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Presidency: 3.1, formal sources of power as outlined in the constitution. …
Presidency: 3.1, formal sources of power as outlined in the constitution.
Appointments: The president can make appointments to roughly 4000 poisitions. 1200 of these require senate approval.
Best example showing this power: Donald trump using this to significantly impact the ideology of the supreme court, appointing 3 ideologically conservative justices in his first term.
However, this power has been undermined by Congress. Obamas appointment of Merrick Garland was rejected in 2016, as the republican dominated senate argued it was too close to the next election, showing how the power over appointments does not necessarily completely reside with the president.
Executive power: An important power that is used to refer to all of the powers the executive has without the approval of congress.
For example: Biden used executive powers in 2020 to cancel the keystone oil pipeline, a system introduced by Trump.
Executive orders can be used to reverse decisions made by previous presidents. For example, hours after being sworn in as president, Biden made executive orders to reverse immigration policies made by Trump.
Approve legislation: The president can veto, approve, or take no action.
Example of a president effectively using a veto: Donald trump using a veto for the Iran Wars Power resoltion in May 2020. This bill was to limit the president's ability to engage in military action without congressional approval, and Congress failed to achieve an override, giving the president the final say.
However, the president's power over legislation is undermined by veto over rides. For example, George BUsh had 4 out of his 12 vetos overriden, more than any US president, showing how power over legislation can vary.
State of the union: The presidential power to annually recommend legislation to Congress, particularily yheir personal legislative agenda.
This can be an important tool for the president to suggest legislation to Congress. For example, Biden used a state of the union address to call for the support for ukraine act in 2022, securing 13.6 million dollars to Ukraine in funding.
This power can be used poorly by presidents and it can be unsuccesful, as it is ultimately up to Congress to decide on whether or not to propose the legislation. Trump found this out by attempting to call Congress to repeal obamacare twice in 2018, which failed.
Reprivies and pardons: The president has the power to forgive someone for a federal crime and erase it from their criminal record. A reprivy is reducing the sentence terms.
Example using this power: Joe Biden contreversially pardoned his son Hunter Biden for federal gun and drug charges in December 2024.
However, This power is undermined for being very contreversial: people argue that it undermines the rule of law if a president can forgive a convict.
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Make treaties: The president, under consent of the senate, has the power to create treaties with other nations.
Executive agreements can help to bypass the approval needed from congress to create treaties. Obama used this to negotiate the iran nuclear deal and the paris agreements on climate change.
The fact a 2/3rds majority is still needed from the Senate to approve treaties means that this power is somewhat undermined by Congress.
Recieve ambassadors: The president greets/meets diplomats and ambassadors from foreign countries, an important tool for foreign affairs.
Example:President Trump was the first US president to meet north korean leader Kim Jon Un, being the first president to also cross into North Korea.
However, use of this pwoer can cause controversy with other nations. For example, Obama meeting with the Dalai Llama four times in the white house angered the chinese government, creating tension between the USA and China.
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