender
– Override Reagan’s veto of the Comprehensive Apartheid Act
– Obama = Saudia-Arabia compensation
2) ‘Power of the purse’ - refuse to fund wall
– Vietnam War
3) Decline to pass leg
– After Sandy Hook shooting 2012, Obama asked Congress to pass gun-control laws- nothing
– Congress rejected Trump’s proposals to cut Health Research Funds
– House passed bill rejecting Trump’s border wall emergency
– This can lead to gridlock and govt shutdowns: Reagan = 8 govt shutdowns
– President Clinton + Republican Congress unable to agree on spending levels
4) Confirm Pres appointments:
– 1,200 / 4,000
– Cabinet - rej - John Tower = Def. Sec
– Sup Court = Robert Bork 1987
– No action with Merrick Garland
– 2 of John Tyler’s appointments for treasury were rejected
– Calvin Coolidge’s nom = Charles B. Warren - rej.
– 1801-1989: 9 rejected, 5 withdrawn. 1993-2020: 0 rejected, 11 withdrawn
5) Impeachment
– Been 21 impeachments- 3 presidents
– Andrew Johnson = 1868
– Bill Clinton = 1998
– Donald Trump = 2019 and 2021
- All remained in office following acquittals
– Nixon resigned in 1974 after Congress started the impeachment process
6) Investigate pres actions -2019- inv. increased spending by US air force by a struggling Scottish airport by a resort Trump owned
Supreme Court
1) Judicial review
– Clinton v City of New York = line-item unconst.
– US v Nixon = ordered Pres to deliver White House tapes
– 2014: blocked Obama’s judicial nominations
– 2014: National Labour Relations Board v Noel Canning = Pres can’t rely on the Recess Appointments Clause to appoint public officials unless Senate in recess
– 2016: Obama’s use of executive orders to try and push immigration reform unconst.
–Trump doesn’t have pres immunity from prosecutions (appeals court not Sup)
– US v Texas (2016) - blocked Obama’s DAPA programme
Variables- elections, divided/united govt, events
-Elections:
2008: Obama vs McCain = 365-175
– LBJ vs Barry Goldwater = 486-52
– Reagan vs Carter = 489-49
– Jefferson vs Pinckney = 162-14
– Nixon vs McGovern = 520-17
Reagan vs Mondale = 525-13
FDR vs Langdon = 523-8
- Events:
– Obama = crash + Sandy Hook
– Bush = 9/11 (90%) + Hurricane Katrina
– Trump = Hurricane Maria
– Clinton = Oklahoma bombing + Lewinsky
- United / divided govt
– FDR’s New Deal, LBJ’s Great Society, and Obama’s Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) were implemented when the same party controlled all three parts of government
Although divided, Dems worked with Ronald Reagan in 1980s
Explain the enumerated powers of the President
Foreign policy
1) Commander in chief
- Head of army & navy
- These powers have broadened over time- last time Congress dec. war= 1941
- Congress tried to gain power back = War Powers Resolution (1973), but since then has been interpreted by pres. as unconstitutional + them not adhering to it hasn’t been challenged
– Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam
2) Treaties
– New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (NEW START) in 2010 required negotiation by Pres + supermajority (2/3) in Senate
- During first 200 years, Senate has approved more than 1,500 treaties, only rejecting 21
– Treaty of Versailles rejected twice
– Clinton: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996) rejected
– Obama: Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2012)(treaty) rejected
– Jimmy Carter: Panama Canal Treaty (1977)
Appointment of ambassadors, justices and other offices
- Pres has power to appoint 4,000 officials, 1,200 need Senate confirmation
- Sup. Court justices + cabinet– simple majority vote in S
– Bush: David Souter + Clarence Thomas
– Clinton: Ruth Bader Ginsburg + Stephen Breyer
Obama: Sonia Sotomayor + Elena Kagan
Trump: Neil Gorsuch + Brett Kavanaugh
Pardons
– Ford and Carter pardoned hundreds of thousands of men who had evaded the Vietnam War draft
– Clinton pardoned his half-brother
– Clinton = 396
– Bush = 189
– Obama = 212
– Trump = 7
Reprieves:
- The ability of the Pres to reduce the sentence issued for a crime
- Called ‘commutations’
– Obama’s last day = 330 commutations for drug offences
– Obama: commuted Chelsea Manning’s sentence, who had leaked classified military intelligence to WikiLeaks, showing atrocities of war in Iraq + Afghanistan
– Obama total = 1,715
– Clinton = 61
– Bush = 11
or veto/delay/sign legislation
–FDR = 635, Truman = 250
Explain the implied powers of the President
Establish a cabinet
- Constitutionally the cabinet has no formal power - they’re only an advisory body - but since 1793 every President has had a cabinet
- Const gives power “to require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments”. From this it’s implies the Pres can establish his cabinet
- Orig 4 members = State, War, Treasury + Post Office. Now at least 15
– Bush’s cabinet = war on drugs
– Obama’s cabinet = economy
– Trump’s cabinet = security
– Tim Geithner = former Secretary of the Treasury under Obama. Prev Pres of Federal Reserve Bank of New York
He introduced the Financial Stability Plan – $bns committed to ‘lending initiative’
– Chuck Hagel = secretary of Defence (2013-2015). Prev worked US senator for Nebraska + military veteran
–John Tower last rejected
– John Tyler had 4 rejected
– 2 former governors joined the Trump cabinet (2017) = Sonny Perdue + Rick Perry
– Obama = Steven Chu (sec of energy: 2009) - professor of physics at University of California
– Secretary of Education –> implementation of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) under Betsy DeVos under Trump
– Sec of Homeland Security - Kirstjen Nielsen (Trump) handling of hurricanes
**Executive Agreements **
- Similar to treaties but don’t require senate approval
Obama = Iran Nuclear Deal + Paris Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1992)
Before 1940 = 1,200 executive agreements, 1940 - 1989 = 13,000+ executive agreements (with 800 treaties)
Executive Orders
- A directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government.
- Checks: Sup Court = judicial review
Congress can change law to block
- Pres can’t issue executive orders that go beyond the law in Article II of constitution
Examples:
– FDR = 3,721
– FDR - ‘Destroyers-for-bases deal’ - America gave Britain 50 overage destroyers in WWII in return for 99 year leases to certain naval bases
– Trump = repealed Obamacare
– Trump = temp. halt to refugee admissions
– 1957 = Eisenhower = end to racial segregation in schools
– FDR = transferred Japanese-Americans + German-Americans to camps in WW2
– Obama = banned torture (2009)
– Truman = nationalised steel industry
– Sup Court ruled in Youngstown v Sawyer Pres Truman couldn’t place steel mills under federal control because he couldn’t seize private property
– 1953 - Pres Eisenhower = allowed homosexuality to be a valid reason for rejecting an application/ firing someone from federal govt (only fully removed in 2017)
–1948 = Truman = desegregating military
Executive Privilege
- Power of President and other officials in executive branch to withold certain forms of confidential information from the judicial and legislative branch
– United States v Nixon (Watergate scandal) = even a pres has a legal duty to provide evidence of their communication
Explain the importance of the EXOP
1) Crisis management
– After Hurricane Katrina, EXOP coordinated federal response efforts (George W Bush)
– EXOP - COVID-19 - Mark Meadows (Chief of Staff) - questioned the efficacy of masks, criticised the White House’s infectious disease experts for not “staying on message” with Trump’s rhetoric
– Dick Cheney (Chief of Staff to Ford): “He takes the credit; I take the blame”
– Jack Watson (CoS to Carter) described his job as a ‘javelin catcher’
2) Economic Policy
– Obama’s admin. used the EXOP to implement measures like American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
– OMB = responsibility to produce the Budget
– Biden’s 2024 budget - said how he cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion in the first 2 years of his admin + wants increased investment
– Reaganomics
3) National Security & Defence
– EXOP (including National Security Council - formed by Truman) worked with Pres Obama to execute Osama Bin Laden
– Truman attended all but 7 of its 71 remaining meetings
– Eisenhower sometimes used trusted NSC staffers for = Suez crisis (1956), the off-shore island crises (1955 + 1958), and Lebanon crisis (1958)
– JFK reduced NSC staff from 74 to 49 + reduced meetings
– ExCom established to deal with Cuban Missile crisis
Explain the importance of cabinet
1) Executive decision making
- Cabinet played sig. role in Obamacare
- Sherman Adams (Eisenhower), Don Regan (Reagan) and John Sununu (Bush), became very powerful
– Secretary of Education –> implementation of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) under Betsy DeVos under Trump
– Sec of Homeland Security - Kirstjen Nielsen (Trump) handling of hurricanes
2) Expertise and Experience
– Obama’ s second-term cabinet included 2 former mayors — Anthony Foxx (sec of transportation) & Julian Castro (sec of housing)
– Tim Geithner = former Secretary of the Treasury under Obama. Prev Pres of Federal Reserve Bank of New York
He introduced the Financial Stability Plan – $bns committed to ‘lending initiative’
– Chuck Hagel = secretary of Defence (2013-2015). Prev worked US senator for Nebraska + military veteran
– 2 former governors joined the Trump cabinet (2017) = Sonny Perdue + Rick Perry
– Obama = Steven Chu (sec of energy: 2009) - professor of physics at University of California
3) Representation of interests
- Represents different groups within govt.
– Sec of Agriculture – farmers – policies of Tom Vilsack (under Obama)
– Department for Veterans Affairs = house veterans, make sure they have access to healthcare etc.
– Department of Education = rep. students - info on student loans, student grants etc.
– A Cabinet that ‘looks like America’ (Bill Clinton)
– 2001: George W. Bush appointed 3 women as heads of executive departments
– 2009: Obama = 4 women
– 2009: Obama = 6 ethnic minorities (e.g. Eric Holder - dep of justice)
– but Trump’ s 2017 cabinet had the ‘white male’ (just 3 departments being members of ethnic minorities)
– Obama appointed former Republican senator Chuck Hagel
Explain the lack of importance of EXOP
1) Weak or ineffective Pres
– Pres James Buchanan (1857-1861) during lead up to American Civil War
– ‘Gilded Age’ - Chester Arthur, William McKinley, Benjamin Harrison etc.
2) Power concentration in other branches
– Johnson treated the NSC staff as a personal staff, and dropped meetings of the NSC Standing Group
–JFK - dropped members of NSC from 74 –> 49 + reduced meetings
Cabinet -rivalry - cabinet exec dec making examples
– Working with Speaker - e.g.
3) Gridlock + divided govt
- When Pres’ party doesn’t have a maj, it makes it difficult to pass leg.
– Pres Obama + Rep Congress
–Reagan = 8 govt shutdowns
1) 1995-1996, President Clinton + Republican Congress unable to agree on spending levels, so the government shut down twice= 26 days.
2) 2013: standoff over funding for the Affordable Care Act= 16 days
3) December 2018 and January 2019, a dispute over border wall funding led to a shutdown= 35 days; partial shutdown because Congress had previously passed 5 / 12 appropriation bills.
– 2023: Congress struggled to pass the federal budget because policymakers couldn’t agree on whether (or how) to raise the debt ceiling
– 2013: Republicans blocked President Obama’s judicial nominations
Ronald Reagan + George W Bush faced divided Congress
Explain the lack of importance of cabinet
1) Advice from elsewhere
– Trump = close advisors + family
– EXOP - out of loop - e.g. Colin Powell (sec of state) & Condoleezza Rice (national security adviser)
– Jean Edward Smith = “Bush relied on the White House staff rather than his cabinet”
- 6 times per year - but gets less
– Nixon: “Screw the Cabinet … I’m sick of the whole bunch”
–
2) Little in common
- No uniting ideology
- Not very productive
– Paul O’Neill Treasury Sec to GW Bush ‘ Cabinet meeting were ‘like a blind man in a room full of deaf people’
– Kennedy described cabinet meetings as ‘boring’
– JFK asked why the postmaster general should “sit there and listen to a discussion of the problems of Laos”
– Richard J. Ellis: “Cabinet meetings are infrequent, perfunctory and essentially meaningless”
3) Advisory
– Professor Anthony King: ‘He doesn’t sum up at the end of the meeting; he is the meeting’
– story: Lincoln, taking a vote in cabinet meeting on whether to sign the Emancipation Proclamation - all cabinet secretaries vote nay - Lincoln raises his right hand and declares: “The ayes have it!”
– Robert Shrum: 2008: ‘No one in a cabinet outshines the president’
– Nixon: “screw the cabinet…I’m sick of the whole bunch”
Explain the EXOP
Staff
Group of agencies and offices that support the work of the Pres.
Assists Pres in carrying out responsibilities.
Established 1939 - FDR
Headed by White House Chief of Staff
Includes:
[I] White House Office
[II] Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
[III] National Security Council (NSC)
[IV] Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
[V] Office of US Trade Representatives (USTR)
[VI] Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
Roles
1) Advising the Pres
2) Policy Development + Implementation
- Conducts research, gathers information
3) Managing executive branch
- Oversees activities of executive agencies
4) Communication and Public Relations
- Pres’ communication - craft messages, coordinate speeches + press conferences
5) Budget and Economic Analysis
- Help shape Pres’ budget proposals and economic policies
6) National Security and Defence
- National Security Office and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) –> helps Pres implement national security strategies, oversee defence policy etc.
– Nixon decided to run foreign policy from the White House - appointed Henry Kissinger as his national security adviser
7) Legal Counsel and Administration
- Ensure Pres’ actions comply with law & const.
- Admin = managing personnel, oversee federal bureaucracy
8) Legislative Relations
- Dev. leg. proposals, coordinate with members of Congress, advocate for Pres policy agenda
Importance
1) Crisis management
– After Hurricane Katrina, EXOP coordinated federal response efforts (George W Bush)
– EXOP - COVID-19 - Mark Meadows (Chief of Staff) - questioned the efficacy of masks, criticised the White House’s infectious disease experts for not “staying on message” with Trump’s rhetoric
– Dick Cheney (Chief of Staff to Ford): “He takes the credit; I take the blame”
– Jack Watson (CoS to Carter) described his job as a ‘javelin catcher’
2) Economic Policy
– Obama’s admin. used the EXOP to implement measures like American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
– OMB = responsibility to produce the Budget
– Biden’s 2024 budget - said how he cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion in the first 2 years of his admin + wants increased investment
– Reaganomics
3) National Security & Defence
– EXOP (including National Security Council - formed by Truman) worked with Pres Obama to execute Osama Bin Laden
– Truman attended all but 7 of its 71 remaining meetings
– Eisenhower sometimes used trusted NSC staffers for = Suez crisis (1956), the off-shore island crises (1955 + 1958), and Lebanon crisis (1958)
– JFK reduced NSC staff from 74 to 49 + reduced meetings
– ExCom established to deal with Cuban Missile crisis
Explain the cabinet
Roles
- Advisory group selected by the Pres to aid him in making decisions + coordinating the work of the federal govt
1) Advisory
2) Departmental leadership
- Head of dep. for defence, state etc.
3) Policy development
- expertise + knowledge
4) Budget and Resource Allocation
- advocate for funding + resources necessary to carry out their department’s functions. Work with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) + Congress to justify & secure appropriations
5) Interagency Coordination
- Help resolve conflicts
6) Public representation
- Public face of their department
7) Congressional Relations
- Build relationships, provide info
8) Crisis Management
- Coordinate govt’s response
- Priorities:
– Bush = drugs
– Obama = economy
– Trump = national defence
– Timothy Geithner (treasury sec) - prev president of New York Federal Reserve Bank - sign that the economy and ‘jobs’ were important
- But only advisory:
– Professor Anthony King: ‘He doesn’t sum up at the end of the meeting; he is the meeting’
– story: Lincoln, taking a vote in cabinet meeting on whether to sign the Emancipation Proclamation - all cabinet secretaries vote nay - Lincoln raises his right hand and declares: “The ayes have it!”
– Robert Shrum: 2008: ‘No one in a cabinet outshines the president’
– Nixon: “screw the cabinet…I’m sick of the whole bunch”
Representation
- Important - rep.
- Differing views - act as ‘sounding board’ for Pres to test ideas
– A Cabinet that ‘looks like America’ (Bill Clinton)
– 2001: George W. Bush appointed 3 women as heads of executive departments
– 2009: Obama = 4 womem
– 2009: Obama = 6 ethnic minorities (e.g. Eric Holder - dep of justice)
– but Trump’ s 2017 cabinet had the ‘white male’ (just 3 departments being members of ethnic minorities)
– Obama appointed former Republican senator Chuck Hagel
Experience + expertise
– Obama’ s second-term cabinet included 2 former mayors — Anthony Foxx (sec of transportation) & Julian Castro (sec of housing)
– Tim Geithner = former Secretary of the Treasury under Obama. Prev Pres of Federal Reserve Bank of New York
He introduced the Financial Stability Plan – $bns committed to ‘lending initiative’
– Chuck Hagel = secretary of Defence (2013-2015). Prev worked US senator for Nebraska + military veteran
– 2 former governors joined the Trump cabinet (2017) = Sonny Perdue + Rick Perry
– Obama = Steven Chu (sec of energy: 2009) - professor of physics at University of California
Explain the President’s relationship with other branches of government
can’t have three themes i don’t think?
