Text Book - The Presidency

Question 1

Constitutional Powers

Answer 1

• due to the history of British tyranny, the framers of the US constitution ensured that the President was subject to significant checks and limitations
• but needed an executive who could turn the 13 states into one functioning entity
• they didn’t want a president who could exercise popular-based political leadership or have a popular mandate, therefore the president was to be elected indirectly via an Electoral College
• the constitution envisaged the president as subordinate to Congress

Question 2

president’s powers in Article 2 with Congressional checks

Answer 2

• commander-in-cheif of the armed forces - (Congress has the check of the sole power to declare war)
• to make treaties - (Congress has the check of ratification with a two-thirds majority)
• to appoint senior government officials, ambassadors, Supreme Court justices and justices of the lower federal courts - (Congress has the check of confirmation)

Question 3

president’s powers in Article 2 section 2 without Congressional checks

Answer 3

• to require in writing the opinion of the principal officer or each of the executive departments
• to grant pardons

Question 4

president’s powers in Article 2 section 3 with Congressional checks

Answer 4

• to make the State of Union address speech and recommend legislation ‘from time to time’ - (Congress has the check of rejecting such legislation)
• to take care that the laws ‘be faithfully executed’ - (Congress has the check of the total control of revenue and expenditure

Question 5

president’s powers in Article 2 section 3 without Congressional checks

Answer 5

• to convene extraordinary sessions of Congress

- to receive ambassadors

Question 6

presidents powers in Article 1 section 7

Answer 6

• the power to approve or veto legislation - (Congress has the check of an override, albeit requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses)

Question 7

the start of activist presidency

Answer 7

• started at the beginning of the 20th century
• with Roosevelt and Wilson
• they both operated on the basis that the president could do everything that was not specifically prohibited to him and that he was not confined by the powers specifically allocated in the constitution
• in 1921 Congress passed the Budget and Accounting Act which created the Bureau of the Budget as part of the executive branch - giving it responsibility for compiling a single federal budget proposal
• federal spending was now at a level which needed effective central coordination and the overall presidential control of domestic policy

Question 8

impact of the Great Depression on the president

Answer 8

• the depressions created the need for the federal government to have much more active and interventionist role
• Congress could not form coherent policy programmes or rescue a complex industrial economy
• programmes such as the New Deal (Roosevelt) extended the reach of the president and the executive branch into the management of the economy
• it also increased the size of the federal bureaucracy through the creation of bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Labour Board

Question 9

impact of the Cold War on the president

Answer 9

• foreign policy control was increased
• the president assumed the responsibility for the deployment of the nuclear deterrent, which rapidly became a vital factor in the Cold War
• prior to this President Truman set the precedent of the president taking significant military action through his power as commander-in-chief with only informal consultation with Congress when he ordered military forces to Korea in 1950

Question 10

methods of growth of presidential power:

Constitutional

Answer 10

• role of the executive that the constitution set out for the president was particularly vague, which acted as the basis for presidential expansionism
• Article 2: ‘executive power shall be vested in the president’ and ‘shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed’

Question 11

methods of growth of presidential power:

Institutional support

Answer 11

• the Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 after the report of the Brownlow Committee and has grown rapidly since
• it has around 2,000 employees and a budget of several hundred million dollars
• it provides for the president in policy development and presentation, and has a less symbolic and more overtly political role than the cabinet

Question 12

methods of growth of presidential power:

Media

Answer 12

• television and film have given rise to a cult of the presidency
• the weekly radio established a direct link between the president and the public (began by President Roosevelt)
• the constant images of presidential power, such s the White House, the Oval Office, Air Force One and Marine Helicopter, all create a glamorous aura around the office

Question 13

methods of growth of presidential power:

Head of state and party leader

Answer 13

• head of government, head of state and party leader is an asset to the president
• he has the support of his party during elections and from his party representatives and senators in Congress (to some extent)
• his role as head of state means that Americans have respect for the Office of President

Question 14

The ‘imperial presidency’

Answer 14

• power of the president grew significantly during the post-war period
• 1970s Arthur Schlesinger coined the term ‘the imperial presidency’ suggesting that the president had cast aside the checks and balances of the system and that he was governing like an emperor
• Nixon’s presidency: conducted a secret war in Cambodia, at home refused to spend money mandated by Congress
• Dick Cheney: came into office with the explicit intention of strengthening the executive branch claiming that the period after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam war was ‘the nadir of the modern presidency in terms of authority and legitimacy’ and had ‘harmed the chief executive’s ability to lead in a complicated, dangerous era’
• 9/11: led Bush to take a series of measures, including the detention of US citizens indefinitely as enemy combatants and a National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programme of US citizens, which critics claimed operated outside congressional checks and oversight, and even the rule of law

Question 15

imperilled presidency

Answer 15

• Nixon’s track record provoked a fairly swift congressional reaction in the War Powers Act and the Budget and Impoundment Control Act
• the reassertion of Congress after a period of imperial presidency was such that Gerald Ford was referring only a few years later to the ‘imperilled presidency’ and during the 1980s and 1990s Congress carried out its role of presidential checking with sufficient vigour for the debate over any imperial aspirations of the president to largely die away
• Bush’s last two years as president were conducted as a lame duck with Democratic Congress

Question 16

Relationship with Congress

Answer 16

• the president cannot act alone and is dependent on other parts of the system to achieve his goals
• president requires the assent of Congress for all legislation, money, appointments and treaties

Question 17

what affects the president’s relationship with Congress?

Answer 17

• party discipline in Congress
• the separation of powers means that Congressmen strand on their own record for re-election
• therefore their willingness to support the president will depend on how far that support will aid their own re-election prospects
• e.g. the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 showed that even the president’s ‘own’ members of Congress will resist him

Question 18

factors that affect the president’s relationship with Congress:

popularity

Answer 18

• high approval ratings give the president increased authority, and may create a political cost for members of Congress opposing a popular president
• ratings below 40% will weaken the presidents authority: Bush had above 60% in 2002 but below 40 in 2006
• his poor ratings will destroy the prospects of his second-term agenda (Bush was known as the lame-duck)

BUT even when Bush was unpopular (mostly over the Iraq war) Congress was unable to effect any significant change in Iraq policy
- the Democratic-controlled Congress pledged to reduce troop numbers, and the only bill passed by both houses to change policy was vetoed by Bush

Question 19

factors that affect the president’s relationship with Congress:

partisanship

Answer 19

• the president is much stronger when his own party controls both houses of Congress
• but Republican controlled Congresses are generally more supportive of a republican president than a Democratic Congress of a Democratic President
• e.g. Clinton from 1993 to 1995 and Obama from 2009 to 2011 both found difficulties passing key legislation through chambers controlled by their own party
• the house is often more supportive to the president than the senate
• but this is not always the case: Bush was able to rely on a solid House majority on economic issues such as tax cuts, but he they proved less solid on social issues such as Medicare and No Child Left Behind legislation and was forced in both cases to rely on Democratic support

Question 20

example of Bush’s reliance on his party

Answer 20

• Bush was able to rely on a solid House majority on economic issues such as tax cuts, but he they proved less solid on social issues such as Medicare and No Child Left Behind legislation and was forced in both cases to rely on Democratic support

Question 21

example of Republican-controlled Congress effect on Clinton

Answer 21

• from 1995 to 2001

- divided government is by no means a complete disadvantage

Question 22

1) Imperial: Powers granted by Constitution

Answer 22

• command armes forces
• grant pardons
• receive ambassadors
• propose, sign and veto bills
• execute the laws

Question 23

1) Imperilled: Constitution’s checks and balances limit President’s enumerate powers

Answer 23

• Senate ratifies treaties
• presidential vetoes can be overturned by Congress
• president’s are unlikely to carry out legislation if they don’t have the political power to do so

Question 24

2) Imperial: Executive orders

Answer 24

• instructs Congress how to execute laws
• president’s argue that Executive Orders are implied powers by the constitutional power to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”
• Obama promised a ‘year of action’ in his State of Union Address
• signed Executive Order 13658 requiring agencies and departments to pay employees at least $10.10
• Republicans argued that Executive Orders undermine checks and balances, by bypassing any form of debate or approval from Congress

Question 25

2) Imperilled: Executive Orders are only instructions

Answer 25

• next president can easily repeal Executive Orders
• for the minimum wage to be properly increased Congress would need to pass law
• Executive Orders have no long-lasting effect
• 2009 Obama signed Executive Order to close Guantanamo Bay but 6 years on it is still open
• this is because Congress soon passed a bill that blocked funding to transfer the prisoners

Question 26

3) Imperial: Signing Statements undermine checks and balances

Answer 26

• recent presidents have used signing statements to argue that certain provisions infringe on their executive power
• National Defense Authorisation Act (2014)
• Obama challenged 20 provisions including the requirement to inform Congress 30 days before moving prisoners from Guantanamo Bay prison
• one year later several prisoners were moved and Congress was not informed
• critics argue that these statements aren’t in keeping with the constitution’s requirement that the president “faithfully execute” the laws passed by Congress

Question 27

3) Imperilled: Obama has been more reluctant to issue signing statements

Answer 27

• Obama only issued 20 signing statements whereas Bush issued 112 statements
• (but there has been fewer bills passed by Congress)

Question 28

4) Imperial: Obama used prosecutorial discretion to reform immigration policy

Answer 28

• 11 million illegal immigrant live in US
• Obama introduced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
• would allow 800,000 children to remain in the country
• example of prosecutorial discretion as federal officers choose which crimes to prosecute and which to ignore
• 2014 Obama expanded the programme to include 3.7 million adults, who win also apply for work permits

Question 29

4) Imperilled: Limits to what presidents can achieve through prosecutorial discretion

Answer 29

• permanent reforms still require Congress to pass a bill

Question 30

5) Imperial: President’s can use ‘Executive Privilege’ to avoid disclosing information to Congress

Answer 30

• not mentioned in the Constitution
• many presidents have argued that the separation of powers to allow them to keep internal communication secret from other branches
• Obama used executive privilege to withhold information on ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ in whig the US bureau of firearms purposefully allowed firearms to be sold illegally to catch the buyers
• the operation caused controversy after a US border patrol agent was killed with one of the illegal guns

Question 31

5) Imperilled: executive privilege does have its limitations

Answer 31

• Obama has been much more reluctant to use this power than his predecessors, particularly Bush
• in the case US v. Nixon (1974) the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to hand over audio tapes of conversations he attempted to withhold information
• Supreme Court ruled that it is not unlimited privilege

Question 32

6) Imperial: Presidents have political power in first term

Answer 32

• support from the people gives presidents greater political power
• Obama initially enjoyed strong support and Democrats won majority in House and Senate
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed without a single Republican vote needed
• 94% of votes in Congress had Obama’s preferred outcome in 2009

Question 33

6) Imperilled: Presidents can become lame ducks

Answer 33

• e.g. Bush was a lame duck in his second term
• Obama’s healthcare contributed heavy losses for the Democrats
• Democrats lost house in 2010 and Senate in 2014
• many Democrats tried to distance themselves from him in 2014
• President may have institutional powers but president must heavily rely on their political power
• when Obama submitted his 2016 budget proposal in February 2015, the Republicans in Congress immediately dismissed it, announcing they would draft a completely different budget to suit their own policy agenda

Question 34

Foreign Policy

Answer 34

• Congress passed the War Power’s Resolution (1973) to cute off all military funding for South Vietnam and effectively force an end to the Vietnam War
• but in the years since then the president has regained considerable influence over foreign policy
• numerous presidents have argued that the War Powers Resolution (1973) is unconstitutional whilst ordering military action without congressional approval, as Obama did in Libya in 2011
• after 9/11 Congress passed the Authorisation for Use of Military Force Act (2001) to give presidents broad powers to ‘take all necessary and appropriate force’ against terrorism (PATRIOT Act)

Question 35

Supreme Court restricting the President

Answer 35

• Supreme Court often prevent presidents from going beyond their enumerate powers
• Clinton v. City of New York (1998) - the Supreme Court declared the Line Item Veto Act (1998) to be unconstitutional as the constitution only allowed the president to veto an entire bill, not specific provisions
• Rasul v. Bush (2004) - the Supreme Court ruled that Bush’s powers as commander in chief did not give him authority to indefinitely detain ‘enemy combatants’ without trial

Question 36

Supreme Court upholding the Presidents power

Answer 36

• Korematsu v. United States (1944) - the Supreme Court upheld President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which required all Japanese-Americans to be held in internment camps, after war broke out with Japan during WWII

Question 37

Foreign Policy 1) The separation of powers has been greatly undermined over the last century.

Answer 37

• The US Constitution divides war powers between the executive and Congress.
• The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but Congress has the sole power to declare war and set budgets.
• However, Congress has declared war on five occasions, the last being World War II.
• Since then, the US military has been used around the world without any declaration of war, or the direct approval of Congress.
• President Truman sent forces to Korea without congressional authorisation, simply calling it a ‘police action’ rather than a war.

Question 38

Foreign Policy 1) However… Congress can still use its power to set budgets, and channel public opinion, to limit the president.

Answer 38

• While Congress did not declare war in Vietnam, they did eventually cut the budget for military action in South-East Asia.
• Similarly, public opinion has led President Obama to consider the views of Congress before taking military action.
• when chemical weapons were used in Syria in 2013, Obama delayed plans to launch air strikes against the Syrian government in order to first receive the approval of Congress.
• It was widely speculated that with public support falling, and the UK Parliament voting against military intervention, the President was now looking for a way out.

Question 39

Foreign Policy 2) Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (1973) to limit the president’s use of the military.

Answer 39

• After President Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon all authorised military action without the consent of Congress, the legislative branch passed the War Power Resolution, limiting the use of the military to three established circumstances - “(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by an attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
• However, the resolution also authorised the president to use the military for any reason, without the consent of Congress, for 60 days.
• To continue past this period needs congressional approval, and if this is denied, the troops must be withdrawn within 30 days.
• Therefore the president is essentially allowed to deploy troops for 90 days without congressional approval and a lot can be done in that time

Question 40

Foreign Policy 2) However…even this limited legislation has had little impact.

Answer 40

• The War Powers Resolution still effectively allows the president to order military action without authorisation for 90 days.
• presidents have argued that they are not bound by the resolution because placing restrictions on the Commander-in-Chief is unconstitutional.
• In the 1990s, President Clinton adopted this argument when he ordered military action in Bosnia and Kosovo.
• Similarly, in 2011, several members of Congress attempted to block the Obama administration from taking military action in Libya by citing the War Powers Resolution. However, the Obama administration simply argued that mission in Libya was not restricted by the War Powers Resolution because NATO was leading the military actions, and US ground troops had not been deployed.

Question 41

Foreign Policy 3) Congress chose to give the President broad power to order a military attack on terrorism after 9/11.

Answer 41

• Congress passed the Authorisation for Use of Military Force Act (2001), as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.
• The act authorised “all necessary and appropriate force against those organizations or persons who aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001…”
• This single sentence essentially provided a blank check to wage war against terrorist groups, and individual terrorists, rather than states.
• Presidents Bush and Obama have used the authorisation to launch attacks, particularly from drones, in a number of different countries. - In September 2014, President Obama announced that he was expanding air attacks in Syria for the first time, to target the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Question 42

Foreign Policy 3) However… in February 2015, President Obama requested fresh authorisation to fight ISIS.

Answer 42

• Obama requested that Congress pass a resolution that was more updated than the 2002 authorisation, and would have a three year time limit
• This request suggests that Congress does retain some power over the use of the military, and it is interesting that Obama’s suggested resolution has a three year time limit imposed on it, unlike the 2001 authorisation.
• However, it remains to be seen whether Obama would actually withdraw the military if Congress refuses to pass the resolution.

Question 43

Foreign Policy 4) The Supreme Court has established the president’s supremacy over foreign policy.

Answer 43

• The case United States v. Curtis-Wright Export Corp (1936) strongly reinforced the president’s power over foreign policy.
• Congress had authorised the President to block weapons shipments to certain South American countries that were then at war.
• When Curtis-Wright Export Corp violated this embargo and faced charges, it defended itself by arguing that Congress had delegated too much power to the President, and that it was therefore unconstitutional.
• However, the Supreme Court ruled that, as the Constitution gives the president power to negotiate treaties and conduct warfare, the Founding Fathers intended ”the President as the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations.”

Question 44

Foreign Policy 4) However… the Supreme Court has also challenged presidents over their foreign policy powers.

Answer 44

• The Supreme Court challenged the Bush administration’s treatment of ‘enemy combatants’ at Guantanamo Bay prison in the case Boumediene v. Bush (2008).
• The Supreme Court ruled that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanmo Bay have constitutional rights to habeus corpus – the right to challenge their detention before a judge in US court, as protected by the US Constitution.

Question 45

Foreign Policy 5) Presidents have assumed the power to recognise foreign governments.

Answer 45

• The US Constitution gives the president the power to appoint and receive ambassadors from other nations.
• Presidents have argued that the Constitution implies they have the power to recognise foreign governments.
• President Obama demonstrated this in December 2014, when he announced that he was restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time since 1961.

Question 46

Foreign Policy 5) However…changing the law to permanently remove sanctions will require Congress.

Answer 46

• Back when the US first broke off relations with Cuba in the 1960s, they also introduced a number of economic sanctions.
• As part of his negotiations to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, Obama has agreed to weaken some of these sanctions, but he can only go so far without Congress’ input.
• Congress has passed six different laws imposing sanctions on Cuba
• Obama can sign executive orders, instructing officials to relax some of the sanctions, but a future president could easily reinstate them.
• In order to permanently lift the sanctions the President will have to convince Congress to change the law.

Question 47

how important is the role of the vice-president?

Answer 47

1) the expansion of the president has meant that the vice-president has been given more power too
- now member of the cabinet and has an office in the west wing
- under Clinton, Al Gore was involved in promoting environmental initiatives and greater use of technology

2) rise of partisanship in Congress has meant that the vice president has the role of maintaining party loyalty as they have more experience in Congress

3) vice president is to be presiding officer of the Senate
- Joe Biden presided over the vote on gun control legislation in April 2013

4) assume the office of president should the president die e.g. Kennedy was succeeded by Johnson

Question 48

Dick Cheney

Answer 48

1) experience: part of the Nixon administration, President Ford’s chief of staff, a House representative for Wyoming for 10 years, and Defence secretary under the first president Bush
2) contacts: part of a network of like-minded conservatives, including Donald Rumsfeld as Defence secretary and Paul Wolfowitz
3) vigorously promoted the expansion of the president following 9/11 and closely involved with plans to invade Iraq

Question 49

Joe Biden

Answer 49

1) unmatched range of contacts and understanding of Congress
- increased partisan ship and republican antipathy towards the president has made Biden a vital presence in negotiations
- e.g. fiscal cliff

2) contributed vigorously to policy debate in foreign policy over the discussion on the surge in Afghanistan
3) tireless fundraiser for the Democratic party and candidates