US Presidency - Topic 3.1 Flashcards
Formal sources of the power of the President
What is outlined in Section I of Article II?
- “The executive power should be vested in the president”
- Broad, and also vague, open to interpretation
- Holds term for four years
- Must be a US born, and a US citizen and live in the US for at least 14 years, must be at least 35 years old
- The President is there to represent the country on the national level and there to united all the federal states together under one central banner
- Head of State of the United States
- Head of the Government/(Chief) Executive
- Most senior person in the party
What is outlined in Section II of Article II?
- The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army, Navy and the militia of the several states (and also the Marines and the Air Force)
- Require the opinions of heads of department
- Pardons and reprieves
- Make treaties
- Appoint ambassadors, judges and officials
- Recess appointments
What is outlined in Section III of Article II?
- Give the State of the Union and recommend to Congress
- Convene special sessions of Congress
- Receive ambassadors
- Faithfully execute laws
What is outlined in Section IV of Article II?
The President should be impeached for:
- Bribery,
- Treason,
- Or other high crimes
- Or misdemeanours
What is the role of the President as Head of State?
And what are their powers?
The head of state carries out ceremonial roles, has greater oversight of foreign policy and holds the highest office in the country. The President attends world summits (e.g., G7) and broker deals and treaties on behalf of the US.
- Power of the pardon
- Receiving ambassadors
- Representing the USA abroad
- Ceremonial duties
- Commander-in-chief
- Recongising countries
- State of the Union address
- Making treaties
What are the roles of the President as Head of Government?
The President heads the Executive branch and are responsible for the organisination of the EXOP, preside over the cabinet and the federal bureaucracy and use executive actions to make sure that US laws are carried out effectively. They are the sole role that sign and veto legislation.
- Chief legislator
- Chief executive
- Commander-in-chief
- Recognising countries
- State of the Union address
- Making treaties
What are the enumerated powers of the President?
- Commander-in-Chief
- Negotiate treaties
- State of the Union address
- Appoint ambassadors, judges and officers of the US
- Recess appointments
- Pardon
- Convene special sessions of Congress
- Approve or veto legislation
Formal sources of the President’s power
What outcomes are available to the President once a bill passes?
With recent examples:
Sign the bill:
- The bill automatically becomes law and is a public ceremony with media present. As little bills go through, these ceremonies are a chance to show off what achievements the President has made. (When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 was signed, Biden was on the White House lawn with members of Congress, Kamala Harris and a brass band. He then gave a speech on the importance of this bill)
Veto the bill:
- If a bill is vetoed, it is sent back to Congress with the President’s objections. A veto can be overturned, however this is rare. The President must be wary how many times they veto a piece of legislation as this could jeopardise their relationship with Congress. (Trump threatened to veto the NDAA as it included a liability shield to social media companies, Congress used veto override)
Take no action:
- Pocket veto - If Congress is in recess and the President does nothing with the bill, it effectively dies
- Leave on the desk - If Congress is in session, and the President does nothin with the bill, it automatically becomes law
Formal powers of the President’s power
What is the importance of the State of the Union address?
With recent examples:
The State of the Union address is the annual address delivered by the President in Congress outlining their legislative agenda for the coming year. As Congress is the legislative branch, it is they who decide whether to pass, amend or reject any recommendation that the President makes to Congress.
Trump’s addresses:
- Call to repeal Obamacare (2018) - Failed as in 2017 attempts failed and many of the issues were left to the courts
- $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan (2018) - Failed because of Congress’ unwillingness to fund the border wall leading to the longest government shutdown in US history
Biden’s addresses:
- Called for support for Ukraine (2022) - Success, leading to $13.6 billion going to Ukraine
- Gun control (2022) - Yet to be seen (most likely fail)
Formal sources of the President’s power
What is the importance of presidential appointments?
With recent examples:
Although 1200 of the President’s 4000 appointments need to be confirmed by the Senate, the President has a large scope in their own branch, to effectively run the Executive. One of the President’s informal powers is establishing a cabinet, containing 15 heads of department and other officials. The President also has the power of ‘recess appointments,’ which are temporary appointments of the President without Senate approval when it is in recess.
(In 2020, Trump threatened to adjourn Congress to make several recess appointments as these members were previously not confirmed by Congress for a long time. Trump’s threat was both controversial and questionable, as no President has ever threatened to do so)
Formal sources of the President’s power
What is the importance of executive powers to the President?
With recent examples:
Executive orders, memoranda, proclamations and statements
Executive orders:
* Many presidents have tried to use executive orders to create “pseudo-legislation” when Congress would not pass a law. These executive orders can be overturned by a supermajority in Congress, a new law or a Supreme Court ruling. (EO13990 - Biden - Cancelled the Keystone Pipeline and 100 other environmental actions of Trump)
Executive memoranda:
* They’re similar to EOs but there is no formal process for the President. They’re not recorded unlike EOs. (Biden used a memorandum to secure DACA in 2021 after Trump attemtped to stop the programme in 2017)
Presidential proclamations:
* They’re similar to EOs but they affect those outside the Executive branch. One famous proclamation was Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. (Biden has made 455 proclamations, as of May 31st 2023)
Signing statements:
* A statement is issued by the president regarding a bill that they have just signed into law. It usually picks out the positives and negatives of a bill and the President could challenge aspects of the bill, e.g., Obama and the NDAA 2011. Since Reagan, the number of signing statements have increased.
Formal sources of the President’s power
What is the importance of the President being able to grant pardons?
With recent examples:
The President has the power to pardon any person who has broken federal crimes. The extreme case was demonstrated when President Ford pardoned President Nixon after the Watergate Scandal and his impeachment charges were dropped.
Commutations can be issued to free someone from a current sentence, however, commutations do not remove the guilt of the person, communations only affect the size of the sentence.
- Obama - 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations
- Trump - 143 pardons and 94 commutations
- Biden (as of December 2023) - 3 pardons and 75 commutations
Formal sources of the President’s power
Why is it important that the President can specially convene Congress?
With recent examples:
The President can recall either houses of Congress while they are in recess. Most times the Senate has been recalled to approve a judicial appointment or cabinet nominee. The last time Congress has been convened by the President was in 1948 by Truman relating to domestic politics after WWII. As convening Congress has not been used since then, it suggests that this power is not as important and is not important to the President.
Formal sources of the President’s power
What is the importance of the President as Commander-in-chief?
With recent examples:
The President is constitutionally the head of the: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Space Force. The President cannot declare war but has the ability to freely move troops. This nuance has allowed the President to commit America to several wars, without actually declaring war on an nation.
The War Powers Act of 1973 tried restricting the President’s power in their ability to commit troops by making the President go through Congress, however, recent President’s have viewed the bill as unconstitutional and have not listened to Congress when regarding the bill. The need for a swift response has grown, and the need for a large, land army has decreased.
Formal sources of the President’s power
What is the importance of the President being able to sign treaties?
With recent examples:
With the consent of Congress, the President has the power to create treaties with other nations. Executive agreements however, do not require Congress’ consent. Both the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal were executive agreements passed by Obama to get round constitutional ineffiencies in Congress. The House’s ‘power of the purse’ can restrict the President’s actions.
