US Presidency Flashcards
Fluctuations in Presidential Power (x3)
The 2001 events of 9/11 and 2012 Sandy Hook shooting were crises which caused an increase in presidential power
Midterm elections can lead to increased power (Reagan) and decreases such as Obama who lost the House in 2010 and the Senate 2014
Presidents with low approval ratings are less likely to be able to pass the bills they want to
Formal Sources of Presidential Power (x5)
Article 2 of the Constitution details as to how the President is the HEAD OF STATE (vetoing laws, signing laws and making pardons)
HEAD OF THE EXECUTIVE, as ‘The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America’, and can thus nominate judges
Can make executive orders and use the EXOP
Commander-in-chief, so can utilise military action
‘From time to time give Congress information of the State of the Union’
President Truman
‘I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have sense enough to do […] That’s all the powers of the President amount to’ - Truman
Fits with NEUSTADT theory of the power of persuasion
Informal Sources of Power (x4)
Appoint a Cabinet e.g. Trump firing Sally Yates or Obama appointing Chuck Hagel
Electoral mandate, approval rating and crises all affect presidential power
Neustadt stated that ‘presidential power is the power to persuade’, and this would fit in with Trump who struggled to persuade the House fo fudning for his US-Mexico Border Wall
BULLY PULPIT of the White House
Executive Office of the President
Agencies that work for the White House
- Office for the Management of the Budget
- National Security Council
They advise the President on their respective matters
White House Office
Contains senior aides and advisers as the President wishes
Press secretary is the most senior figure in the White House Office. Trump chose Kayleigh Mcenany and Biden chose Jen Psaki
President and the Supreme Court
Trump was able to appoint 3 socially conservative judges (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett)
Whilst the President is unable to pressure the Supreme Court due to the separation of power, Obama openly criticised the court’s ruling in Citizens United V Federal Elections Commission in his 2010 state of the union address
President and Congress (x3)
Dependent on electoral mandate and popularity of President. A popular President can cause a ‘coat-tails effect’, changing the makeup of Congress
Whilst the President can use vetoes, military action and avoid impeachment due to congressional partisanship, only the House has the power of the purse (Trump’s Wall), Congress can impeach the President and refuse to confirm presidential appointments (Merrick Garland)
During crises or a Congress united in the President’s favour, the President is not held accountable
Imperial Presidency
Schlesinger posits a president who uses PRESIDENTIAL OVERREACH due to a lack of effective checks and balances
Clinton and Trump acquitted due to partisanship of the Senate, Obama’s 12 vetoes, Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Korean Washing Machines even though the Constitution states that the ‘imposition of excises’ is Congress
Trump’s secret drone strike on Soleimani which foes against 1974 War Powers Act, firing dissenters such as Sally Yates (attorney general 10 days after inauguration) or Scaramucci.
Reagan secretly and illegally ending the embargo on Iran in the Iran-Contra affair
The Imperilled Presidency
A president who finds it difficult to exercise his constitutional powers such as Obama becoming a ‘lame duck’ after 2010 House and 2014 Senate loss
Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland not approved by Senate
Donald Trump impeached 2x, Clinton impeached in 1998 and Nixon resigning in 1974 due to pressure
Trump was unable to overturn Obamacare and DACA even though they were campaign pledges
Against an Imperilled Presidency (x3)
Reagan and Eisenhower gained power in their 2nd terms
Donald Trump had 3 Supreme Court nominations approved
Trump and Clinton were both acquitted
Dual Presidency
Wildavsky
The president must be equally strong on domestic and foreign affairs. The president can utilise military action in a crisis and appoint US official to the NSC
The House can defund wars e.g. 2007 Iraq,
The Senate confirms the signing of treaties and the 1974 War Powers Act means that only Congress can declare war
Presidential Failure Theory
Lowi
All presidencies end in failure due to losing support (Obama) or scandals (Nixon)
US vs UK Systems (x4)
Separation of powers vs fusion of powers, so the US President is elected separately so has a greater electoral mandate than the UK prime minister. STRUCTURAL THEORY
Codified constitution which gives the President ability to nominate judges vs uncodified and 2005 CRA and Independent Judicial Appointments Commission. STRUCTURAL THEORY
Bicameral legislature with an unelected chamber vs bicameral legislature with 2 elected chambers. Elections every 2 years vs 5 years of motion of no confidence due to 2011 FTPA
Both PM and President are commander-in-chief, both nominate cabinet and both are subject to judicial rulings
