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THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT: PRESIDENT - Coggle Diagram
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT: PRESIDENT
article 2 of the constitution gives executive power to the president.
president is indirectly elected by electoral college system.
president is head of federal govt, head of state and commander in chief of military.
executive power held solely by president though they can delegate to their cabinet and other officials.
range of powers - some defined in constitution.
powers limited by checks and balances of other branches.
diff presidents use powers with diff levels of effectiveness: imperial or imperilled presidency.
SOURCES OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER
enumerated powers:
explicitly given.
set out in article II of constitution - e.g. power to propose legislation to congress.
delegated powers from congress - power to determine detailed regulations for congress's laws.
implied powers:
implied by text of constitution.
inherent powers:
not in constitution but needed for president to carry out role as head of executive.
not linked to a specific power in constitution but are instead simply inherent to the presidents overall role.
EXAMPLES OF USE:
George Bush's use of inherent powers against terrorist suspects: inherent powers allowed him to ignore civil liberties of terrorist suspects by detaining them for an indefinite period - indefinite detention without trial was ruled against by SC in 2008.
FORMAL POWERS
executive powers:
chief exec of fed govt.
prepares annual fed budget - although must be passed by congress.
legislative powers:
proposes legislation to congress.
signs legislation passed by congress into law.
can veto legislation passed by congress.
appointment process:
nominates officials to executive branch and all federal justices - must be confirmed by senate though.
foreign affairs powers:
commander in chief of us military.
can initiate military action. - e.g. George Bush led the US into Iraq and Afghanisatn.
The 1973 War Powers Act requires presidents to ask Congress to approve military action in advance, but some have acted without this - e.g. Obama's 2011 intervention in Libya (NATO air strikes).
Negotiates treaties, although must be ratified with 2/3 senate super majority.
pardons:
president can pardon someone who has acknowledged they are guilty of a federal crime.
INFORMAL POWERS
the power to persuade:
presidents can use personal influence, the authority of their office and their political capital to convince other key political figures to support them.
deal-making:
presidents may win support from politicians by making deals to help with their own priorities.
agenda setting:
presidents set the agenda as they command the political spotlight.
Trump used twitter to bring attention to his chosen controversial issues e.g. immigration.
executive influence:
presidents can use their support of the VP, cabinet officers and their lobbyists in the Office of Legislative Affairs to push forward their agenda.
de facto party leader:
the president is in effect head of their party, which allows them to influence their membership.
if presidents party controls either, or both, houses of congress, it is far easier for them to pass through legislation.
world leader:
president has huge international influence as leader of one of most powerful superpowers in history.
Reagan led powers in cold war, Bush led international coalition in 'war against terror' and Obama played a key role in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
Trump was less interested in international relationships and preferred developing bilateral relationships with other countries as opposed to working through international organisations - he withdrew from the Paris Agreement and WHO.
Biden has been working to restore american leadership on the global stage, recommitting to NATO, donating 5 mill covid vaccines to the worlds lowest income countries and rejoining the Paris Agreement and WHO.
direct authority and 'stretching' of implied powers:
direct authority:
power of president to take action directly without consulting with congress.
executive orders:
can be made by president directly to federal govt - have the effect of law but can be reversed by next president. - FDR holds record with over 3700 - Obama relied on them after he became frustrated with congress's resistance to his agenda and he issued them as an alternative to legislation (he issued a total of 276) - Trump issued 220 in his 4 year presidency - Biden passed 42 in his first 100 days in office and many of these were aimed at reversing Trumps.
signing statements:
when a president makes either a negative or positive written comment when signing a bill into law - can even state a part of the law is unconstitutional so their govt will not enforce it.
executive agreements:
deals made between the us and another country. used by presidents to avoid the difficult process of getting a treaty ratified by a supermajority in the senate - these can be changed by presidents though as seen with the 2015 Paris Agreement.
bureaucratic power:
EXOP.
provides policy advice and administrative support to help the president run the federal govt and promote their agenda.
CHECKS AND BALANCES BY CONGRESS
amending, delaying or rejecting the president's legislation:
even if public opinion is on their side the president cannot pass legislation without congress - e.g. Obama and gun control.
less effective during periods of united govt.
although, individual senators can use the filibuster to block legislation.
overriding a presidential veto:
rarely happens.
2/3 majority in both houses needed.
congress only overrode one of trumps 10 vetoes.
power of the purse:
congress needs to pass the budgets of the executive.
congress can extract key concessions in return.
if congress refuses to pass presidents budget, it can force a govt shutdown, putting pressure on the govt to agree to its demands.
congress's refusal to fund president trumps border wall led to a record 35-day govt shutdown - but trump found a way around this by declaring a national emergency which allowed him to access special funding set aside for emergencies.
refusing to confirm presidential appointments (senate):
very significant especially with high-profile appts.
2016 Republican Senate refused to hold hearings on Obama's nominees to prevent the court from having a liberal/democrat majority.
refusing to ratify treaties (senate):
1920 rejection of Treaty of Versailles which resulted in more isolationist policies through the 1920s.
2012 senate refusal to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
2/3 majority is needed.
since war, presidents have increasingly used executive agreements to avoid the ratification process.
impeachment and trial of the president:
no president has actually ever been removed from office.
even if president is acquitted, process of impeachment generates huge media attention and scrutiny. - Nixon resigned in 1974 over the controversy of the Watergate Scandal.
Trump faced impeachment in 2020 and 2021 for the crimes of using aid to extract a political favour from Ukraine and 'inciting insurrection' before the assault on the capitol.
his acquittal may reassure future presidents that they will not be held accountable for their wrong doings.
the power to declare war:
limited effectiveness.
congress has not declared war since 1941 despite us involvement in the korean, vietnam, afghanistan and iraq wars.
1973 War Powers means presidents should ask congress to approve military action, even if war isnt declared.
Obama did not seek authorisation though for his 2011 intervention in Libya.
investigation:
high-profile congressional investigations are an important form of oversight, generating significant media scrutiny also.
Senate Investigation Committee considered effectiveness of Obama's administration's response to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and made suggestions to avoid recurrence in the 2020 elections.
CHECKS AND BALANCES BY THE JUDICIARY
judicial review:
courts can declare the govts actions unconstitutional.
2017: court ruled Trumps 'muslim travel ban' unconstitutional and only backed it in 2018 when he expanded it to included non-muslim countries.
2020: SC ruling in
Trump v. Vance
rejected Trumps claim that the president had complete immunity from criminal investigations by stating the president had no right to deny criminal prosecutors access to his personal financial records.
OTHER CONSTRAINTS ON THE PRESIDENT
party support in congress:
more difficult t pass legislation or have nominations approved in times of divided govt.
equally difficult during times of united govt if the party is not behind the president - e.g. Trump failed to repeal Obamacare in his first 100 days because the Republican Party were not united.
state governors:
can actively work against the presidents agenda.
numerous state governors opposed Trumps Covid-19 policies and introduced lockdowns in their own states, using their authority to set their own rules and timelines.
this authority is limited to their state only.
the prevailing orientation of the SC:
a liberal or conservative majority will affect its rulings on govt actions and legislation.
interest groups:
may campaign against a presidents agenda.
can be powerful and highly influential - e.g. NRA successfully motivated congress and its supporters to resist Obama's efforts for gun control.
media:
Obama felt his administration was unfairly attacked by conservative channel fox news.
Trump went further, repeatedly claiming his administration was being undermined by 'fake-news' from liberal leaning left media.
impact of negative reporting is lessened by idea of eco-chamber.
public opinion:
presidential approval ratings in opinion polls have been traditionally seen as incredibly important.
although, growing partisan divide and reduced number of competitive electoral districts means presidents may worry less about appealing to whole nation and can govern with lower approval ratings.
Trump had lowest approval ratings in history, with a high of only 49%.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PRESIDENCY AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
the cabinet:
cabinet members are policy specialists and give advice on specific dept rather than general political advice.
constitution gives president sole executive authority so they do not need to take advice of cabinet members.
members may come from a multitude of careers - business, politics, academia, military etc.
frequency of meetings depends on president - usually a few times a year.
meetings are chaired by the president.
Reagan held more cabinet meetings than most presidents.
Obama rarely met with cabinet and used them for briefings of significant events/policies.
Trumps use of the cabinet decreased throughout his presidency and was often used to grab the medias attention.
Bidens first cabinet operated in a more conventional way and was noted for its record diversity - 'the first cabinet to look like america'.
some individual members may have particularly high profile or close relationship with the president giving them more influence - like Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State for Obama.
'policy czars' are used to dominate the cabinet.
EXOP:
set up by FDR in 1930s.
group of offices that support the president, including White House Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors.
about 3-4,000 staff.
headed by White House Chief of Staff.
the white house office:
incls Office of Chief of Staff, Office of Legislative Affairs, and Office of Cabinet Affairs.
appts are decided by president and do not need senate confirmation unlike cabinet posts.
many of these offices are based in west wing of white house.
chief of staff often decides who has access to the president.
national security council:
chaired by president and based in basement of white house.
members incl VP, secretary of state, secretary of treasury and secretary of defence.
nsc co-ordinates national security and foreign policy within govt and all its agencies, including responses to domestic or international crises.
relationship between presidency and exop varies between presidents.
Obama worked closely with his chief of staff, Trump had four chief of staffs in four years, Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, was credited with ensuring the effective start to his presidency.
Trump left many positions unfilled and sacked officials frequently with many resignations as well that led to reports of chaos in the white house.
Biden hired an incredibly large staff with a higher projected payroll than his two predecessors.
presidential advisors are political appointees, but should be neutral enough to guide the president in what is best for the country.
the federal bureaucracy and federal agencies:
cabinet officers head 15 depts that make up fed bureaucracy.
also more than 60 independently run fed agencies - like the CIA.
Some (usually Democrat) aim to extend the scope of the fed bureaucracy whilst some (usually Republicans) aim to reduce its size.
Trump attempted to abolish 22 govt agencies but was blocked by congress.- during the pandemic it was revealed that his administration had disbanded the pandemic response office set up during Obama's presidency.
PRESIDENT OBAMA - THE WAXING AND WANING OF POWER
initially elected on a wave of positivity.
initially helped by democrat control of both houses.
had productive first 100 days and helped with serious economic crisis.
obamacare.
from 2010 onwards, obama became frustrated with divided govt as republicans had majority in the house.
second term own 2012.
2014 senate lost to republicans.
conservatives loathed obama and saw obamacare as expanding the role of fed govt too far into peoples lives.
obama began to use executive order rather than legislation.
in 2016, obamas executive order to protect some illegal immigrants from deportation was challenged by 26 states and declared unconstitutional by the SC.
in 2016 his attempt to fill a vacancy on the SC was blocked by the senate.
IMPERIAL V. IMPERILLED PRESIDENCY
imperial:
term coined to describe idea that the modern presidency has an emperor-like character.
under this model, presidents dominate congress and conduct foreign policy independently.
this type of presidency goes beyond the powers of the president intended by the Founding Fathers, overriding the checks and balances that Congress should provide.
Nixons military intervention in Cambodia and Loas without telling Congress.
Nixon's continuation of the war in vietnam without congressional approval.
1972 watergate scandal showed nixon was using corrupt and illegal methods to advance his own interests.
congress not formally declared war since 1941 despite involvement in a number of wars since.
Bush expanded the emergency powers of the presidency after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
use of executive orders, signing statements and executive agreements as a means to rule using direct authority.
Trump declared a national emergency to secure funding for his wall in 2019 and vetoed congress's attempts to overrule him.
during the covid pandemic trump inaccurately claimed he had total authority over the states.
trump claimed 2020 election had been rigged.
imperilled:
President Ford's argument in response to the imperial theory.
he claimed that the presidency's effectiveness was limited by an overly assertive congress and an excessively large federal bureaucracy.
congress responded to Nixon's presidency by passing new laws to restrict presidential powers like the 1973 War Powers Act.
gridlock in congress makes it incredibly challenging for presidents to pass their desired legislation - Biden faced this in his first year of presidency as a tied senate declined to pass his signature Build Back Better Act or voting rights legislation.
even during unified govt, 60 vote supermajority required for cloture on a filibuster makes it difficult for presidents to get bills passed through senate.
Presidents like Bush and Trump have blamed Congress for forcing them to sign budgets that increased the deficit.
use of executive orders and agreements is usually a sign of weakness - a lesser alternative to legislation when presidents lack the support of congress.
even two term presidency is imperilled towards the end as the president becomes a lame duck.
obamas weakness clear in failure to appoint sc judge in 2016.