The president Flashcards
what are the enumerated powers of the president
commander in chief. negotiate treaties. state of union address. appoint ambassadors judges officers of the US. recess appointments. power of pardon. convene special sessions of congress. approve or veto legislation
what are the implied powers of the president
- establishing a cabinet
- executive agreements
- executive orders
- executive privilege
what’s the presidents involvement in legislation
by signing a bill, vetoing the bill, or take no action
why do presidents have to be careful when vetoing bills
if they veto too many bills which get overturned by congress, they can appear weak.
eg Biden had 33% of his vetos overturned compared to trump just having 10%.
what is the ‘state of the union’ address
constitution states president must give a speech addressing congress. it is effectively a legislative address from the president to congress.
eg: Biden in 2022 asked for support for Ukraine which was a success., 13.6 billion pledged from 1.5 trillion spending budget
trump called for congress to pass 1.5 trillion infrastructure bill, was a failure
what power does the president have with appointments
power to appoint around 4000 officials a year including Supreme Court justice and cabinet positions. eg trump appointed 3 cabinet ministers in his time.
how can the president recess appointments
president can make temporary appointments to vacancies that have occurred. president then gets to nominate the person for the role or nominate someone else
eg. GW bush made 171 during his time as president
how does the president have executive power
article 2 in the US constitution states this. this is interpreted as being able to organise the EXOP and being abide to carry out a range of executive actions. these however can easily be overturned by a new law a Supreme Court ruling or simply a new president signing a new executive order.
what’s an example of a president using their executive power
eg. Biden signed 17 within hours after his inauguration In 2020, reversing those made by Trump
what does being commander in chief enable the president to do
means they are head of armed forces. constitution doesn’t offer much info on this, extent to the president power. recently congress have tried to regain power in this department with the war powers act in 1973. widely views as unconstitutional by presidents
what does making treaties enable the president to do
with the consent of the senate , can make treaties with other countries. presidents can use their executive powers to do this. eg Obama with Iran nuclear deal and Paris agreement on climate change
what’s the importance of the presidents role in receiving ambassadors
by receiving ambassadors, the president recognises nations and decides with whom he wants the USA to work with.
what is a presidents electoral mandate
authority gained at a election by a political leader to act on behalf of their constituents, in force until the next election.allows president to pursue their agenda, eg trump anti immigration policies. strongest in first 2 years, weakens after that because of mid terms.
what are the limitations to the presidents formal powers?
congress declares war, not the president.
pardon is very controversial sop is rarely used.
congress is the legislative body, can overturn presidential veto’s
how can national events affect a presidency
can strengthen a presidents authority. eg 9/11, boosted bush’s popularity massively and allowed him to pursue his agenda. first 2 years he struggled GOP didn’t have majority In senate
what did 9/11 allow bush to do
dominate foreign policy, invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, opening of Guantanamo bay in 2003
what domestic policies did bush implement
no child left behind, expansion of medicare. these policies had bipartisanship, dems supported it.
how can a presidents powers of persuasion help them
bidens 36 years in senate and 8 years as VP means he has an ability to persuade congress
What power does the vice president hold
- taking over the president if necessary
- cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the senate
What’s an example of a vice president using their power
- kamala Harris had presidential powers for 85 minutes in November 2021 when Biden underwent a health check
What’s an example of a vice president having a policy impact
- Joe Biden had impact on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as taking the lead on a range of economic issues
What is the coattails effect
- when a political leader does well in an election, it helps other candidates in their party to attract them votes.
Eg: Trump was mocked for having a short coattails effect, republicans lost 2 senate seats and 6 house seats as trump wasn’t popular enough to help other republicans
What’s an example of national events being negative for a president
- Biden Afghanistan withdrawal, withdrew troops after 20 years which was chaotic and led to the Taliban recapturing control of the country
What is the presidents relationship with congress
Based on:
- electoral mandate, timing of electoral cycle
- manner in which they exercise their constitutional powers
- their popularity
- which party controls either house of reps or senate
What’s an example of a president having a bad relationship with congress
- trump’s veto threats, attacks on congressional failure to repeal Obamacare and pressure to confirm Brett kavanaugh frustrted congress and led to it pushing back presidential power
What’s the presidents relationship with the supreme court
- more stable then with congress, ability to pressure the Supreme Court is limited.
- Obama criticised the supreme court in his 2010 state of union address
- Supreme Court ruled obamas DAPA executive order and recess appointments as unconstitutional
What is an imperial president
- overly powerful due to a lack of checks and balences
What is an imperilled presidency
- president who finds it difficult to exercise their constitutional powers in the face of overly effective checks and balences
What is a lame duck presidency
- formally a president holding office after an election the past they haven’t won, informally a weak president
What’s the relationship between the president and foreign policy
A president can attempt to control foreign policy by exercising a range of powers such as the creation of treaties, using executive agreements. Reception of ambassadors. Appointment of US officials. Role of commander in chief.
What’s the relationship between congress and foreign policy
- congress can fund or defund military action, in 2007 dems attempted to defund Iraq war
- ratifying treaties and political appointments
- congress can use its legislative power to try and control foreign policy
