Unit 6 - The Executive - American ✅ Flashcards
Constitutional powers of the President
Appointments - appointments to all branches including the Supreme Court
e.g Sonya Sotomayor was appointed by Obama to Supreme Court
State of the Union Address - suggest legislation to Congress and convene both the Senate and House of Representatives to address priorities
Commander in chief of the military and navy
e.g. Obama ended Iraq War and George W Bush initiated the Iraq War
Power of Pardon - grant clemency to offenders
e.g Ford pardoned Nixon of any crimes committed during Watergate Affair
International Treaties - decide on relationships and interactions between different countries
e.g. Trumps withdrawal from 2015 Paris Climate Treaty
The US Cabinet
- no doctrine of collective responsibility
- President can add more heads of departments when they want
- Policy specialists
- By convention , the Cabinet consists of 15 heads of departments
- It is an advice giving group selected by the President (but an approval by the Senate is needed)
- Infrequent meetings which are called when the President wants
- Presidents Cabinet is not mentioned in the Constitution . ‘Article II says that all executive power shall be vested in the President’
Why is it good for the President ?
- share information (be kept in loop)
- discuss policies
- look collegial
- check how legislation is proceeding through Congress
Why is it good for Cabinet members ?
- Raise profile in their department
- Chance to see President
- Resolve inter-departmental disputes
- Get to know Cabinet members
- Chance to meet other members and discuss issues of common ground
Types of people nominated to Cabinet
People of other parties : show that there is bipartisanship - and appointments based on ability and not politics
Loyalty to President : will only appoint people who are aware will not against them and fully support their decisions and back him in Congress
Policy Specialists : e.g. The President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Geither was appointed as the secretary of the Treasury
- they are well informed and well educated and experienced in their area and will be more successful in policy area as they can provide crucial information
Academia : Steven Chu was secretary of energy in 2009 and was a Professor if Physics at the University of California (links to policy specialists)
Big City Mayors (Mayor of Dallas, Ron Kirk as US Trade Representative) and Serving or former state Governors (Gov. Janet Napolitano was appointed as secretary of homeland security )
- they will know how to deal with states and their individual issues ; well versed in how to deal with disputes and will be able to provide integral information and advice on a range of issues
- People from Congress : Obama Cabinet of 2009 included Hilary Clinton on New York (Secretary of State) and Ken Salazar (Secretary on Interior)
- aware of all forms of legislation and can suggest advice and information based of past and current house experience
Powers and Roles of the Vice President
- Negotiate with Congress on legislation
- ‘Attack dog’ for the President e.g. Cheney was strongly against the Democrats
- Presiding office of the Senate (function that is rarely performed as the Senate usually deputes Junior Members to chair the debates
- Given the task of counting and then announcing the result of the Electoral College Vote e.g. In 2001, outgoing Vice President Al Gore had to announce his own defeat in the November election
- The Vice President becomes President upon the death, resignation or removal of the President from office
- four times following assassinations
- four times following natural deaths
- once following resignation
On the 29th June 2002 and 21st July 2007 President George W Bush required sedation in order to undergo colonoscopy and Cheney was acting President for just over 2 hours - Balancing the ticket - through expertise , religion, gender etc
- They can break a tie- vote in the Senate e.g. Dick Cheney cast a tie breaking vote in April 2001 to protect President Bush’s $1.6 trillion tax cut
…. in 28 years between 1981 and 2009- Vice Presidents we’re called upon 19 times. Dick Cheney, Al Gore and George W. Bush
Limitations of the role of the Vice President
They are only able to act when they are invited to by the President
They have legally, no clear power base
They are only answerable to the President
Limits of Presidential Power
The Federal Bureaucracy : The President is only one person of 15 Executive departments and around 60 other federal government agencies , boards and commissions employing some 3 million civil servants
- many federal government programmes are implemented by state and local government programmes around the USA
Public Opinion : President Clinton survived his many scandals because of his high public approval rating
- George W. Bush’s approval rating rose from 51% in the 1st week of September 2001 to 86% in the second week
Media : Presidents live in an era of 24 hour news cycle and what the media report and say can have a profound limit on what they can do
e.g. Carter in Iran and Johnson in Vietnam
Pressure groups : They are effective in mobilising public opinion and Clinton was at the brunt of this in 1993-94 over proposed healthcare reform
- Health Insurance Association of América aired highly effective series of Harry and Louise which scupper President’s proposals by turning public opinion against them
The Supreme Court : they have the power to declare actions of the executive branch as unconstitutional
e.g. Rasul vs Bush - SC ruled that detainees in Guantanamo Bay did have access to the US federal courts to challenge their detention - and this struck down an important part of Bush administrations legal policy regarding the war on terror
Congress
- impeach and try the President
- investigate Presidents actions
- reject nominations (Senate only)
- reject treaties (Senate only)
- check power of commander in chief
- amend budgetary requests through power of purse
- override the VETO
- amend, block or delay the Presidents legislative proposals
Other factors
- The level of unity by Presidents Party e.g making it harder to pass things and gain support
- Quality of staff : Clinton appointed ill-qualified staff
- Professional reputation : what members of Congress , state governors and city mayors think of him e.g most of the Republican Party did not agree with Trump as candidate
- Crisis : how the President deals with a crisis e.g ratings of Bush went up immediately following September 2001
Powers of the President
Negotiate Treaties : Modern day Presidents use their power to negotiate treaties such as Panama Canal Treaty (Jimmy Carter) and Chemical Weapons Ban (George H W. Bush)
- The Presidents Power is checked by the Senate which must ratify treaties by a 2/3’s majority ; during the 20th Century, the Senate rejected 7 treaties
Appointments :
1) Federal Judges - fill vacancies in SC, but also in district and circuit courts. They must be confirmed by the Senate
2) Executive Branch Officials - most important of these decisions are the heads of 15 executive departments such as the Treasury and State - they continue to be made throughout the Presidency and they have to be confirmed by the Senate
Commander in Chief : Richard Nixon in Vietnam
In the decade from 1991-2001 there was no significant foreign policy engagement by the US President
- the constitution gives Congress the power of the purse as well as the power to declare war , but this hasn’t been used since 1941
Signing bill into law : President will do this for bills they wish to take credit for ; there is an elaborate bill- signing ceremony which is held and attended by House and Senate members who have been supportive and relevant in the process
e.g The signing of the 2001 Education Reform Act - Democrats Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative George Miller were present
Annual budget : The Office of Management and Budget draws up the annual federal budget for the President
- then submits the budget to Congress and this can be lengthy, especially if Congress and Presidency are two different parties
Executive Agreement : International agreements bought into force with respect to the US. The President May conclude an international agreement on any subject within his constitutional authority so long as the agreement is not inconsistent with legislation enacted by Congress in the exercise of its constitutional authority
VETO!!!
Obama vetoed the construction of the Keystone Oil XL pipeline
From George Washington to George W Bush there has been 1,500 vetos
- Congress Will Try and overturn a veto but this is rarely successful
- A POCKETVETO can only be used at the end of a congressional session and they cannot be overridden by Congress
E.g Reagan 39 times
Propose legislation : a tradition that occurs in late January where the president Will address a joint session in Congress and set our legislative policies for the rest of the year
Executive Orders : statutes (not laws) that the President suggests
Power does inevitably decline in the second term ?
Less political capital to spend : particularly as the term progresses , the President has less ability to offer favours and rewards for support
A record to attack eg Obama and ISIS : as Presidents have been in office for some time, people can attack them for their perceived failures
Scandal will often engulf the administration during the Second term and thus can sap energy and focus from the White House e.g. Clinton- Sex scandal and Nixon - Watergate Affair
Supporters may become disillusioned and less willing to offer backing as they believe that they have been let down in the first term by administration
Presidents will often lose control of one or both Houses during their second term e.g Obama lost control in 2014
Power doesn’t decline in the second term ?
Executive orders can be used to act independent and bypass any congressional opposition to policies
A claim to the mandate can still be made if the President clearly wins an election and significant accomplishments may be achieved (Obama increasing taxes in 2013)
Presidents have a large degree of autonomy in foreign and military affairs ; this means that they can push through policies even if they are unpopular in their second term e.g. Bush and 2007 surge in Iraq
EXOP
They have the ear of the President and they are appointed by the President himself - most of them do not have to be approved by the Senate.
Nevertheless, there are people in both the Cabinet e.g. James Mattis as Secretary of Defence and EXOP that the President values.
