The Presidency
Article II
 Establishes the Executive branch, qualifications, succession,
etc.
 Also vaguely defines the president’s powers
 Remember “separation of powers”
 - division of government authority across political institutions
Article II Section 1
 Term of office (4 years)
 22nd amendment
 Qualifications
 35, natural born citizen, 14 year resident of U.S.
 Succession
 Pres., VP, Speaker, Pro tem, Sec. State, Sec. Treasury, Sec.
Defense. …..cabinet in creation.
 25 Amendment
 Compensation
 Currently $400,000 per year in salary
 Oath
Article II Section 2
 Commander in chief (War Powers Act)
 Commissioning new officers
 Grants reprieves and pardons (public opinion)
 Treaties (Ratified by 2/3 of Senate)
 Receive ambassadors (public opinion)
 Appointment power (Confirmed by Senate)
 Ex: Appointments to the Supreme Court
 Delays in Confirmation can occur during divided government
 State of the Union (public opinion, opposition party, interest
groups)
 Adjourn Congress/Call special sessions
 “take care” clause
 Impeachment and trial- House votes for impeachment, and
the Senate conducts a trial and reaches a guilty verdict
Roles of the President
 What exactly does the president do?
 What are the “hats” that he wears?
 Presidential Daily Diary Assignment
Roles of the President
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Chief legislator
Chief party leader
Chief diplomat
Commander in chief
Chief of state
Chief executive
Chief jurist
Chief administrator
Chief citizen
What is the imperial presidency?
 Power of the office of President has grown over the
years to extend power beyond what the Constitution
allows
 FDR-New Deal and subsequent growth of government
involvement in the policies of the states (and families),
Escalation of troops in foreign “wars” without a
declaration of war
 Role of the president in implementing a policy agenda
What has caused the growth of presidential
power in the past 50 years?
 Personal strengths
 One person office
 Need for bigger government- increase in public
expectations for services from the federal government
 Action in time of crisis (ex: tensions between the United
States and the Soviet Union during Cold War period)
What has caused the growth of presidential
power in the past 50 years?
 Roles of legislator, party leader and citizen have expanded
 Ex: Executive Orders: Since 1970s Presidents have made use of executive
orders at an increasing rate because they do not need to be passed by
Congress
 Staff support is larger
 Media use to communicate with “constituents”
 Economic and domestic problems such as inflation, unemployment,
and civil rights
 Increasing United States involvement in international affairs
 A President’s popularity tens to fall during his term in office (after the
“honeymoon period”
Abuse of Powers
 Executive Privilege
 The issue of executive privilege was not directly addressed by
the Supreme Court until Nixon’s attempt to withhold tapes in
the Watergate Scandal
Presidential Powers
 President have the power to veto- most successful in times of
unified government (at least 2/3 of representatives and
senators are the same party as the President)
 Pocket Veto- occurs when the President takes no action on a
bill for ten days during which Congress is adjourned
 Legislative Veto- Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional on
the grounds that such vetoes violated the principle of
separation of powers
 Presidents DO NOT currently have the power of line-item
veto
Limitations on Presidential Powers
 Line-item veto- Presidents do not have this power. Supreme Court
ruled in Clinton v. NewYork City, (1998), they considered it to be a
violation of Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. The
Constitution vests Congress with the power to craft legislation; the
President can sign, or refuse to sign, only the entire packaged bill.
(violation of separation of powers)
 * Many state governors still use line-item veto
War Powers Act
 President must consult with Congress re: military use
(notify within 48 hrs.)
 Withdrawal of forces (within 60-90 days) unless extension
granted by Congress
 Congress may end commitment at any time
Budget Impoundment Act
 Created the CBO
 Est. a fixed budget calendar
 Budget committee in each house
 Dealt with impoundment issues
 Move by Congress to regain power previously lost to the
executive branch
 President cant impound funds appropriated by Congress
The Bureaucracy
The Bureaucracy
 Set of complex hierarchy of departments, agencies and
commissions mandated with helping the president enforce
law.
 “Fourth Branch” of government
 Fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy
lies in its ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a
general mandate from Congress
Bureaucratic Involvement
 Iron triangles (sub-
governments)
 Networks of
Congressional
committees,
bureaucratic agencies,
and interest groups that
strongly influence the
policy process
What is REGO?
 Reinventing Government
 Plan to reduce the size of government under Clinton (National
Performance Review)
 “Mend it but don’t end it”
 Changes?
 Cuts in education and agriculture
 Privatization
 Customer friendly measures adopted
 Regulations rewritten
 Efficiency awards
 Success?
 Privatization and state services increased
 Overall considered successful
 Occurred under a divided government
Cabinet Members
 President does not have constitutional power to form new
cabinet-level departments
 Presidential goals often conflict with the institutional goals of
individual cabinet level agencies
 Established in Article II, Section 2- the Cabinet's role is to
advise the President on any subject he may require relating to
the duties of each member's respective office.
 http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/cabinet
Cabinet Departments
 Fifteen (see handout)
 BROAD areas of responsibility
 Secretaries and the Attorney General
 EX: Attorney General- primary role is to head the Department
of Justice
 60 percent of the federal workforce
 Can be fired by President without Senate approval
 Largest Department?
 Newest Department?
Independent Regulatory Agencies
 FCC, SEC, FTC, OHSA, EPA, FRB, etc.
 Consumer and citizen protections and economic regulation
 Commissioners served fixed terms
 Separate from President, exist outside cabinet
 Designed for objectivity, non-partisanship
Government Corporations
 Businesses est. by Congress that provide a “private sector”
good or service
 TVA, USPS, FDIC, Amtrak
 Funded through operation’s profits, NOT Congress
Executive Agencies
 Fully responsible to the President
 Loyal to the President
 Most executive agencies are more service related than
regulatory
 General Services Administration
Executive Office of the President
 Can be created by President or by Congress
 NSC
 CEA
 OMB
White House Staff
 President’s “people:” In recent administrations, the principal
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staff for the president has been made of members of the
White House Office
600 +
Aides: Chief of Staff (Emmanuel), Press Secretary (Gibbs),
Speechwriters, etc.
Confirmation NOT required
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/staff
What are the similarities?
 Each is part of the executive branch
 Authorized by Congress
 Most are appropriated by Congress
 Internal bureaucracy
 Civil servants and appointees
 Services to the public
 Divided loyalties
What are the criticisms of the
bureaucracy?
 “red tape”
 Procedures, policies, forms, lines, etc.
 Inefficient
 Lack of incentive, no profit motive
 Duplication of services
 Overlapping responsibilities (USDA/FDA)
 Federalism
 Bureaucrats are making law
 regulations
 Too big
 Need privatization
 Corruption
 Iron triangles or subgovernments
Federal Employees
Spoils System v. Merit System
 Spoils system-”to the victor belong the spoils”
 Merit system-jobs awarded based on merit
 Pendleton Act set up merit system. (Garfield’s assassination)
 OPM is the human resources office of the federal
government
 USAjobs.gov
What is the Hatch Act?
 Act which limited the political activities of federal
employees
 Why? Prevent corruption, political advantages
 Can’t
 Run for partisan office
 Fundraise at work
 Can
 Vote and assist
 Donate money
 Campaign off duty
 Hold elected position in a political party
What is the Pendleton Act?
 The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is a 19th century
law that changed the hiring practices for federal jobs. The law
was designed to remove politics from the hiring process and
install a merit-based system.
What is the Freedom of Information Act?
 Act which makes public records available to citizens
 Cost is a concern for government
The Whistleblower Act?
 Bureaucrat can report wrongdoing on superiors without job
being in jeopardy
 Special Counsel can get involved and lengthy investigation
could follow
 Controversies involving FBI labs and IRS promotions are
examples of Whistleblower results