The Executive Branch
and the Presidency
ARTICLE TWO of the United
States Constitution
President Reagan’s Inaugural Address
What is the purpose and function of the Executive Branch?
December 13, 2010
• No First 5
• Objectives: To develop a better understanding of the
Executive Branch
• Agenda: Turn in your CBA
• Final Draft
• Grading Rubric from Packet
• Second RD w/Peer Edit
• Annotated Bibs
• Outline
• Stamped Timeline
• Turn into Folder
• A few notes……
The Executive Branch
The Organization
1.
Executive Office of the President
2.
Executive Departments
3.
Independent Agencies
Show me the money!
Sec. 102. - Compensation of the President
The President shall receive in full for his services during the
term for which he shall have been elected compensation in
the aggregate amount of $400,000 a year, to be paid
monthly, and in addition an expense allowance of $50,000
to assist in defraying expenses relating to or resulting from
the discharge of his official duties, for which expense
allowance no accounting, other than for income tax purposes, shall be made by him.
He shall be entitled also to the use of the furniture and other effects belonging to the
United States and kept in the Executive Residence at the White House.
Presidential Pay Raise History
September 24, 1789
March 3, 1873
March 4, 1909
January 19, 1949
January 20, 1969
January 20, 2001
Vice Presidential Pay = $175,400
$ 25,000 salary
$50,000 salary
$ 75,000 salary
$100,000 salary, $50,000 expense account
$200,000 salary, $50,000 expense account
$400,000 salary, $50,000 expense account
Term of the President
Four years. Until 1951, there was no constitutional limitation on how many
terms the President could serve. Which amendment limited the number of
years in office to 10 years? It’s 22!
Six Roles of the President
Chief of State: The ceremonial head of the government of the United States.
President Obama’s Inauguration (Oath) Media Office
Chief Executive: Vested, by the Constitution, with all executive power.
Chief Administrator: Director of the Federal Government administration
which employs more than 2.7 million people and spends nearly $2 trillion year.
Commander-in-Chief: Commands the nation’s armed forces
Chief Legislator: The main architect of U.S. public policy
Chief of Party: National leader of political party dictating policy direction.
Chief Guardian of the Economy: Manages the nation’s economy including
the proposal of the national budget.
What do you know about these people?
Do you consider them to be leaders?
Would any of them qualify to be president?
What are the formal qualifications?
Informal?…
Disregard all those who do not
possess the formal qualifications
necessary to become our president?
Of the remaining people, who is
truly qualified to be President of the
United States?
Think ~ Write ~ Discuss
• Why do you think the framers of the Constitution limited themselves to only three
formal qualifications?
• What are the advantages of only three formal qualifications? Disadvantages?
Who would you name as the 5 most INFLUENTIAL presidents? Why?
Politics of Public Approval
What factors might contribute to a favorable approval rating?
What factors might contribute to an unfavorable approval rating?
The Fallout of the Politics of Public Approval
December 14, 2010
• Objectives: To develop a better understanding
of the executive branch.
• Choose a partner to work with…..
• Federalist 70
• Take 15 mins. To read the Federalist 70 and
complete the assignment on the following
slide.
Federalist LXX: The Unity of
the Executive
In this essay, Hamilton makes a
plea to the people of New York
with regard to the creation of our
presidential system. Explain his
point of view and provide at least
two pieces of evidence from the
text that support such.
Hamilton promotes the creation of a strong
executive which by design will necessitate a
unified and therefore singular presidency.
1.
Multiple presidents will encounter difference of opinion and
eventually faction.
2.
Plurality will “conceal faults and destroy responsibility…”
December 15, 2010
• NO First 5
• Objectives: To develop a better understanding
of the powers of the president.
• Take 5 mins to write your paragraphs on
Hamilton’s views. Turn them into your in
folder.
• Notes
The Executive Branch
The FIVE Powers of the President
Executive Legislative Judicial
Diplomatic Military
First Power of the President
Executive Power of the President
1. The Ordinance Power: the power to issue an executive order
Read, With the Stroke of a Pen
2. The Appointment Power: With the consent of the Senate, names
most of the top-ranking officials in the Federal Government:
•
•
•
Ambassadors
• Cabinet members
Heads of the EPA and NASA
• Federal judges
Officers in the armed forces
3. The Removal Power: The President can remove all appointees
except for federal judges.
Second Power of the President
Legislative Power of the President
1. Recommend legislation
2. Veto legislation
Four options:
• Sign the bill into law
• Veto it outright
• Table it
• Pocket veto
3. Special Session: He can also call Congress into
session under extraordinary circumstances.
Third Power of the President
Judicial Power of the President
1. Appoint Federal Judges
2. Grant Reprieves (postponement of the execution of a sentence)
3. Grant Pardons (legal forgiveness of a crime) except in cases of
impeachment.
• The 10 Most Notorious Pardons
• Thanksgiving Day Pardon!
• See articles…
Carter = 566
Reagan = 406
Clinton = 456
Bush = 171
Fourth Power of the President
Diplomatic Powers of the President
1. Power to Make Treaties: Must have a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
2. Executive Agreements: A pact between the President and the head of
a foreign state, or their subordinates. This does not need Senatorial
consent.
3. Power of Recognition: The President can acknowledge the legal
existence of another sovereign country.
Fifth Power of the President
Military Powers of the President
Commander and Chief: Leader of our armed forces.
Who has the power to declare war?
War Powers Resolution
The Vice Presidency
Joseph Biden
“[The Vice Presidency is] the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man
contrived or his imagination conceived."
John Adams, First Vice President
How is the VP chosen? What factors contribute to the selection?
Only Constitutional Duty: President of the Senate
Vice Presidential Roles: Advisor to the President; National Figurehead
The Executive Branch
Presidential Disability
The Vice-President becomes Acting President if:
1. The President informs Congress in writing he is not able to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, or
2. The Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform
Congress, in writing, the President is so incapacitated.
--25th Amendment (1969)
Vice Presidential Death
The President is responsible for nominating a Vice President who shall take office
upon the approval of the House and Senate.
--25th Amendment (1969)
Who is the only U.S. President to serve without being elected to an Executive
Branch position?
The Vice Presidency
Watch “Cheney’s Law”
Frontline Documentaries
What is a Bureaucracy?
An efficient and effective way of organizing people to do work within
large organizations. Three identifying characteristics:
1. Hierarchy
2. Job Specialization = bureaucrat
3. Formalized Rules
The Executive Departments = The Cabinet
• An informal advisory body
brought together by the
President to serve his needs.
• The product of custom and
usage.
• 15 Departments
• Presidential Appointments.
• Requires Senatorial consent.
What is the
newest
department and
when was it
created?
In almost 600 presidential appointments made
in our history, only 12 have been declined.
Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano
Line of Presidential Succession
1.
2.
President
Vice President
Speaker of the House
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
President Pro Tempore
State
Treasury
Defense
Justice
8.
Interior
9.
10.
11.
12.
Agriculture
Commerce
EXTRA CREDIT
Labor
Now that Homeland
Health and Human
Services
Security is an official
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Housing and Urban
Development
executive
department,
Transportation where will it fit into the
line of succession? If
Energy
you find it, I’ll give
you 10 points on your
Education
exam grade!!
Veteran Affairs
18. Homeland Security
\
The Executive Office of the President
• EOP, created in 1939 by FDR, is responsible
for tasks ranging from communicating the
President's message to the American people
to promoting our trade interests abroad.
• Led by Chief of Staff
Notable divisions:
Rahm Emanuel
• National Security Council: Established in 1947
under Pres. Truman to advise the president on
national security issues.
• Press Secretary’s Office
• The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Gen Jim Jones
The American Bureaucracy: The Fourth Branch
• Beyond the Cabinet and EOP…
The Regulatory
Commissions
The Government
Corporations
The Independent
Agencies
• Who are these bureaucrats?
• 2.7 million are employed (4 mil w/ military).
• From patronage to protection…
• The Pendleton Civil Service Act-1883
• Created the federal civil service
which based hiring and promotion
on merit and not the Spoils System.
• Removal can not be for political
reasons and is often impossible.
The Regulatory Commissions
• An independent agency responsible for making and enforcing
rules to protect the public interest. It also judges disputes over
these rules.
• Regulation is usually focused on private sector change.
• Each Commissioner is appointed by the President and confirmed
by Senate for fixed terms.
• The President cannot remove any member of a regulatory
commission.
• Why might this be?
• Special Interest Groups are very interested in these organizations.
• Why?
• Should the government deal in the regulation of free enterprise?
How do Independent Regulatory
Commissions affect business?
Independent Regulatory Commissions
• Let’s guess what the following commissions regulate:
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
• created to regulate labor-management relations.
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• regulates business practices and controls monopolistic
behavior.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Licenses radio and TV stations and regulates the
programming content in addition to regulating telephone
rates, cable television and the Internet.
• Security and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Polices the stock market.
• Federal Election Commission (FEC)
• Enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the
statute that governs the financing of federal elections
The History of Regulation
• Populist and Progressive Movements
• Munn v. Illinois - 1877
• Grangers (farmers union) won their case upholding the state’s
power to regulate business (the railroads).
• Interstate Commerce Commission created in 1887
• As a result of Munn and other populist interests, government
asserts its regulatory function.
• New Deal gives rise to the Welfare State
• The movement toward deregulation under Reagan:
• The lifting of restrictions on industry in order to reduce prices
and correct market distortions.
• Ex. Minimum wage regulations
Government Corporations
• A business corporation established by Congress that provides a
service that could be provided by the private sector but does so at
much lower prices.
• Service is usually not profitable.
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
• U.S. Postal Service
• FDIC
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting
• PBS
• McCulloch v. Maryland established that, despite the lack of an
applicable enumerated federal power, the Necessary and Proper
Clause of the Constitution allows the federal government to charter
and use a private entity for the public purpose of banking.
Independent Executive Agencies
• If it is not regulating something of conducting some sort of
business service, it is an Independent Agency usually created to
implement some legislative or judicial action:
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Others…
• Creators and implementers of policy
• One of two unelected policymaking bodies in government
• Appointed by President and serve at his/her discretion.
The Downside of Bureaucracy
• Iron Triangles or subgovernments can often dominate
policymaking.
• A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic
agencies (National Institutes of Health), interest groups
(cancer researchers), and congressional committees
(House Subcommittee on health and human services. See
p. 497-98
• Why is this a dangerous intermingling?
• Why do the best laid plans often fail? See pages 481-88
• Case Study on Federalism and Bureaucracy
• Hurricane Katrina and FEMA
The Impeachment Process = Article I.
Article I Section 2 Clause 5 = The House shall have the sole power of
impeachment
Article I Section 3 Clause 6 = The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all
Impeachments. Who presides?
Article I Section 3 Clause 7 = Judgment shall extend no further than removal
from office and disqualification of holding any other office in government.
Review handout…
What were Whitewater and Watergate?
President Clinton’s Impeachment
The Whitewater Affair leads to Clinton’s Impeachment
Senators comment on their decision. The President speaks.
The Historical Legacy.
Group Activity
In this activity, role play members of the House Judiciary Committee. Read and discuss
each of the four hypothetical cases. Decide for each case whether the action described
constitutes a “high crime and misdemeanor.” Be prepared to report your decisions and
the reasons for them to the rest of the class.
Hypothetical Case #1
The president, after a long feud, has killed a political opponent. The state in which the
killing occurred has indicted the president for murder.
Hypothetical Case #2
The president has committed bigamy. His previous wife left him 30 years ago, but he
failed to get a proper divorce before remarrying. He made false statements on the forms
he filled out to get a marriage license.
Hypothetical Case #3
The president has secretly sent assassins to kill a hostile foreign leader. This violates U.S.
law.
Hypothetical Case #4
The president has just pardoned five high-ranking members of his administration who had
been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for bribery. The president had
nothing to do with the bribery scandal.
The History of Impeachment
• William Blount, senator from Tennessee; charges dismissed for want of jurisdiction, Jan. 14, 1799.
• John Pickering, judge of the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire; removed from office March 12, 1804.
• Samuel Chase, associate justice of the Supreme Court; acquitted March 1, 1805.
• James H. Peck, judge of the U.S. District Court for Missouri; acquitted Jan. 31, 1831.
• West H. Humphreys, judge of the U.S. District Court for the middle, eastern, and western districts of Tennessee; removed
from office June 26, 1862.
• Andrew Johnson, president of the United States; acquitted May 26, 1868.
• William W. Belknap, secretary of war; acquitted Aug. 1, 1876.
• Charles Swayne, judge of the U.S. District Court for the northern district of Florida; acquitted Feb. 27, 1905.
• Robert W. Archbald, associate judge, U.S. Commerce Court; removed Jan. 13, 1913.
• George W. English, judge of the U.S. District Court for eastern district of Illinois; resigned Nov. 4, 1926; proceedings
dismissed.
• Harold Louderback, judge of the U.S. District Court for the northern district of California; acquitted May 24, 1933.
• Halsted L. Ritter, judge of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Florida; removed from office April 17, 1936.
• Harry E. Claiborne, judge of the U.S. District Court for the district of Nevada; removed from office Oct. 9, 1986.
• Alcee L. Hastings, judge of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Florida; removed from office Oct. 1988.
• Walter L. Nixon, judge of the U.S. District Court for Mississippi; removed from office Nov. 3, 1989.
• William J. Clinton, president of the United States; acquitted Feb. 12, 1999.