US Presidency Flashcards
What are the formal powers of the President?
With examples.
-Propose legislation and submit the annual budget e.g. *2018 Trump announced plan to spend $1.5 trillion on infrastructure. *
-Sign legislation e.g. *Biden signed Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act 2024. *
-Veto legislation e.g. *Obama won 11 out of his 12 vetoes against Congress 2009-2017. *
-Act as chief executive e.g. *Biden 2025 executive order Helping Left-Behind Communities Make a Comeback. *
-Nominate executive branch officials e.g. Trump’s nomination of Musk 2025.
-Nominate federal judges e.g. Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh 2018.
-Commander-in-chief e.g. Biden committed foreign defense 2024 under Ukraine Security Initiative $2.1 billion.
-Negotiate treaties e.g. nuclear arms treaty with Russia by Obama.
-Pardon e.g. Obama 1,927 pardons to individuals during his time in office, many of which were for low-level, non-violent offenses, particularly related to drug crimes
+ Trump pardoned himself
What is the P’s role as head of state?
Example
-Ceremonial roles e.g. world summits and events like G7 OR G20.
-Oversight of foreign policy.
-Power of the pardon.
-Comforter/mourner-in-chief.
(Head of state in the UK is the monarch)
E.g. Bush acted as comforter/mourner-in-chief after 9/11 in 2001.
What is the P’s role as head of government?
-Heads executive branch.
-Organises the EXOP.
-Presides over cabinet and federal bureaucracy.
-Sign and veto legislation.
EXOP = Executive Office of the President
What are the informal sources of the P’s power?
-Cabinet
-Vice-president
-EXOP
-OMB
-NSC
-WHO
-Powers of persuasion
-Direct authority
What is the role of the cabinet?
-Simply an advisory body.
-Consists of the heads of 15 departments.
-P can remove or add members depending on priorities and circumstances e.g. Obama elevated the Small Business Administration to cabinet status, highlighting his priority of economic recovery.
How powerful is cabinet?
-No formal power as it is not mentioned in the Constitution.
-It is not a collective body and therefore has limited power, but as individuals, cabinet members are an important source of power for the P.
-Give special insights to the P.
-Depends on how much the P uses it e.g. Reagan held 36 meeting in his first year, whereas Clinton held only 6.
-P maintains final say over policy (he isn’t ‘first among equals’).
EXOP is a key rival.
What are the main functions of cabinet for the P?
-Collegiality - helps P appear collegial and consultive/collaborative.
-Exchange information - P can gather info about what is going on.
-Policy debate - P can broaden consultations and debate policy.
-Monitoring Congress.
-Enhances democratic/representative nature of government.
What are the main functions of the VP?
Who was Biden’s VP + who is Trump’s?
-Take over the role of P if necessary.
-Cast deciding vote in event of a tie in the Senate.
-Presiding officer over the Senate.
-Important in ‘balancing the ticket’.
Biden - Kamala Harris
Trump - JD Vance
Give 3 examples of VPs playing an important role.
Richard Cheney (VP to Bush) - important role in responding to 9/11 attacks, Bush lacked experience in federal gov so Cheney took responsibility for several key policy areas.
Joe Biden (VP to Obama) - headlined in The Atlantic as ‘The Most Influential VP in History’, provided expertise over wars in Afghanistan + Iraq and economic issues post-crash.
Kamala Harris (VP to Biden) - by March 2021 had made 3 tie-break votes including a motion on the American Rescue Plan Act 2021.
What is the EXOP + its roles?
-Agencies that work directly within the WH and are organised by the P.
-Consists of top presidential staff agencies that provide advice, coordination and administrative support.
-3 most important offices are the OMB, WHO and NSC.
-Also referred to as the ‘West Wing’.
-Tension with cabinet.
What is the OMB?
-Office of Management and Budget.
-3 principle functions: develop annual budget, oversee spending of federal departments/agencies, and act as a clearing house for all legislative initiatives so they can be assessed for budgetary implications.
What is the NSC?
-National Security Council.
-Advises the P and coordinates on matters of national security/foreign policy.
-Provides a daily security briefing for the P.
-Coordinates info coming into the WH from various departments including the CIA.
-May conflict with the Department of Defense.
-Trump criticised for using it as a political vehicle, which it’s not,as he relegated numerous members and appointed Steve Bannon. He also claimed he did not need the security briefing.
What is the WHO?
-White House Office.
-Acts as a liason between the WH, Congress and the vast federal bureaucracy.
-Contains the most senior and trusted advisors.
-Chief of staff perhaps the most powerful in the WH after the P, controls who he sees, reads and speaks to.
-Can hold extensive power over the P if they wish; Nixon’s WHO nicknamed the ‘Berlin Wall’, as they made it very challenging for others to access the P.
Give an example of chief of staffs showing importance.
Andrew Cord was famously seen whispering into G.W Bush’s ear on the morning of 9/11.
‘America is under attack’.
What is the P’s power of persuasion?
-Can use their prestige and other bargaining methods to get people to do as they wish.
-Almost every power of the P is checked by Congress, meaning the P must turn to other methods.
Informal power
What are the 4 rules that enable the P to exercise effective persuasion?
Use examples
-Appoint key roles to exploit the ‘honeymoon period’: Bush, Obama and Biden ensured key roles of cabinet were appointed when they came into office, whereas Trump was slower which hindered his early progress.
-Appoint chief of staff who is a good political operator: Bush was most successful in finding a long-serving/effective chief of staff, Andrew Cord. Trump went through 4 in his only term.
-Used closed dicussion when formulating detail but be open to ‘selling’ programmes: Bush able to persuade both Ds and Rs to support No Child Left Behind Act 2002. Biden showed similar pragmatism by reaching out to all sections of party to rally around the American Rescue plan 2021.
-Build an esprit de corps between staffers and cabinet: Bsh successful in creating feeling of pride and mutual loyalty for first 6 years. Trump least successful as his administration blighted by high turnover of staff and multiple resignations.
Esprit de corps = cooperation + collaboration
Give examples of Ps using powers of persuasion.
-Appeal directly and morally to Congress, often through media e.g. Obama in Rose Garden speech 2013 concerning military action in Syria. Trump Twitter.
-Use WH as a stage to speak to Congress/public e.g. Obama used to call for gun control after San Bernardino shooting 2015.
-Phone congressional leaders/meetings e.g. Trump sent aide Kellyanne Conway to speak to whips in Congress.
-Offer inducements to members of Congress e.g. Obama deported more people than any other P in an effort to gain support for immigration reform.
What are the 4 groups a P has to work through in order to be a successful persuader?
-VP - usually a former member of Congress and presides over the Senate, giving the P a critical foothold. Biden, senator for 36 years, led the Obama administration in Congress.
-Members of WHO - important connections + full time lobbyists.
-Cabinet officers - deployed by WH to talk with Congress members on policy areas e.g. G.W. Bush used Education Secretary Rod Paige to sell his education reform package to Congress 2001.
-Congress party leadership (House Speaker, majority/minority leader, whips, committee chairs). Gregarious Ps like Reagan/Clinton could easily develop good relations with Congress.
How did Obama use powers of persuasion to promote his healthcare reform bill 2010?
What time period?
-State of Union Address to Congress.
-Addressed Republican House Issues Conference in Baltimore.
-Televised session with Senate Democrats in Washington DC.
-Met with 11 Democrats at the WH.
-Met with the New Democrat Coalition Leadership in the Oval Office.
-Addressed the House Democratic Caucus on Capitol Hill.
All between 27th Jan and 20th March
Arguments to suggest the P’s power IS STILL the power to persuade.
-P has no formal disciplinary hold over Congress.
-Party discipline in Congress can’t guarantee votes for the P.
-P may be faced with one or both houses controlled by another party.
-P is dependent upon members of Congress for legislation, confirmation of appointments and treaty ratification.
-P’s direct authority is limited.
-All formal powers of the P are checked by Congress.
Arguments to suggest the P’s power IS NOT the power to persuade?
-In an era of partisanship, few members of Congress from the opposition are open to presidential persuasion.
-P’s nowadays tend to have low approval ratings and therefore persuasion is significantly less effective.
-Second-term P’s in particular struggle to use persuasion.
What are the P’s powers of ‘direct authority’?
-Executive orders e.g.* Obama used to pass DAPA in 2014 (struck down by SC so limited power) + Trump issued 12 during the first week of his term 2016.*
-Signing statements (statement issued by a P on signing a bill) e.g. Bush and Obama used increasingly to challenge constitutionality of bills/gather more power.
-Recess appointments(way of P getting his way on appointments against an uncooperative and transigent Congress) Bush used then increasingly but Obama lost court decision about them in 2014 so made no more.
-Executive agreements(agreement between P and foreign nation on matters that don’t require a formal treaty).
Actions they can take which do not require congressional approval and yet can achieve some of their policy goals.
Factors affecting P’s success/power
Impact of the electoral mandate.
-Success of a P in election can be a source of power.
-Sweeping victory increases strength of mandate
-Trump won 312 EC votes and 49.8% the popular vote, giving him a strong mandate.
-Obama won 52.9% of the popular vote with 365 EC votes.
-Biden’s 51% of the popular vote aided him in passing the American Rescue Plan.
Factors affecting P’s success/power
Importance of public approval/national circumstances.
-P with a high approval rating has more political clout and bolstered power.
-P’s approval ratings tend to decline after their first term, hence why they pass their most challenging legislation ASAP.
-Bush’s approval rating reached 90% post-9/11 (national circumstances)
-Clinton’s high approval ratings during 1999 are likely what saved him from conviction in the Senate during his impeachment trial.
-The* blossoming economy under Clinton* (national circumstances) helped to bolster his power by enhancing public approval.
