The President (US 3) Flashcards
What are the constitutional requirements for someone to the able to run as president (3):
-at least 35 years old
-be a natural born citizen (you or your parents born in US)
-have lived in US for at least 14 years
What is the presidents enumerated relationship with the military
They act as commander in chief, however since the 1973 war powers resolution they aren’t able to go to war without congressional approval
What enumerated power does the president have over SC rulings
Power to pardon (as Biden did to his son Hunter in 2024) and to grant commutations (lessening a sentence)
How does a president enact their formal power of proposing legislation
Via the State of the Union Address (which happens once a year in Jan or Feb usually)
What foreign power does the president have formally
-The power to negotiate treaties (they cannot ratify them without senate approval)
-meeting with foreign ambassadors
Who does the president have the formal power to appoint
-Supreme Court judges
-the cabinet
(All appointments have to approved by the senate)
What is an executive agreement
An agreement between the executive branch and a foreign nation that is not as formal as a treaty (not requiring senate approval) but still legally binding.
This informal power is granted by congressional authorisation (a simple majority in both houses grants the president the power to sign the agreement into law) and implied by the constitution
Examples of executive agreements
-90% of all international agreements are executive agreements because ratifying a treaty is difficult (requires 2/3 supermajority in the senate)
-2016 Paris Agreement (climate pledge to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5 c): Obama singed it in, then Trump opted out and then Biden was back in, showing that exec agreements are reversible and clearly informal
Examples of senate-ratified treaties
-2011 New START treaty (agreement for nuclear arm reduction between US and Russia)
-2022 Kigali amendment (pledge to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs)
-the 2009 UN convention on durable rights fell 6 short of a 2/3rds majority so was never ratified (showing difficulty of ratification)
Why are congressional- executive agreements easier to pass than treaties
They have a rescued need for bipartisan support (simple majority in both houses vs 2/3rds majority in the senate) which means that they are less thoroughly scrutinised and hence the president has almost unilateral power to pass them
What is a signing statement and why have they been used recently
A commentary or celebratory note added to a bill by the president before they sign it into law. They have recently been used to constitutionally challenge parts of a bill and imply executive disagreement with congressional decisions
Examples of signing statements
81% of W.Bush’s signing statements were criticisms of the bill (meaning he gave over 1100 objections in total)
Criticism like this is significant not only because it becomes publicly clear let that there is tension between the executive and legislative branches leading to questions of governmental stability and efficacy but also because it undermines the presidents enumerated responsibility to “faithfully execute laws”
What was a line item veto (which is now banned)
A power which gave the president power to censor parts of a bill
The line item veto act which granted this power was passed in 1996 and shortly after removed in Clinton vs New York 1998)
What is an executive order
A directive from the President issues to an executive branch of government to manage the actions of federal government
Recent examples of executive orders
-in 2017, trump issued an order to ban entrance from the US to people coming from 7 predominantly Muslim countries (Biden removed this order)
-Bides 2022 executive order to cancel $10k of student debt for low-middle income borrowers (blocked by the SC as infringing upon power of the purse)
