Today’s
Essential Questions:
How does the Executive
Branch work?
The Executive Branch
Unit 4
Why do you think the presidency is
called a Glorious Burden??
Who assists the President?
 When George
Washington was
President, people
recognized that one
person could not
carry out the duties
of the President
without advice and
assistance.
The President receives help from the:
 Vice President
 Cabinet Members
 Heads of Independent and Executive Agencies.
 Unlike the powers of the President, their responsibilities
are not defined in the Constitution.
The Executive Branch
President
Cabinet
The Heads of
the 15 Executive
Departments.
Federal Agencies
Vice President
Created by
Congress
Member of the
President’s
Cabinet
The Presidency
I Want you to learn
about the Executive
Branch! So, listen
to Coach Jordan,
one of this nations
greatest teachers!
Presidency
I need to have all
these
Qualifications!!!!
Qualifications
Native born
citizen
At least 35
years old
U.S. Resident
for 14 years
Presidency
Term of Office
Elected to a 4
year term
No term limits
in the
Constitution
22nd
Amendment set
a 2 term limit
Presidency
Salary and Benefits
$400,000 a year
plus $50,000
allowance
Use of Air Force
One and a fleet of
cars and helicopters
White House and
Camp David
Presidency
Qualifications
Term of Office
Salary and Benefits
Native born citizen
Elected to a 4 year
term
$400,000 a year
plus $50,000
allowance
At least 35 years old
No term limits in
the Constitution
Use of Air Force
One and a fleet of
cars and helicopters
U.S. Resident for 14
years
22nd Amendment
set a 2 term limit
White House and
Camp David
Unwritten Qualifications of
President
 Experience in government is an unwritten but important







qualification.
Candidates for office must have access to sources for raising
large amounts of money to campaign.
Usually hold moderate political beliefs.
Most Presidents have shared similar backgrounds---ethnic,
economic, racial and gender.
Good Leaders!
Held public office before.
Charismatic
Good Public speakers and usually Good Looking
The Vice President
You have a
distinct old
man smell, get
away from
me……
As soon as
these cameras
are gone so am
I….
Vice President
Qualifications
Duties and
Responsibilities
Must meet same
Constitutional
requirements as
President
Takes over if the
President dies or is
removes from Office
Presides over the
Senate
Salary and Benefits
$186,300 annual
salary plus $10,000
allowance
Presidential Succession
 Eight U.S. presidents have died
while in office. One president
resigned. In each case, the vice
president took the oath of office
and became president as provided
by the Constitution.
William H. Harrison, Natural Causes
John Tyler,
Vice President
Zachary Taylor, Natural Causes
Millard Fillmore,
Vice President
Abraham Lincoln, Assassinated
Andrew Johnson,
Vice President
James A. Garfield, Assassinated
Chester Author,
Vice President
William McKinley, Assassinated
Theodore Roosevelt, Vice
President
Warren Harding, Natural Causes
Calvin Coolidge,
Vice President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Natural Causes
Harry Truman,
Vice President
John F. Kennedy Assassinated
Lyndon Johnson, Vice
President
Twenty-fifth Amendment
 adopted in 1967
 new president nominates a new vice
president
 Nomination must then be approved by
a majority vote of both houses of
Congress.
The Order of Presidential Succession
 The Vice President
 The Speaker of the House
 The President pro tempore of the
Senate
 Members of the president’s cabinet in
the order in which their departments
were created
Powers and
Duties of the
President
Powers and Duties of the President
 Chief Executive
Officer of the
United States
Powers and Duties of the President
 Prepares annual
budget for
Congressional
approval
Powers and Duties of the President
 Appoints Cabinet Officers,
Ambassadors, Supreme
Court Justices and Federal
Judges
Powers and Duties of the President
 Approves and Vetoes
Legislation
Powers and Duties of the President
 Negotiates Treaties

October 26, 1994 Peace Treaty Signing: Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, President Bill Clinton, King Hussein of
Jordan
Powers and Duties of the President
 Administers the
Federal Bureaucracy
Powers and Duties of the President
 The State of the
Union Address
Powers of the President
Chief Executive
 Carry out the nation’s laws
 Issue executive orders
 Regulation from president that has power of law (desegregation of
schools)
 Appoints cabinet members, judges, and other federal officials
 Senate must approve.
 Issues pardons and grant amnesty (forgive)
 Can issue reprieves and commutations (suspend or reduce)
35
Commander and Chief
 Commands all of the armed forces
 Basically in charge of our military
 Ability to respond to a military threat without
Congressional approval-War Powers Act
Chief Agenda Setter
 Main architect of public policies.
 Calls special sessions of Congress
 State of the Union Address



Outlines what he sees as the needs of the
Country
The ability to veto legislation
Status of legislation and laws that have
been passed, economic conditions, etc.
Chief Legislator
(Legislative Leader)
 Proposer of the legislative
agenda
 Recommends laws to
Congress to create and pass
 Approves or Vetoes bills
Chief Financial Planner
 Head of the Executive
Branch of U.S. Government
 Prepares the Budget
 Recommends laws to help the
community
Chief of State
 Ceremonial head of the
U.S. Government
 Represents our entire nation
Chief of Party
(Party Leader)
 leader of a political party
 helps the party raise money
 Campaigns for party
members
 Solves party issues
Chief Citizen
 Representative of the
American People
 Position of leadership by which the
nation is directed and shaped
Foreign Policy
Leader (Chief Diplomat)
 Deals with foreign countries
 Appoints ambassadors
 Makes treaties (approved by senate)
 Spokesperson to the rest of the World
 Executive Agreements-Pacts between
the President and other Heads of State
43
Judicial Powers
 Appoints federal Judges
 Grants reprieves/Pardons
Checks and Balances
Executive Branch checks
Legislative Branch
I called you all here
today because I can!!
on the
 Vetoes laws
 Calls
Congress into
special
session
Executive Branch
checks on the Judicial Branch
 Appoints federal
judges
OOHH Pick
me pick me
pick me
John Roberts at his nomination for the Supreme Court
with President George Bush.
Legislative Branch Checks
Powers OVER the President
 Senate approves treaties and
presidential appointments
 *The House of Representatives
appropriates money
 *Congress can override veto
Congress can impeach and
convict the President and Vice
President
BUT..I WAS THE
PRESIDENT!!
AGGH! I HATE
RULE OF LAW!
Judicial Branch Checks
Powers over the President
 The Supreme Court can
rule Executive Acts
unconstitutional
Hey What Do
You
Expect..we
only have one
document to
use here! Just
follow it!
Geez
Executive Branch Checks Powers over the
Legislative Branch
o
o
Vetoes laws
Convenes (calls) Congress into special session
Executive Branch Checks Powers over the
Judicial Branch
o
o
Legislative Branch Checks Powers over the President
*Senate approves treaties and presidential appointments
*The House of Representatives appropriates money
*Congress can override vetoes
*Congress can impeach and convict the President and Vice
President
Nominates Supreme Court Justices and federal
judges
Grants pardons and reprieves
Judicial Branch Checks Powers over the President
*Grants pardons and reprieves
*The Supreme Court can rule Executive Acts
unconstitutional
How the president influences
policymaking
(Laws/legislation)
The Executive Branch
influences policymaking
(laws) by:
Proposing legislation
(giving Congress ideas for
laws)
Giving the State of the
Union Address
Annual speech to Congress
that is an important way
for a President’s agenda to
be communicated to the
public and to Congress
The Executive Branch
influences
policymaking (laws)
by:
Approving or Vetoing
bills
The Executive Branch
influences policymaking
(laws) by:
Appointing officials that
carry out the laws
The President appoints the
heads of cabinet
departments, independent
agencies and regulatory
commissions.
Appealing directly to the
people
ALL: WE ARE THE MEDIOCRE
PRESIDENTS
YOU WON'T FIND OUR FACES ON
DOLLARS OR ON CENTS!
THERE'S TAYLOR, THERE'S
TYLER
THERE'S FILLMORE AND
THERE'S HAYES
THERE'S WILLIAM HENRY
HARRISON
HARRISON: I DIED IN THIRTY
DAYS!
ALL: WE... ARE... THE...
ADEQUATE, FORGETTABLE
OCCASIONALLY REGRETTABLE
CARETAKER PRESIDENTS OF
THE U-S-A!
Help carry out and
execute the laws
Executive Departments
Executive Departments
Congress has the power to
establish, reorganize and to
eliminate executive
departments
Executive Departments
Each department as a
specific area of
responsibility
Executive Departments
Heads of the Executive
Departments make up the
President’s Cabinet
Cabinet
 Not mentioned in the Constitution, but every
President has had a Cabinet
 Advise the President and help implement federal laws
 Title of most cabinet members is secretary
 Head of the Department of Justice is the Attorney
General
Department of State
Department of Defense
Department of Justice
Department of the Interior
Department of Treasury
Department of Health and
Human Services
Department of
Transportation
Department of Education
Department of Labor
Department of Veteran’s
Affairs
Department of Housing
and Urban Development
Department of Energy
Department of Commerce
Department of Agriculture
Department of Homeland
Security
Independent Agencies and Regulatory
Commissions
Independent Agencies and
Regulatory Commissions
 Created by Congress
 Help keep the government and the
economy running smoothly
Independent Agencies and
Regulatory Commissions
 Separate from the executive
departments because they perform
specialized duties
 Help to carry out federal laws
Independent Agencies and
Regulatory Commissions
 Provide Public Goods and Services
such as national defense, highways
and the Postal Service
 Enforce Federal Laws
Independent Agencies and
Regulatory Commissions
 Establish guidelines that protect
health and safety
 Oversee the way individuals and
companies do business
The Federal Bureaucracy
 Formed by the
departments and agencies
in the executive branch
 3 million people work in
the bureaucracy
 Operates under heavy
rules and regulations that
create “red tape