AP US GOVERNMENT
Review Topics/Vocab
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THE PRESIDENT
Qualifications: 35, natural born citizen, 14 year residency
Term: 4 years; now limited to two terms by 22nd amendment
Only offices elected by Electoral College are P & VP
May be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors”
o 2 impeached – Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton; 0 convicted & removed
o Nixon resigned prior to impeachment
o Requires a majority vote in House to impeach; 2/3 vote in Senate to convict
Succession to office of P:
o VP, Speaker, Pres. Pro Temp., Sec. of State ….
o Why is the Speaker 2nd in line?
Constitution was designed to grant P very limited formal powers & less specific powers
than Congress- WHY?
o what has the lack of specifics/flexibility actually caused?
FORMAL POWERS include enforcing the laws, veto, making treaties, handling foreign
policy, nominating/appointing government officials & judges, granting pardons &
reprieves, reporting to Congress on state of the union, serving as commander in chief,
serving as diplomatic representative of the U.S., and overseeing depts. & agencies of the
Executive Branch
INFORMAL POWERS of the P- can be the most important:
o Building morale (Reagan good, Carter not)
o Legislative leader and coalition building (again-Reagan good with his R,
southern D coalition but Bush, Sr. could not get domestic issues passed by D
controlled Congress)
o Policy persuader and communicator to Congress & American people (Reagan &
Clinton both good).
o Budget & Impoundment Act of ’74 – P MUST spend money as appropriated by
Congress; upheld by SCOTUS (Nixon had refused to fund programs Congress
had appropriated $ for)
Powers of the P are intermingled with those of Congress:
o Appointments of judges, Ex. Dept. Secretaries, ambassadors, etc. all require
Senate approval (what percentage of the Senate?)
o Treaties have to be ratified by 2/3 of Senate – can be hard to get so … executive
agreements can be used – don’t require Senate approval; agreements between
heads of countries – usually deal with routine matters.
President as Chief Legislator:
o Recommends legislation (note – good time to get it in is right after election – the
“honeymoon” period); also done during State of the Union Address
o Usually has last word in the legislative process – VETO (P vetoes have only been
overridden 4% of time)
 Must attach a veto message when vetoing a bill
 Pocket veto is option only when Congress is adjourned
 Clinton v. NY City, P does NOT have line-item veto power (many
governors do)
 Signing statements – sometimes when signing a bill into law … to go on
record with the P’s interpretation of the bill
President as Head of the Party:
o Congresspersons who support P also get his support in return
Works closely with party leaders in Congress to get agenda introduced in
legislation and get out the party vote
President as Chief Diplomat
o Recognizes other governments (or terminates recognition)
o Uses U.S. influence to arbitrate conflicts between other nations
o Negotiates treaties
 2/3 Senate approval can be hard to get so….
 P’s powers over foreign policy have been expanded to include executive
agreements – agreements between heads of countries, as binding as
treaties, and no Senate approval is necessary
President as Commander-in-Chief:
o Basic conflict with Congress – Congress has power to declare war BUT only the
P can actually make war as chief strategist & director of military forces which
can only be funded by Congress!
o Military powers include:
 Sending troops into specific areas of conflict
 Decision to use weapons of mass destruction
 Authorizing military actions during a wars
o War Powers Act (Resolution) of 1973:
 To limit P’s power to send out troops & force P to seek congressional
approval before making war.
 Passed after/direct result of Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution–LBJ)
 P must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending out troops
 Limits P to 10,000 troops for 60 days, with 30 additional days to
withdraw troops unless Congress grants extension or declares war
 Why will Congress always fund troops the P has sent out?
 Congress’ power to control P’s military actions under this act has been
viewed as a “legislative veto” and never ruled on by Supreme Ct. – likely
that it would be held unconstitutional if it ever gets before the Court
Cabinet created through custom and usage.
o Made up of the heads (Secretaries) of the Ex. Branch Depts.
o CONGRESS sets up each executive department – 15 now
o PRESIDENT appoints head – title is “Secretary” except for the Attorney
General who is the head of the Dept. of Justice
o Dept. of State the oldest, Defense the largest, Homeland Security the newest &
3rd largest dept. – includes INS, Coast Guard, Secret Service, etc.
Constitutional duties of VP: preside over Senate (only vote to break a tie); succession
Executive Office of the President
o Function is to assist P in carrying out administrative duties in domestic, foreign,
military affairs
o Hundreds of people on staff in White House and Ex. Office Bldg.
o Chief of Staff – top aide to P & one of most powerful people in D.C. ( controls
access to the P (easy access in Clinton adm. but difficult in Nixon’s)
o National Security Council – National Security Advisor – generally involved in
decision-making process for military and foreign policy issues in national
emergencies; been around since 1940s (used by JFK in Cuban Missile Crisis);
doesn’t have the same congressional oversight as Dept. of State does
o Office of Management and Budget – prepares the budget for the U.S. & can be used
to control and manage executive agencies for the P; huge power since it has
power to allocate $ to the cabinet (executive) depts.
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o Council of Economic Advisors – assists P with making economic policy; economists.
The President and Public Approval
o Factors determining voter’s approval of P:
 Party
 How P responds to economic shifts/issues
 How good a public speaker P is / how he plays out on tv
 If P makes direct appeals to public – positive
 How media interprets actions of P
o Public approval high when he comes in – usually down to 50% by time he leaves
o Primary benefit of public approval for P is that it gives him more credibility with
Congress to pursue his policy agenda and get legislation passed