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The US Presidency - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Bush after 9/11 improving dominance of Republicans
      - Trump after COVID and civil unrest in 2020 caused popularity to drop from 49% to 38%
      - Bush after Hurricane Katrina where he lost popularity
- - - - Have the force of law but are a 'constitutional extra power'
      - Don't require congressional approval
      - Drafted in the OMB to ensure fit
      - President cannot use this to create new legislation
      - Used to give instructions for enforcement of legislation
      - Obama sceptical of executive powers but used them often due to frustration with Congress (also Trump)
      - Easy for a successor to revoke (Reagan to Clinton and Trump to Biden)
      - Closure of Guantanamo Bay Obama 2009 (unsuccessful) led onto Trump lawful detention of terrorists in 2018 (success)
      - Can be ruled unconstitutional (Truman nationalisation of Steel industry 1952)
    - - Agreement Reached by President and foreign nation on matters which don't require formal treaties
      - Don't need Senate ratification so often used by President when the Senate is controlled by other party
      - Republican senators unhappy when Clinton signed executive agreement with North Korea in 1994
      - Obama used twice - nuclear deal with Iraq and Paris Agreement in 2015
      - Trump signed agreement with trade in Japan in 2019
    - - To add commentary or celebratory notes to the Bill they are signing
      - Bush doing this increasingly challenged the constitutionality of the bill he was signing
      - Argued to be an overuse of Presidential power and the president should veto or await ruling on the bill
      - Obama criticised Bush' use
      - Obama used to criticise defence act of 2016
      - Trump used twice to challenge constitutionality
  - - - Build pride and loyalty between staffers and cabinet secretaries (used by Bush well)
      - Closed discussion when formulation detail but open to 'selling' final programmes
      - Appoint key roles early to exploit the 'honeymoon period' (Biden and Obama)
      - Appoint a chief of Staff who is a good political operator not just a gatekeeper
  - - - Create team spirit
      - Create media coverage
      - Exchange information
      - Present 'big picture item'
      - Monitor Congress
      - Prompt action
      - Enable personal contact
- - - - President is constitutionally the head of the army and navy (and now the air force, marines and coast guard)
      - Biden in Ukraine, Roosevelt in WW2, Johnson in Vietnam
      - Only Congress can declare wars (only done 11 times and not since 1941)
      - Congress tried to limit a Presidents power here with the 1973 War Powers Act meaning the President has to inform Congress within 48 hours of taking action and this can only be 90 days before it is deemed a war
    - - The Presidential seal
        
        With the consent of the Senate the President has the right to create formal treaties
        
        Modern day Presidents use their role in peacemaking to negotiate these treaties (The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Reagan)
      - The Senate must ratify with a 2/3 Majority (in the 20th century they rejected 7 treaties) but this van be avoided by the President through 'Executive agreements'
  - - - Has been used over 1500 times
      - Threat of a veto is also very powerful
      - Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 majority but this rarely happens
      - Obama used 12 vetoes and the last one was successfully overturned by Congress (September 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act)
      - Trump used 10 vetoes and his 9th was overturned by Congress
      - Pocket veto
        
        Can only be used at the end of a congressional session
        
        This is when a President retains a bill unsigned until it is too late to be dealt with during the legislative session
        
        They cannot be overridden by Congress
        
        George H.W. Bush used 15 and Clinton and George W Bush used one each
    - - Once a bill has been passed through Congress the President has 10 days to sign it into law
      - The President has the power to negotiate and sign treaties which the Senate ratifies
      - Elaborate bill signing ceremonies are held
    - - Under Article II of the Constitution the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress
      - Every January the President delivers his State of Union Address to Congress where he reviews the previous year, outlines spending plans and proposes new legislation
      - The President can't introduce legislation, only Congress can do this
  - - - The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) draws up the annual federal budget for the Presdient
      - The OMB is part of EXOP
      - The Budget is submitted to Congress and they have to pass it
      - There is usually a lengthy bargaining process if Congress is controlled by the opposing party
      - There is a government shutdown if Congress can't agree with a budget (seen with Trump in 2018 for 35 days which was the longest ever)
    - - Means they run the executive branch
      - Much of the day-to-day running is delegated to those who run the government's principle departments
      - Modern Presidents need their own bureaucracy known as the Executive Office of the President (EXOP) which helps the President coordinate the work of the federal government
    - - Has the responsibility of communicating the Presidents messages to the American people and promoting US trade interest abroad
      - The office is used under Trump heavily while he imposes many tarriffs
      - Traditionally home to the President's closest advisors
      - EXOP is overseen by the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
  - - - A pardon cannot be used to place the President above the law
      - Cannot violate a criminal law
      - Cannot undermine other parts of the Constitution
- - - - Launched offensive in Afghanistan (2010)
      - He signed a 4 year extension to Bush's patriot plan
      - Launched many airstrikes in middle and east Asia
      - Sanctioned a military intervention in Libya
      - Sanctioned the death of Anwar-al-Awlaki an alleged terrorist by a done attack in Yemen 2011
- - - - No clear mandate and had only 43.3% of the vote, he knew he would only have the first 2 years united government so limited time
      - Put first lady Hillary Clinton in charge when she had no congressional experience
      - Hillary's proposals were too divisive so lacked unity, many plans never voted on
  - - - Focused on balanced budgets shrinking the size of the federal government and signed a welfare bill that was harsh on recipients (gained Republicans)
      - Spending restraints and tax increases led to 4% growth per year, 22.5 million new jobs and unemployment dropped to 4% in November 2000
      - Argued economic recovery wasn't distributed equally across 1990s
  - - - Created the most diverse cabinet in history (6 women, 8 ethnic minorities)
      - First female secretary of state
      - Appointed most black, hispanic and female federal judges
      - record number of people in the White House with disbilities
      - Ended ban on gay people serving in the military even with fierce opposition
  - - - Stabilised Russia post Cold War with $1.6 billion in aid for the Russian economy secured that Russian nuclear weapons
      - Authorised use of US forces in NATO to bomb Yugoslavia in 1998
      - Key role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement
- - - - Had united government and country behind him so started the Iraq war
      - Created the Homeland Security Department and passed the 2001 Patriot Act increasing security powers and allowed mass surveillance
      - Iraq war justified as destroying mass destruction weapons but they didn't exist so loss of £6.4 trillion
  - - - No Child Left Behind Act 2002 which mandated children testing annually and increased funding
      - Policy had bipartisan support due to importance of education
  - - - Passed Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation (2001) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act (2003) which introduced $1.35 trillion tax cuts
      - Criticised his tax cuts only benefited the wealthy
  - - - 2004 State of Union Address he talked about this aim
      - Strongly opposed by the Democrats and the Republicans wouldn't commit (public disproval), needed more planning
- - - - Worked closely with Democrat House speaker Nancy Pelosi to help him persuade, she rejected bipartisan cooperation as she correctly predicted no votes from the other party
      - Willingness to compromise and delegation of authority so the Affordable Cares Act (2010) was passed meaning uninsured adults from 18% to 11% by 2016
      - Argued Obamacare was a burdensome bureaucracy, increased premium cost for many and failed to secure the poorest
  - - - Inspired by Keynes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) provided $787 billion stimulus and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Consumer Protection Act (2010) regulated banks
      - Took advantage of united government as there was no Republican support due to scale of intervention
  - - - Underestimated opposition from the Republicans and some Democrats do failed to pass DREAM Act, he tried to use democrat political persuasion but weren't convinced due to economic difficulties
      - November 2014 issued executive order DAPA giving some immigrants 'deferred action status' delaying deportation of 5 million. Texas challenged this in USA v Texas in 2016 and the SC struck down the executive order
- - - - United government so with help from House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican Senator majority leader Mitch McComell Trump pass 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
      - Biggest overhaul in the US tax codes in 30 years with corporate tax 35% to 21% and did play small part in booming economy but not 6% promised rise
      - September 2019 lowest unemployment since 1969
  - - - Promised 'insurance for everybody' however like Clinton didn't have clear plan for his party to rally around even with help
      - 3 republican senators (Susan Collins, John McCain and Lisa Murkowski) broke ranks and refused to repeal Obamacare due to lack of replacement
  - - - Didn't build concrete wall only a steel fence and only 15 miles of it is new, Trump claimed Mexico would fund the wall but Trump need $18 billion off Congress but they only allowed $4.4 billion
      - 2017 attempted to end the DACA but the department for Homeland security v Regents if the University of California (2020) the SC argued Trump had improperly ended the programme
      - 'Zero tolerance policy' on illegal crossing led to separation 5,500 families
      - 2019 successful migration protection protocol which forced migrants to wait in Mexico for their hearings
      - Made asylum cooperation agreements with the governments of central American countries
  - - - March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) which involved 2.2 trillion stimulus
      - Slow to recognise danger as believed no Chinese problem was a US problem in January and February but by April 1 million+ cases
      - Inability to communicate a coherent national response as it was up to federal powers (March 2021 30 million+ cases)
      - Criticism for dissolving the Dictorate of Global Health Security with due to 2018 budget cuts which dealt with pandemics
      - Trump was at odds with leading member Anthony Fauci on his own COVID task force
- - - - Obama openly criticised the SC for ruling of Citizens United v Federal Election Commission in 2010 in his State of Union address but lacked leverage
      - Trump criticised the federal district court due to clash with a judge over immigration which was later overturned by the SC in Trump V Hawaii in 2018
  - - - Nixon refusing to reverse White House tapes (1974)
      - Clinton's claim to immunity from prosecution by Paula Jones (1997)
      - Obama's use of recess appointments (2014)
      - Obama's use of executive orders with immigration DAPA (2016)