USA Executive Branch: President

Question 1

US president

Answer 1

Head of state, government and chief commander of the military.

Question 2

Formal Powers

Answer 2

Powers given to the president by the constitution or congress.

Question 3

Formal Power Sources

Answer 3

Enumerate Powes
- Granted in Article 2
Implied Powers
- Implied by the text of the Constitution
Inherent Powers
- Needed to carry out presidential role

Question 4

Informal Powers

Answer 4

Have political basis instead of the constitutional.

Question 5

Formal Powers examples

Answer 5

-Executive powers
- Preparing the budget
-Power to influence the passage of legislation
- 4 options, veto…
-Appointment powers
-Foreign policy powers
- Commander in chief of US military
-Pardon powers

Question 6

Informal Powers examples

Answer 6

Powers to persuade
Deal making
- Trump 2019, 1.4T spending bill
Setting the agenda
Party leader
World leader
Direct authority and stretching of implied actions
- Executive orders
Bureaucratic powers

Question 7

Cabinet

Answer 7

Group of advisers chosen by the president to help to run federal government.
- Includes VP and 15 heads of executive departments
- RFK, health/human services

Question 8

Executive Office of the President (EXOP)

Answer 8

Group of offices that support the president in running of the federal government.
- White house Office
- National Security Council

Question 9

White House chief of staff

Answer 9

Most senior adviser of the president. Heads the EXOP.

Question 10

Relationship between the president and chief of staff

Answer 10

Obama and Rahm Emanuel
- Controlled policy czars, cabinet offices
- Checked policy suggestion before delivered to president
- All institutions tightly organized

Trump and Reince Priebus
- Resigned after 6 month

Question 11

How president uses EXOP to dominate the cabinet

Answer 11

Policy czars
- Responsible for particular area or policy, can overlap with cabinet
- Greater access to president
- 2017 Jared Kushner convinced Trump to move US embassy to Jerusalem, opposed by secretary of state

Question 12

Waxing and Waning of Obamas powers

Answer 12

Waxing
- Highest approval rates since 1970s
- 2 chamber controlled by democrats
- 2010 passed Obama Care

Waning
- 2010 midterm lost the House
- Could not convince Congress for stricter gun laws
- 2014 midterm lost the Senate
- 2016 failed to fill Supreme Court judge

Question 13

Imperial vs Imperiled presidency examples

Answer 13

Imperial - Nixon
- Authorized military intervention in Laos without telling Congress
- Watergate scandal, illegal methods
- Continued Vietnam War without Congress approval

Imperiled - Biden
- Agenda often stalled by gridlocks from opposition and moderate democrats.

Question 14

Who has greater power President or PM

Answer 14

PM
- Large majority + discipline = great power
- Whip system, patronage powers
- No approval for cabinet
- Less checks and balances
- No parliament approval for military intervention
- No term limits

President
- Head of state, government
- Sole head of executive
- Has personal mandate
- Much larger bureaucracy to support them
- Commander in chief of US military
- Cant be removed except impeachments unlike vote of no confidence
- Huge international influence

Question 15

US V UK cabinet

Answer 15

US Cabinet
- Senate confirmation
- Sole authority
- Cabinet officers responsible for own departments
- Not political rivals
- Members are policy specialists
- Ministers stay within 1 department
- Reshuffles do not increase power of the president
- Rare meetings

UK Cabinet
- Pm can appoint anyone
- Primus inter pares
- Collective cabinet responsibility
- Pm rivals
- Not policy specialists
- Moved to different departments
- Reshuffles increase PM power
- Frequent meetings