US Presidency Flashcards
Presidential powers in the constitution
- Signing and vetoing legislation
- commander in chief of armed forces
- Giving the state of union address
- Granting pardons
- Treaties
- Recieving ambassadors
0 Appointing federal judges
0 Calling special sessions of congress
Whats the difference between being head of state and being head of gov’t?
Head of state
- President is the representative of the USA to the world
Head of gov’t
- Has to do more with domestic politics - i.e appointing cavinet
Commander in chief role
seen as both head of state and head of gov’t:
- dependent on money and approval from congress, making it more about governing
- Also a key gloval public figure and can act to defend the USA
What informal sources of power does the president have
- Electoral mandate
- National events
- Executive orders
- Vice president and cabinet
Electoral mandate
With a larger mandate, a president can exercise more power than someone who scrapes a win
How much did Obama win by in 2008
52.9%
How much did Trump win by in 2016
46.1%
Executive orders
Directives to a department on how to carry out a law
Trumps executive orders
220 executive orders - to restrict abortion, Obama care and instituting travel ban
National events
In times of national crisis, president gets a popularity bump, due to national tragedy, etc. seen with 9/11, peaking at 92%
Vice president & cabinet in informal power
individuals cn lend presidents power if they have popularity, etc Hilary Clinton was crucial as secretary of state in negotiating Start Treaty in 2010
Power of persuasion
President has more persuative power when he is popular and vice versa
Successful powers of persuation
Obama campaigned on healthcare reform throughout 2008 - able to pass Obama care in 2010, some success being down to bipartisan appeals to Republicans, health care summits and bc Congress was run by Democrats
Unsuccessful powers of persuation
Trump with the wall - 35 day gov’t shutdown with Trumps inability to persuade Congress
EXOP
Consists of those staff and bodies that immediately surround the president and help him carry out his duties
NSC
Cordinates foreign, military, etc polcy for president I DOTN EVEN FICKING NO DO I
Where is EXOP found?
West wing of the white house or the Eisenhower exec office building next door
What is in EXOP?
- National Security Council
- Office of Management and budget
- White House Office
NSC
National Security Council. the main body used by the President for the formation of policies relating to national security and foreign policy. It is formed by the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence, and the National Security Advisor.
OMB
Office of Management and Budget. The OMB is the largest department within the Executive Office. Its main responsibility is to produce the Budget. It will oversee all the financial aspects of the implementation of the Presidents’ agenda. Finally it will also assess the effectiveness of government programmes. It is one of the only departments within the Executive Office that must have the director confirmed by a Senate Vote.
WHO
The White House Office, as a department in the Executive Office is headed by the White House Chief of Staff. The Office is ultimately made up on assistants of the President, who oversee policy, political matters and above all work to protect the interests of the President. None of the roles in the White House Office require Senate confirmation.
What factors affect presidents relationship with congress?
- Elections
- Seperation of powers
- Persuation
- Divided gov’t
- Presidential action
Separation of powers (affecting presidential relationship w. Congress)
president is v dependent on congressional agreement for money, war, legislation, etc e.g. Trumps failure to repeal and replace Obamacare
Elections (affecting presidential relationship w. Congress)
Congress has its own mandate thus looking after its constituents e.g seen with veto override of 9/11 victims bill of 2016
Divided gov’t (affecting presidential relationship w. Congress)
the majority party in congress might be different to presdients, straining relationship e.g. Trump and border wall
Divided gov’t (affecting presidential relationship w. Congress)
the majority party in congress might be different to presdients, straining relationship e.g. Obamas failure to get immigration reform through a divided gov’t
Presidential action (affecting presidential relationship w. Congress)
executive orders and recess appointments can often cause tension as president is seen to usurp congressional roles.
e.g. Obama used executive orders to get limited immigration reform
What factors affect presidents relationship with the supreme court?
- Appointments
- Judicial review
- In the media
Appointments (affecting presidential relationship w. SC)
A fortunate president may get a chance to shape the court with an appointment that reflects his own ideology. e.g. Trump replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy Coney Barrett
Judicial review (affecting presidential relationship w. SC)
As the final interpreter of the constitution, the sc can thward the president by ruling against him. e.g Trump v Vance (2020) said no person incl President is allowed to with hold information in investigation - 7-2 decision
In the media (affecting presidential relationship w. SC)
Some justices have an increasing tendency to speak out about political events often causing political tension. e.g Justice Alito spoke out about ruling in Snyder v Phelps (2011)
Lame duck president
once a successor has been elected but remains in power until January - during this time, president has no mandate, congressional sessions are also lame ducks
Informal lame-duck president
President is referred to as a lame fuck when they are unable to get anything done. Most commonly after the 6 year mid terms, when us public starts looking at next presidential race, seen w Obama failing to get immigration reform through but did use his veto in his last 2 years
Limits on the presidents power
- Presidential popularity
- Election cycle
- National events
Presidential popularity
If congressional politicians constitutients support the president then by supporting the president the politican is likely to be more popular, this is known as the coat-tails effect - seen in 2016 when Paul Ryan accreddited Republican surge to Donald Trump
Coattails effect
The coattail effect or down-ballot effect is the tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election.
Imperial presidency
Imperial powers - President has a number of powers which have only limited checkes on them (executive orders and agreements, signing statements and pardons) - these powers can be seen as imperial
What shows the commander in chief role to be imperial
Changing nature of warfare & diplomacy
Obamas negotiation of the Iran deal with little reference to Congress is a good example of this
What shows the commander in chief role to be imperilled
Vietnam War was brought to an end when it had become unpopular with the public by withholding funds (tried to do the same in 2007)
Cibgress has authorised most military action taken by a president
Imperilled presidency
A president is unlikely to be imperial for the duration of his presidency. Circumstances being crucial to dictating the power of the president
Presidential controll over foreign policy
- Choice of cabinet secreatries (secretarties of state and defence)
- US armed forces as commander in chief#0 NSC
- Ability to recieve ambassadors and therefore recognise countries
- Ability to recieve ambassadors and therefore recognise countries
- Executive agreementa which do not need senate approval
- Ability to negotiate treaties
Presidential controll over foreign policy
- The power of the purse, crucial for any military actions
- the right of the senate to approve treaties
- the right of the senate to approve cabinet members
- the power to declare war
The balance of power
- Negotiations w foreign nations are left with one representative (head of state) instead of dealing w Congres which is slow and deliberate
- Places the power with the president, however, aftermath - president likely to face high levels of scrutiny at home which amy affect his popularit y and powe
War powers resolution
Congress passed war powers resolution in 1973 - required president to notify congress within 48 hours if they agreed to commit the us military to any action - congress would authorise action, declare war, demand withdrawl - 60 days to withdraw
Is the war pwoers resolution effective
Possibly unconstitutional - encroaches on presidents constitutional power of commander in chief - commonly cited that it has never been used successfully
