US Presidency Flashcards
what is federal bureaucracy
the administrative bodies of the US presidency which act under the presidents direction
article 11 opening sentence - power is vested sigularly in the president which means the president alone wields and is accountable for the power of this branch of government
what are enumerated/formal/expressed powers
those which are explicitly listed
executive power
formal - executive power - vague phrasing of article 2 allows a president ‘executive power’. this is interpreted as being able to organise the executive office of the president (EXOP) and carry out range of executive actions which include executive orders.
executive orders-
these are directions to the federal bureaucracy telling them how a law should be carried out. this is a way in which the president can ‘faithfully execute’ the laws that have been passed by congress and therefore have the force of the law. cannot use them to create new legislation. many presidents have tried to use them to shape policy when congress would not pass legislation they wanted. Obama proclaimed in. his 2014 state of the unions ‘I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone and I can use that pen to sign executive orders’ however these are easily overturned by either a new law, a Supreme Court ruling or simply a new president signing new executive order. trump made headlines signing 58 executive orders in his first year, despite railing against there use in his campaign
trump used executive orders for the ‘muslim travel ban’, separating families that cross the US border illegally and reimposing sanctions on Iran
presidential proclamations - have been historically significant but today many are ceremonial unlike executive orders they give directions to people outside of the executive branch. famous ones are Lincolns emancipation proclamation and George bush declaring a national emergency by reason of certain terrorist attacks in 2001
obama made 213 proclamations
executive memoranda - very similar to executive orders. key difference is there is no formal process for how one is issued and is not recorded. in 2012 Obama used an executive memorandum to introduce DACA, protecting people who fit the conditions from being deported. in 2014 he extended this with DAPA. however these 2014 additions were challenged by the SC in the case of Texas vs United States 2016 and overturned it
signing statements - can issue a signing statement when he signs a bill into law. usually points out the positives and negatives of the bill as far as the president is concerned. this may even go as far as allowing president to challenge some of the aspects on constitutional grounds. eg when Obama signed the national defence authorisation act in 2011he outlined problems regarding the restrictions it placed on the presidency which conflicted with the separation of powers. therefore his statement outlined that he and his administration would interpret aspects of bill to avoid constitutional conflict.
signing statements was not controversial as they were rare however since Reagan the number has notably increased. this raises questions over the power it gives the president over legislation. the American bar association claimed that such statements ‘undermine the rule of law and our constitutional system of serration of powers’
appointments
formal
appointments
president has the power to appoint around 4000 officials, with around 1200 of these needing senate confirmation
key among these are Supreme Court justices and cabinet positions which are confirmed by a simple majority vote in the senate
recess appointments - allows president to make temporary appointments to vacancies which would usually require senate approval but doesn’t because they are in recess. these appointments expire at the end of the next session of senate.
bush made 171 and Obama 32
however pro forma sessions meaning senate was technically still running were used in 2017 to prevent trump from making appointments during senate august break. they feared he would fire his attorney general Jeff sessions and replace him with someone more willing to challenge Robert mueller from heading the justice departments investigation into Russian election interference
state of the union
formal
state of the union- basically a legislative request from president to congress. as the legislative branch it is up to congress to decide what goes through and this will often depend on presidential mandate, timing, popularity of president
sign/veto a bill
formal
sign a bill - often do so in a public ceremony - in 2018 president trump signed legislation that allowed websites to be prosecuted for facilitating online sex trafficking he signed this in the Oval Office surrounded by lawmakers who helped shape the bill and by victims of sex trafficking
veto a bill - allows president to have an almost final say over legislation given how difficult it is to achieve a veto override
however president must be wary of using veto too often as they must rely on congress to get own legislative agenda through equally if congress is able to override veto it makes president look weak
bush had 4 of his 12 vetos override: at 33% this was nearly double the rate of any 20th century. Obama had 1 of his 12 override
the threat of the veto also gives the president power - can try and shape legislation before it gets to him
president Obama threatened to veto the keystone pipeline bill in 2015 and did have to use it however president trump signed a 1.3 trillion spending bill just houses after he threatened to veto it on twitter. this may undermine future vetos he made
take no action - known as the pocket veto - has 10 days to decide what to do with a bill after action on bill becomes automatic . if during the days congress goes into recess then the bill ‘dies’. the ability of the president to do this relies on congress calendar and dying bills have become increasingly rare. if congress is still in session after the 10 days then it automatically becomes law . president may do this when he dislikes a bill but fears override in congress
eg president Obama allowd renewal of Iran sanctions act to become law without his signature
reprieves and pardons
formal
has right to pardon people meaning he can forgive them for a federal crime effictively making it as if the crime never occurred.
can’t pardon impeachment
but is still a matter of debate weather a president could pardon himself especially since trump claimed that he had ‘absolute right ‘ to pardon himself- question grown since he is under investigation atm and still wanting to run in presidential election
commutations - used to free people from a current sentence
on his last day in office Obama issued 330 commutations to people convicted of drug offences. this was the biggest number issued in one day by any president and bought his total number to 1715
commutation of Chelsea manning - leaked classified military intelligence to Wikileaks. some showed the atrocities of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. was sentenced to 35 years in prison but just says before Obama left office he pardoned her believing that justice had been served.
formal - commander in chief
president is constitutionally the head of the army
constitution is unclear on the extent of these powers, however except that only congress can declare war
the powers given to the president have broadened over time - involvement since ww2 has been squarely under the direction of the president
development of nuclear weapons can also have an impact on this power. congress has tried to regain power in this area with the war powers resolution in 1973 however presidents unwillingness to adhere has not been challenged
congress tried to control the Iraq war through its power of the purse but this failed to pass
formal - make treaties
the president with consent of the senate, has the right to create treaties with other nations.
formal treaties such as the new strategic arms reduction treaty in 2010
executive agreements are very similar to treaties except they do not require senate approval. they are often then seen as a way round the constitutional difficulties of gaining senate approval. Obama brokered the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate change agreement in this way.
this is not to say they are without checks however. executive agreements do often require congressional approval before they are fully enforceable, usually through a joint resolution of congress. equally the congressional power of the purse can also be used to control presidential action in this way
even if a treaty is approved by senate, a president has right to remove usa from treaty without asking the senate
formal head of state and government
attends world summits and events such as the g7. brokers deals and treaties
he also carries out ceremonial duties such as the annual pardoning a turkey or throwing the first ball of the season on the opening day of US baseball season
head of government - responsible for organisation of EXOP and presides over the cabinet. he can use executive actions to ensure that US laws are carried out effectively
what are the overlapping powers
commander in chief -
cabinet
informal
Constitutionally has no formal power.
with all executive power vested in a ‘president’, the cabinet is simply an advisory body for the president
despite this every president since 1793 has had a cabinet
it now consists of the heads of 15 departments , the president, the VP and other cabinet level executives the president sees fit
the cabinet is a source of power for the president in a number of ways. cabinet should be policy specialists and therefore lend helpful support to the presidency. eg Tim Geither was obamas secretary of the treasury having previously been the president of the federal reserve bank of New York. he therefore helped obama deal with the recession after the 2007 economic crash. geither introduced the financial stability plan, committing billions of dollars to a ‘lending intiative’ to try and boost the economy while also requiring banks to undergo ‘stress tests’
as cabinet has no constitutional power, the president does maintain the final say over policy - in 2014 obama was concerned that secretary of defense chuck hagel was not transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay fast enough so obamas national secruity advisor sent memo requiring him to speed up the process but he publically disagreed and by nov of that year he had resigned. shows presidents ability to control policy but also ability to rely on his own people in exop rather than his appointed cabinet.
cabinet can take up roles on behalf of the president eg on election of a New Mexican president in 2018 Secretary of State mike pompeo was sent to meet him to improve relations.
cabinet has symbolic value for president. can also create greater diversity in the presidency. obamas being the most diverse in 2009 wth 7 women, 4 african Americans, 3 asian Americans, 2 hispanics and 2 republicans
informal - powers of persuasion
each president has the same constitutional powers and each of these is checked directly by congress. therefore president must rely on something else to achieve his policy goals - persuasion, reputation and public prestige
truman said - ‘i sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have sense enough to do without my persuading them’
president can appeal directly and morally to congress, often through the media. obama did this in his rose garden speech 2013 - where he maintained he was convinced of need to take military action in syria over its governments use of chemical weapons. trump also made such appeals through twitter.
the white house can be used as a stage or ‘bully pulpit’ so can be a way of placing pressure on those with legislative control. an address from the oval office can be particularly effective for this, as rather than simply representing the ‘man’ it represents the office of the president. obama used this platform to call for gun control after the san bernardio shooting in 2015. trump bussed the entire senate to the white house for a breifing on North Korea in 2017.
president can also use his own personal gravitas more directly, through methods such as phoning congressional leaders or personal meetings with them.
obamas deputy chief of staff messina called senators to ensure that they would still ratify sonia sotomayor after difficult quote came to light. trump in trying to get his tax bill passed sent kellyanne conway to speak to whips in congress. obama was known to both telephone and have private meetings with republican speaker john boehner.
with a short congressional election cycle, the president might be able to offer inducements to members of congress eg broader policy promises like obamas promises about syrian intervention being limited and no deployment of american soilders. obama also deported more people than any other president in order to show congress he could be trusted with immigration and to gain suppoet for his immigration reforms.
the more popular a president is, the more likely congress is to listen to him - as may win more votes and popularity for congressmen. president with low polls will find it difficult to use such powers of persuasion as have less personal capital.
informal Vice President
constitutionally, the VP only has 2 powers - take over role of president if necesssary and to cast deciding vote if theres a tie in the senate.
the vp now has come to represent more .
in the election the running mate is important in balancing ticket
FINISH
informal EXOP executive office of the president
Agencies that work within or directly for the white house and are organised by the president himself. often staffed by the people he is very close to. often reffered to as ‘the west wing’
