The Executive Flashcards
1
Q
Give the six formal powers of the President.
A
- Commander-in-chief - must gain Congressional approval to mobilise troops - the War Powers Act 1973 was passed to prevent this.
- Appointment - federal gov. and judiciary - e.g. Justice Kennedy - appointed by Raegan - served for 30 years.
- Chief diplomat - can negotiate treaties - e.g. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty Passed by Raegan - require a 2/3 majority in Senate - only 7 have been rejected e.g. Treaty of Versailles.
- State of the Union - set the tone for the legislative agenda - Bush referred to an ‘axis of evil’ in 2002 - hinting at the ‘war on terror’ that would prevail.
- Veto - e.g. used by Obama 12 times in 8 years - Bush had a veto success rate of 63% (third lowest of any president) - line item veto unconstitutional (Clinton v. New York).
- Pardon - President Ford pardoned Nixon over the Watergate affair - Trump pardoned 116 people in January 2021 alone.
2
Q
Give the six informal powers of the president.
A
- Commander in chief without congressional approval - the War Powers Resolution requires the president to gain congressional approval within 60 days of mobilising troops.
- Executive agreement - no Senate approval unlike a treaty - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- Legislative initiative - P. makes legislative recommendations - E.g. the Affordable Care Act - Congress will abide to prevent being blamed for legislative failures.
- Executive orders - allows the president to circumvent to legislative process allowing him to act unilaterally - e.g. desegregation of the military - Biden signed 15 executive orders on the first day - not as durable as federal laws.
- Impound funds - to prevent certain legislative projects occurring - though this power is limited by the Budget and Impoundment Control Act 1974.
- Executive privilege - used by Eisenhower when Senator Joe McCarthy subpoenaed phone calls between the White House and military.
- Trump’s claim was overturned by federal courts when he attempted to rescind (block) the documents of the Capitol Attack in 2021.
3
Q
Give three considerations when appointing members of cabinet.
A
- Congressional experience - though it can be a hard sell - Trump managed to convince Jeff Sessions and Tom Price to join his cabinet.
- Policy specialists - e.g. Trump appointed John Kelly as secretary of Homeland Security - he served as a general in the marines - though Ben Carson was appointed housing secretary.
- State governors - have experience at running a large scale bureaucracy than legislators from Congress. E.g. Sonny Perdue of Georgia joined Trump’s cabinet in 2017.
4
Q
Give some functions of cabinet meetings (for the President).
A
- Monitoring Congress - check up on the passage of legislation - e.g. used by Bush 3 times in 2002 to check up on authorisation of Iraq conflict etc.
- Prompting action - Obama used in 2014 to prevent defence secretary Chuck Hagel from dragging his feet over prisoners in Guantanamo bay.
- Policy debate - ample opportunity to deliberate certain areas of policy - Frank Carlucci (Raegan’s foreign secretary) recalled him becoming angry on some occasions.
5
Q
Give three functions of cabinet meetings (for cabinet members).
A
- Solve interdepartmental disputes - Ford’s secretary of the cabinet, James Connor, regarded the debate on affirmative action as ‘one hell of a show’.
- Communication - there are fewer opportunities for members to speak unlike Parliament - can be valuable occasions of converse.
- Speaking to President - the president may dangerously agree to off-the-cuff requests - Colin Powell remained within the office to prevent this.
6
Q
Give three ways in which the president’s power is merely persuasive.
A
- Joe Biden served as Senator for 36 years when he was VP - it is safe to assume in that time he acquired many close congressional ties -though the VP may wish to distance themselves if the president is unpopular e.g. Kamala Harris - if she has any desire of becoming president.
- Pork Barrelling - Senator Collins received pork for clinics in Maine in return for his support of the Recovery Act 2009.
- Cabinet officers - deployed to converse with members on Congress - Bush used Education Secretary Rod Paige to sell his education reforms to Congress.
7
Q
Give three ways in which the president can directly authorise.
A
- Executive orders - e.g. executive order 10925 - Kennedy required all companies to implement affirmative action - Trump signed 12 executive orders within a week of taking office - Inc. controversial ban on Muslim immigrants.
- Recess appointments - appointment of judge when Senate is in recess - Obama’s were rescinded in National Labour Relations Board v. Canning
- Executive agreements - Clinton used an executive agreement in 1994 with North Korea - many Rep. Senators (Inc. John McCain) went ballistic - another struggle for power between Senate and President.
8
Q
Define imperial president.
A
A president that is powerful in terms of foreign policy but weak in terms of domestic policy.
9
Q
Give some examples of an imperial president.
A
- Truman sent 14,000 troops Lebanon - with little congressional impediment.
- Kennedy’s attack on the Bay of Pigs in Cuba - leading to the Cuban missile crisis - both of which saw little congressional scrutiny.
- President Johnson - given ‘all necessary measures’ during the Gulf of Tonkin resolution - a blank cheque of congressional countenance.
- Nixon bombing Cambodia in 1970 -unbeknownst to Congress - massive power of the president.
10
Q
Give a potential reason for a president’s imperiality.
A
When the National Security Adviser presents little impediment - e.g. Bush and Stephen Hadley - was an unwavering advocate of any of Bush’s proposals within the realm of foreign policy.
11
Q
Define an imperilled president.
A
A president characterised by an oppressive Congress with congressional overassertiveness in abundance.
12
Q
Give three ways in which the president could be referred to as imperilled.
A
- The Case Act 1972 - requires that presidents inform Congress of any executive agreements they make.
- The War Powers Act 1973 - requires Congress to declare war before the president can mobilise troops.
- The War Powers Resolution - requires the president to gain congressional approval within 60 days of mobilising troops.
- Ford faced difficulty when North Vietnamese Communists invaded the capital of South Vietnam - he complained of congressional interference with his powers as president.
- Congress has power of the purse - e.g. Foreign Assistance Act 1974 - truncated all spending to the Vietnam War.
13
Q
Define a ‘bifurcated’ president.
A
A president that is imperial regarding foreign policy but imperilled regarding domestic policy.
14
Q
Give three ways the president can influence foreign policy.
A
- Commander-in-chief - e.g. Lyndon Johnson was given a ‘blank cheque’ for congressional approval during the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - though Congress is able to limit its use (War Powers Resolution 1973).
- Appointments to the executive - Bush’s National Security Adviser (Stephen Hedley) was described as a ‘lawyer’ - an unwavering advocate of Bush’s foreign policy ideas - lacks oversight also in appointment.
- Set the tone of foreign policy - e.g. Bush in his 2002 state of the union address, he referred to the ‘axis of evil’ alluding to the subsequent ‘war on terror’.
15
Q
Give three limitations on presidential power.
A
- Congress can override the presidential veto - e.g. Nixon’s veto of the War Powers Act 1973 was overridden - though Bush had a 63% success rate of vetoes.
- Supreme Court - National Labour board v. Canning - Obama’s presidential vetoes were unconstitutional.
- The media - in Jan 2021, Trump was banned from using media outlet Twitter - a medium through which Trump could communicate - the ease of electoral communication was stripped from him.
