Executive Branch
I.
Roles of the President of the United States
a. Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces - Presidents make sure the national laws are fully executed;
shares with Congress the power to wage war; makes key military policy decisions; supports war efforts on
the home front during wars; may use the armed forces to end disorders or give aid in natural disasters.
b. Representative of the Nation - Represents the nation at ceremonial functions; is considered more than a
politician, but rather a symbol of the entire United States.
c. Chief Executive - heads the 2 million person executive branch; influences how laws are executed through
executive orders, presidential appointments, removal of appointed officials, and impoundment; grants
pardons, reprieves, or amnesty.
d. Chief Agenda Setter - proposes legislation to Congress, usually in the State of the Union Address; must
work harder for congressional support when Congress is controlled by the opposition party; may use political
favors to gain congressional support; has the threat of the veto to influence Congress.
e. Party Leader - helps raise party funds and plan campaign strategies; uses political patronage to appoint
party members to government jobs.
f. Foreign Policy Leader - directs foreign policy and oversees foreign affairs information agencies; has sole
power to make treaties, with Senate approval; may make, without congressional approval, executive
agreements having the force of treaties with foreign nations; has the sole power to recognize foreign
governments.
g. Chief of State - This role requires a president to be an inspiring example for the American people. The chief
of state celebrates national holidays, and stands for the highest values and ideals of the country.
II.
Written Qualifications to be President of the United States
a. a candidate must be a natural-born citizen;
b. at least 35 years old;
c. a resident of the United States for 14 years.
III.
Unwritten Qualifications to be President of the United States
a. Experience in government is an unwritten but important qualification.
b. Candidates for office must have access to sources for raising large amounts of money in the presidential
election campaign.
c. Successful presidential candidates usually hold moderate political beliefs.
d. Most presidents have shared similar backgrounds—ethnic, economic, racial,
and gender.
e. Being president underscores personal strengths and weaknesses.
IV.
Impeachment Process
a. The Constitution grants Congress the power to remove any federal official from office.
b. Majority vote in the House of Representatives will bring impeachment charges
c. The Senate will conduct the trial and needs a 2/3 vote to remove the official
d. When the impeachment proceeding involve the President of the United States the Chief Justice presides
V.
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
a. 1868 after the Civil War during Reconstruction the President fired a Cabinet Member
b. Congress said the President broke the Tenure of Office Act because he did not have Congressional consent
c. The President believed the act was unconstitutional and was designed to protect reconstruction radicals
d. The Senate trial was held and Johnson was saved from being removed from office by one vote
VI.
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
a. 1988 House delivered two charges against the President to the Senate
1. Perjury and
2. obstruction of justice
b. Senate trial did not consider the charges serious enough to warrant removal from office and acquitted
c. Bill Clinton did lose his license to practice law
VII.
Cabinet
a.
b.
c.
The 15 executive departments, headed by cabinet-rank officers, are a major part of the federal bureaucracy.
These departments are headed by secretaries and staffed with assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, and
directors of major units.
1. Departments of State
2. Department of Treasury.
3. Departments of the Interior,
4. Departments of Agriculture,
5. Departments of Justice,
6. Departments of Commerce,
7. Departments of Labor,
8. Departments of Defense,
9. Departments of Health and Human Services,
10. Departments of Homeland Security,
11. Departments of Housing and Urban Development,
12. Departments of Transportation,
13. Departments of Energy,
14. Departments of Education,
15. Departments of Veterans Affairs.
The services of several independent agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
are widely publicized and are as large and well known as cabinet departments.
Some agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the General Services Administration provide
services directly for the executive branch.
VIII.
Government Corporations - independent agencies that directly serve the public, such as the
a. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
b. United States Postal Service.
IX.
Regulatory agencies- are independent of all three branches of government;
a. make rules for businesses and industries that affect the public interest;
b. Securities and Exchange commission – regulates the stock market
c. Regulatory agencies are often under intense pressures from the groups they regulate and their lobbyists;
d. Regulatory agencies have become more limited in their powers because critics have complained that they
over regulate the economy
X.
Executive Agencies
a. The Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in 1939 by Congress.
b. The EOP has grown rapidly for three reasons:
1. presidents keep adding new agencies to it as problems arise;
2. presidents want experts nearby to advise them about complex issues;
3. federal programs sometimes require special staff to coordinate the efforts of several
executive departments and other agencies working together.
c. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest agency in the EOP; it prepares the national
budget that the president submits to Congress each year.
d. The National Security Council advises the president and helps coordinate the nation’s military and foreign
policy.
e. The Council of Economic Advisers helps the president formulate the nation’s economic policy.
f. The White House Office -The president appoints White House staff without Senate confirmation.
g. The White House Office has become the most important part of the Executive Office of the President.
h. The White House staff perform whatever duties the president assigns them:
1. gathering information and providing advice on key issues;
2. ensuring that executive departments and agencies carry out key directives from the
president;
3. presenting the president’s views to the outside world;
4. deciding who and what information gets through to the president.