Bellringer
• Answer the following question in a wellwritten paragraph.
• Which role of the president is most
important AND why?
G-U3-L2
President: Formal and Informal
Powers
SSCG12 The student will analyze the various roles
played by the President of the United States; include
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, chief
executive, chief agenda setter, representative of the
nation, chief of state, foreign policy leader, and party
leader.
Formal Powers of the
President
• Constitutional or enumerated
powers of the presidency
• Found primarily in Article II of
the Constitution
Executive Power: APPOINTING
POWER
•“Faithfully execute” the laws
•The President has the power to appoint nearly three
million federal civilian employees.
•Once the President receives the consent of the
Senate, he appoints most of the top-ranking
officials in the Federal Government.
•Some examples are: federal judges, cabinet
members, heads of independent agencies, and officers
of the military.
Executive Power: THE REMOVAL
POWER
*The President can remove anyone from office who he has
appointed.
*The only restriction on this power is that
the President cannot remove Supreme
Court Justices from the bench.
*Three major reasons for removal are: inefficiency in
office, neglect of duty, or inappropriate behavior.
JUDICIAL POWERS
ACCORDING TO ARTICLE II, SECTION 2, CLAUSE 1
THE PRESIDENT HAS THE POWER TO ISSUE:
PARDON – ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT IT IS
LEGAL FORGIVENESS FOR A CRIME
AMNESTY – ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT IT IS
A PARDON FOR A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE
REPRIEVE – ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT IT IS
POSTPONING A SENTENCE
COMMUTATION- ISSUED BY THE PRESIDENT
IT IS A REDUCTION OF A SENTENCE
Legislative Powers
• Give State of the Union address to Congress
• Recommend “measures” to the Congress
• Presidential Veto
– Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of origin
– Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days
– Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both Houses
• Veto Politics
– Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)
– Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in
legislation
Informal Powers
• Those powers not explicitly written in the
Constitution
• Similar to “necessary and proper” powers
of Congress
• In the modern era (since 1933), the
President’s informal powers may be
significantly more powerful than his
formal powers
Ordinance Power
• Executive Orders : a rule
issued by the President that
carry the force of law
• Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t
tell” gays in the military
policy
• FDR’s internment of
Japanese Americans
• GWB trying suspected
terrorists in military tribunals
Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942
Executive Agreements
• International agreements, usually related to trade, made
by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT
need Senate approval
• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803
• GWB announced cuts in
the nuclear arsenal, but
not in a treaty; usually
trade agreements between
US and other nations
Executive Privilege
• Claim by a president that he has the right to decide
that the national interest will be better served if
certain information is withheld from the public,
including the Courts and Congress
• United States v. Nixon
(1973) – presidents do
NOT have unqualified
executive privilege (Nixon
Watergate tapes)
Presidential Superpowers
• You are to create a Presidential Superhero
that represents all of the different roles that
the President plays in our government.
You have 2 different options:
1)Create a superhero and weapons/powers
that reflect the different roles of the
President
2)Create a story by making a comic strip that
tells a story of the Presidential superhero
using all of his powers.
Closing Questions
•
•
•
Why are informal powers more important
than formal powers, particularly to modern
presidents?
Identify several advantages and
disadvantages of the use of the president’s
informal powers.
Has the use and perhaps abuse of the
informal powers created an “Imperial
Presidency?” Defend your answer.