CHAPTER 14
THE PRESIDENCY
PRESIDENTS VS. PRIME
MINISTERS
 outsider vs. insider
 executive
 cabinet
 unified vs. divided government
 executive vs. legislative power
PRESIDENTS AN DIVIDED
GOVERNMENT
 divided vs. unified government
divided government is the norm
 voter dislike of divided government (gridlock)
 does gridlock matter?
 output of unified and divided is the same
 is gridlock a bad thing?
 forced by constitutional structure
 accommodates a multitude of interests

EVOLUTION OF THE
PRESIDENCY
The Framers and the Presidency
 fears of executive military power directed the
states
 fear of executive corruption of the Senate
 fear of presidential bribery to ensure
reelection
 Solution: The Electoral College
EVOLUTION OF THE
PRESIDENCY
Presidential term of office
 Washington—precedent of two terms
 22nd Amendment (1951)
 provision for an orderly transfer of power
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Formal Powers (Article II, Sections 2, 3)
Sole Powers






commander-in-chief
grants reprieves and pardons
delivers State of the Union
special session
receives ambassadors and other representatives
from foreign nations
commissions military officers
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Shared Powers
 treaties

ratification
 appointments

“advice and consent”
 legislative powers

veto
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Informal Powers
 access to information
 access to people
 patronage
 federal spending
SPECIAL POWERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
Power to Persuade
 coattail effect
 presidential popularity
 honeymoon period
 bully pulpit
Veto Power
 veto message
 pocket veto
 line item veto
 signing statements
SPECIAL POWERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
Executive Privilege
 US v Nixon (1973)
Impoundment
 Budget Reform Act (1974)
GROWTH OF PRESIDENTIAL
POWER
 19th century view (clerical presidency)
executor of laws
 administer executive branch
 20th century view (Imperial presidency)
 formal vs. informal powers

IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
Expansion of presidential power
 war powers

undeclared wars
 foreign policy

executive agreements
 economic policy

fiscal policy
 legislative power

executive agenda
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Head of State
 represents the nation to the rest of the world
 a personal symbol of the nation
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Chief Executive
 execution and enforcement of law
 heads the federal bureaucracy
 executive orders

presidential guidelines for implementing laws

carry the force of law

Example—Truman’s desegregating the military
(1948)
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Commander in Chief
 war powers are divided between the president
and Congress
Congress: declare war, maintain armed forces
 President: strategy and military leadership
 War Powers Resolution (1973)
 limits presidential troop commitment to 60
days (90 if needed for safe removal) without
congressional approval

ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Chief Diplomat
 directs the foreign policy of the US
 treaties
 sole power to negotiate and sign treaties
 executive agreements
 agreement between the president and other
heads of state
 carry the same legal weight as treaties
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Chief Legislator
 State of the Union
 Legislative Programs
 Veto Power
 Special Sessions
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Political Party Leader and Politician
 president is the head of his political party
 Duties as party leader:
 choose a VP
 patronage
 attempt to fulfill the party platform
 raise money for the party
 political support to party members
 unified vs. divided government
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Chief Economist
 fiscal policy
 budget proposal
 Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
 appointments and removal
 pardons
release from legal punishment
 reprieve
 postponement of legal punishment
 amnesty
 special pardon given to a certain group of
people who have committed a crime against the
government

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
The White House Office
 president’s closest and most trusted advisors
 do not need Senate approval
 organizational structure:
 pyramidal (Ike, Nixon)
 circular (Carter)
 ad hoc (FDR, Clinton)
 influence depends on one’s access and
proximity to the president
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
 report directly to the president and perform
staff services
 not located in the White House
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
 National Security Council (NSC)
 Council of Economic Advisors
 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Cabinet (15 Executive Secretaries)
 appointed by the president and approved by
the Senate
 considerations in choosing cabinet members:
 role and Influence of the Cabinet

inner cabinet vs. outer cabinet
 limits on cabinet influence
conflicting Loyalties
 internal Disputes
 secrecy and trust

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Presidential Agencies
 report directly to the president
 can remove leadership
Independent Agencies
 report directly to the president
 cannot remove leadership
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSISTION
Vice President
 Constitutional duties

preside over the Senate

assume the presidency
Presidential Succession and Disability
 Succession Act of 1947
 25th Amendment (1967)
IMPEACHMENT
 all “civil officers of the United States”
 two-step process:
articles of impeachment (House)
 trial and removal (Senate)
 standard of guilty or innocent of “high crimes
and misdemeanors”

ELECTORAL COLLEGE
The Original Electoral System
 each state would choose electors by the state’s
chosen method
 1st place: President, 2nd place: Vice President
Twelfth Amendment (1804)
 separate ballots for President and VP
 if no candidate receives a majority, the House
chooses from top three electoral vote-getters
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Modern Electoral System
 electors then cast state’s votes for their party’s
candidates based on primary results
 538 total electors; 270 to win
 winner-take-all system in most states
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Issues with the Electoral College
 winner-take-all system
 electoral college winner vs. popular vote winner
 third-party candidates
 campaigns decided by the House
Ideas for Changes to the Electoral College
 choose electors from congressional districts
 electoral percentage to match popular vote percentage
 use the popular vote
CHAPTER 15
THE BUREAUCRACY
THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY
Bureaucracy:
 a large, complex organization composed of
appointed officials
 authority is divided among multiple decision-makers
Max Weber
 bureaucratic model of power
distinctiveness of the U.S. bureaucracy
 separation of powers
 federalism
 economic regulation
GROWTH OF THE
BUREAUCRACY
Constitutional provisions
 no significant provisions for a bureaucracy to s
 presidential appointments
 departments, bureaus, etc. were not mentioned
Modern bureaucracy
 product of the Great Depression and World War II
 changes in public attitudes
 constitutional interpretation expanded the
economic and social role of the federal
government
WHAT JOBS DO
BUREAUCRATS DO?
APPOINTMENT
 patronage (spoils system)
 Pendleton Act (1883)
 Office of Personnel Management (OPM)



competitive service
excepted service
patronage
 still a realistic part of the game
 diversity

creates controversy over equal employment
opportunity, affirmative action, etc.
ORGANIZATION OF THE
FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY
TYPES OF BUREAUCRATIC
AGENCIES
 Executive Departments (15)
 Independent Executive and Regulatory Agencies

designed to impose and enforce regulations free
of political influence
 Consumer Product Safety Commission
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Federal Communications Commission
 Securities and Exchange Commission
 National Aeronautics and Space Administration
TYPES OF BUREAUCRATIC
AGENCIES
Government Corporations
 a separate set of corporations chartered and
owned by the federal government
 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
 United States Post Office
BUREAUCRATIC POWER: THE
“4TH BRANCH”?
Policy Implementation
 many laws passed by Congress do not specify
exactly how the law should be implemented
 administrative law
 law created by executive agencies to
refine general laws passed by Congress
 examples:
 Affordable Healthcare Act
 Environmental Protection Agency
 Food and Drug Administration
BUREAUCRATIC POWER:
THE “4TH BRANCH”?
Regulatory Authority
 elastic clause (“necessary and proper”)
 commerce clause
History of Regulation
 Munn v Illinois (1877)
 Interstate Commerce Commission (1887)
Elements of Regulation
 Congress creates an agency
 agency establishes guidelines
 agency enforces guidelines
BUREAUCRATIC POWER:
THE “4TH BRANCH”?
Discretionary Authority
 Congress has delegated substantial authority to
federal agencies in three areas:
 paying subsidies
 transferring money for grant-in-aid programs
 devising and enforcing regulations
CONTROLLING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Executive Control
 appointments
 Hatch Act (1939)
 executive orders
 OMB
CONTROLLING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Legislative Control
 Senate confirmation of appointments
 budget:
 authorization bill
 appropriations bill
 create or destroy government agencies
 Congressional oversight
 legislative veto
 INS v Chadha (1983)
CONTROLLING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Iron Triangle
 the influence on policymaking by interests in the federal
bureaucracy, interest groups, and congressional
committees
 created strong, mutually beneficial alliances
 executive department did what the committee asked
 department gets budgetary and political support from
the committee
 interest group provides votes and election funds to
committee members
CONTROLLING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Issue Alliance or Network
 multiple interests compete for influence with
the government bureaucracy and
congressional committees
 these networks are often contentious, split over
ideology, and economic goals
REFORMING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Red Tape
 complex, and often redundant, rules and procedures
 can Pit federal agencies against one another, creating:
 turf wars (e.g. Homeland Security)
 waste and inefficiency
National Performance Review (1993)
 overseen by Vice President Al Gore
 called for less central management, more employee
initiative, and more focus on customer satisfaction
REFORMING THE
BUREAUCRACY
Whistleblower Protection Act (1989)
 protects federal employees who report agency
misconduct
 agency authorities cannot take or threaten
retaliatory action
Revolving Door
 movement from roles as legislators/federal
bureaucrats and the industries affected by the
legislation and regulation