Unit IV: Institutions of National Government- Executive Branch
Key Terms
1. Expressed powers of the President: the notion that the Constitution grants to the federal
government only those powers specifically named in its text
2. Implied Powers of the President: powers derived from the necessary and proper clause
(Article I, Section 8) of the constitution. Such powers are not specifically expressed but are
implied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers
3. White House Office: Presidential staff who oversee the policy interests of the president
4. Executive Office of the President: agencies that perform staff services for the president but are
not part of the White House
5. Cabinet: a president’s council of advisers
6. Electoral College: a legal system by which states select electors who then vote for the president
and vice president
7. Veto: constitutional power of the president to send a bill back to Congress with reasons for
rejecting it. 9 2/3 vote in each house can override it
8. Pocket Veto: veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the
President, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it
9. Executive Privilege: an implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose
information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress of judiciary
10. Signing Statements: a written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into a
law. Usually, such statements point out sections of the law that the president deems
unconstitutional
11. War Powers Act: unsuccessful act stating when deploying trips the presidents must notify
Congress within 48 hours and can have troops there for 60 days; if by the end of 60 days
Congress has not declared war, the troops come home
12. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: joint resolution of the US Congress passed on August 7, 1969 in direct
response to a minor naval engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is of historical
significance because it gave Lyndon B. Johnson authorization without a formal declaration of
Congress for the use of military force in South East Asia
13. Executive Agreement/Executive Order: Legally binding orders given by the President, acting as
the head of the Executive Branch, to federal or state agencies
14. Vice President and Presidential Succession: the US presidential line of succession defines who
may become or act as president upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office
by impeachment, of the sitting president. After the president succeeds, the VP takes over and
the president of the senate is the next in line
15. Legislative Oversight: oversight of US congress on the executive branch, including numerous US
federal agencies
16. Checks on Executive Branch: the legislative branch is given the powers to make the laws and
check the powers of the executive branch. Examples are: overriding presidential vetoes with a
2/3 vote, ability to review the president through impeachment, approves treaties and
presidential appointments
17. Requirements to be Elected President: native born US citizen, at least 35 yrs. of age, must live in
the US for at least 14 yrs.
18. Presidential Appointment Process: the President appoints several levels of Cabinet and agency
officers. Usually the appointments are controlled directly through the White House and close to
the President