Deana Hasandjekaj
The Presidency Multiple Choice Questions
1.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Which of the following presidential appointments requires Senate confirmation?
Press Secretary
Chief of staff
White House counsel
Council of Economic Advisors
Secretary of State
2.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
All of the following are true statements about the impeachment process EXCEPT
the chief justice of the United States presides over the trial.
The Supreme Court decides guilt or innocence.
The trial must be held in public.
The Senate serves as the jury.
The House of Representatives bring the formal charges against the president.
3. Which of the following statements about the president as commander in chief is true?
a) The president has the authority to declare war for up to 60 days without consulting Congress.
b) The president decides if and when to use weapons of mass destruction in times of war.
c) Presidents with no prior military experience are not allowed to make major military decisions
alone.
d) The president is required by law to consult with the Joint Chiefs of Staff before deploying the
military.
e) The president is a nonvoting member of the Senate Armed Services C committee.
4. Which of the following are powers of the president?
I. conducting diplomatic relations
II. negotiating treaties
III. dismissing Supreme Court Justices
IV. appointing cabinet officers
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
IV only
I, II, and III only
I, II, and IV only
I, III, and IV only
II, III, and IV only
5. Which of the following is NOT in line of presidential succession?
a) chief justice of the supreme Court
b) secretary of state
c) secretary of the interior
d) attorney general
e) Speaker of the House
6. Congress can override a presidential veto of legislation
a) by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court
b) by negotiating a deal with the vice president
c) by getting approval of the bill in three-fourths of the state legislatures
d) with a majority vote of the House Rules Committee
e) with a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress
7. A pocket veto is a technique that allows the president to
a) kill legislation presented to him within ten days of the adjournment of Congress.
b) kill legislation without calling attention to his point of view
c) communicate his dislike for a bill before it leaves committee
d) send a bill back to both houses for further consideration
e) veto part of a bill, but allow other parts to become law
8. Which of the following presidential powers is NOT specifically mentioned in the Constitution?
a) power as commander in chief
b) power of diplomatic resolution
c) power to issue executive orders
d) power to sign treaties
e) power to appoint ambassadors and other public officers
9. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the president’s power to get his
programs enacted?
a) Presidents often rule by decree and executive order; as a result, much of their program becomes
law.
b) Presidents often have a majority of both houses of Congress; as a result, many of their proposals
are adopted.
c) The president must rely heavily on persuasion to get things done.
d) Because the president can call a press conference, he often uses the media to his advantage to get
his program passed.
e) The president has more power to get things done in the second half of the term because by then he
has established himself in office.
10. The Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the Council of Economic
Advisors are:
a) part of the president's cabinet.
b) advisory bodies of the Department of State.
c) policymaking bodies of the Executive Office.
d) members of the White House staff
e) electoral mandates.
Answer Key for Multiple Choice:
1. E is correct. Because they are a member of the president’s cabinet, nominees for Secretary of
State must be confirmed by the Senate. The National Security Council. The chief of staff, the
White House Counsel, and the council of Economic Advisors are considered part of the
president’s personal staff of advisors and do not require Senate approval.
2. B is correct. The Presidential impeachment process is as follows: 1) The House votes to impeach
the president. 2) The Senate carries out the impeachment trial, with the chief justice of the
United States presiding; and 3) the Senate must have a two-thirds vote to convict and remove
the president. The Supreme Court plays no role in this process.
3. B is correct. As commander in chief of military forces, the president decides if and when
American armed forces use weapons of mass destruction in times of war.
4. C is correct. According to the Constitution, presidents have the power to conduct diplomacy,
negotiate treaties with foreign countries, and appoint members of their cabinet. Presidents
nominate federal court judges, but they cannot remove them from their seats once the Senate
confirmed them.
5. A is correct. The Chief Justice is not in the line of presidential succession. The Constitution
authorizes the vice president to take over the office of presidency. Then, it is the Speaker of the
House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then Cabinet members.
6. E is correct. While a presidential veto effectively kills proposed legislation, Congress can override
the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.
7. A is correct. . A pocket veto is letting a bill die by neither signing it nor vetoing it within 10 days,
if congress adjourns.
8. C is correct. Executive Orders are usually based on existing statutory authority and require no
action by Congress or the state legislature to become effective.
9. C is correct. Because the constitutional powers of the president are sketchy, he must rely
predominantly on persuasion, rather than power, to get things done.
10. C is correct. Three major policymaking bodies=the National Security Council, the Council of
Economic Advisers, and the Office of Management and Budget.
Free Response:
The president is the single most powerful individual in government.
Some of the president’s most important responsibilities and powers fall
in the area of national security.
a) Identify and explain two national security powers or
responsibilities granted to the president in the Constitution.
b) Identify and describe two Constitutional limitations on
presidential national security power.
Free Response Answer Key:
a) Commander in Chief-because the framers wanted civilian control of the military, they made the
president commander in chief of the armed forces. As commander in chief, the president
controls where and how the military is deployed. The president also commands the vast arsenal
of weapons of mass destruction. While only Congress can declare war, the president c an
interject U.S. troops into armed conflict on a limited basis.
Diplomatic powers: the president alone extends diplomatic recognition to foreign governments.
The president can also terminate relations with other countries.
Power to make treaties with other nations-the president has the sole power to negotiate
treaties with other countries, although the Constitution requires the Senate to approve them by
a two-third vote.
b) Although the president has the power to deploy U.S. troops, only congress has the
constitutional power to declare war.
Treaties that presidents negotiate with foreign countries must be approved by a two-thirds vote in
the Senate.
Congress has the power of the purse. A president’s national security agenda requires a willingness
on the part of Congress to appropriate the necessary funds to support it.