The Presidency

Question 1

Relationship between the presidency and congress

Answer 1

• Congress and the President have shared power in equal measure under the constitution
• There tends to be a bit of a power struggle between the branches which shapes domestic and FP
• This is effected by united or divided government

Question 2

Examples of bipartisanship during divided government

Answer 2

• 2020 : CARES Act

Question 3

How has united government failed to bring about the will of the President ?

Answer 3

• Clinton and Trump both discovered this with their respective attempts to enact healthcare reform

Question 4

The election cycle

Answer 4

• Presidential power is affected by midterm elections
• Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump all lost their majority during a midterm election which saw them experience a decline in power midway

Question 5

Divided government

Answer 5

• Since 1993, politics has been increasingly polarised and it can difficult to persuade the opposition party to pass legislation
• 2020 : Biden has a tie in senate and the House only has a majority of 9 seats

Question 6

The changing nature of power over their term in office

Answer 6

• In their second term, President’s can quickly become lame ducks
• The average first year score for presidents from Reagan to Obama is 83% whilst the average last year is 48%
• Attempt to enact their priority policies immediately

Question 7

What was a low point of Trump’s presidency ?

Answer 7

• High point = Tax cuts and Jobs act 2017

- Failure to repeal Obamacare when his party controlled both houses

Question 8

President’s influence on the SC

Answer 8

• President’s ability to pressure the court is limited + they lack any leverage
• Eg Obama criticised the Citizens united v FEC in his state of the union address but lacked leverage
• Trump clashed with the federal judge over the immigration ban

Question 9

What is one of the roles outlined by the constitution ?

Answer 9

• To defend the law and the constitution (means defending Supreme court decisions)
• The SC has no power to enforce its decisions + sometimes needs the President to enforce it’s ruling
• Eg little rock 1957 had federal troops sent

Question 10

The influence of the SC on the President

Answer 10

• SC has considerable influence on the President + it is a powerful check on the President’s powers
• It can declare actions of the president as unconstitutional :
  1. 1974 : Nixon refusing to release the White house tapes
  2. Obama’s use of an executive order to implement his immigration reform programme