The Presidency
The Oath
• NATURAL BORN CITIZEN
• LIVED IN CONTINUOUSLY IN UNITED
STATES FOR 14 YEARS
• 35 YEARS OLD
WHAT DID THE FRAMERS
ENVISION ROLE OF
PRESIDENCY TO BE?
Federalist #70
Alexander Hamilton
Presidential Powers Continue to Grow
The framers created a presidency with limited
powers.
To enact govt business the president must
cooperate with Congress but the power is divided
among the branches, and the politics of shared
power is often stormy
CONSTITUTIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
•
•
•
•
•
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
HEAD EXECUTIVE BRANCH
NEGOTIATE TREATIES
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESSES
MAKE APPOINTMENTS
ARTHUR SCHLESINGER
WROTE “THE IMPERIAL
PRESIDENCY”
POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS
GROWN IN MODERN TIMES “PRESIDENT CAN RULE BY
DECREE”
Presidential Powers Continue to Grow
Presidents
have
expanded
their powers
in several
ways. Crisis,
both foreign
and
economic,
have
enlarged
those
powers.
Example
National Security Agency (NSA): A cryptologic
intelligence agency of the United States
Department of Defense responsible for the
collection and analysis of foreign
communications and foreign signals
intelligence, as well as protecting U.S.
government communications and information
systems.
Under President George W. Bush’s order, the
NSA was allowed to listen to thousands of
telephone conversations and read thousands of
emails from inside the U.S. to potential
terrorists abroad without any congressional or
judicial review.
INFORMAL ROLES OF
PRESIDENT MORE IMPORTANT
CHIEF LAWMAKER
PARTY LEADER
CRISIS MANAGER
RECRUITER
MORALE BUILDER
CHIEF DIPLOMAT
This has resulted in tensions between the Executive
and Congressional branches….
PRESIDENT vs.
CONGRESS
The Struggle for Political Power
Presidential Powers Continue to Grow
The constitution is not always clear on which
branch has which powers which creates
controversies over
- the president’s war power
- authority to assert executive privilege
- issue executive orders
- control the budget and spending process
Congress has tried to clarify the president’s role
but presidents have a variety of tools for
influencing Congress and they have considerable
personal resources to gain support for their
proposals
POWER OF
PRESIDENCY
HAS DOMINATED
CONGRESS IN FOUR
MAIN AREAS:
ONE: WAR POWERS
• President =
Commander in Chief
• Congress declares
war
• President Johnson
persuades Congress
to enact Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution
WAR POWERS ACT
• ENACTED DURING NIXON’S ADMINISTRATION
• TROOPS ABROAD REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL
APPROVAL (BTW 60 - 90 DAYS)
• CONGRESS REASSERTING ITS AUTHORITY
• NIXON VETOED BILL
• CONGRESS OVERRIDES THE VETO
TWO: LEGISLATIVE POWERS
• CHIEF LAWMAKER
• VETO POWER
• FEWER THAN 3% OVERRIDDEN
• EXECUTIVE ORDERS
(Korematsu v. US)
Executive Orders: Formal Orders issued by the president to direct action by the
federal bureaucracy. According to past Supreme Court decisions, executive orders
are generally accepted as the supreme law of the land unless they are in conflict
with the Constitution or a federal law.
Presidents execute the laws and direct the federal departments and agencies in
part through executive orders, which are formal directives that are just as strong
as laws and can be challenged in the courts.
THREE: APPOINTEES
• CONFIRMING A CABINET USUALLY
VERY EASY
• MANY WHITE HOUSE STAFF
OFFICIALS (NATIONAL
SECURITYADVISOR) DO NOT
REQUIRE SENATE CONFIRMATION
The president's appointment power gives presidents the ability to control what
happens inside departments and agencies during their terms and to shape the
federal judiciary far into the future.
President Obama nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme
Court Justice
FOUR: FOREIGN AFFAIRS
• WITH GROWING NATIONAL SECURITY
PRESIDENTS GAINED POWER OF
EXECUTIVE PRIVILEDGE
• ALLOWS THEM TO WITHHOLD
INFORMATION IN COURT INQUIRIES IF
INFORMATION WOULD ENDANGER
NATIONAL SECURITY
• US v. Nixon
Executive Agreement: A formal agreement between the U.S.
president and the leaders of other nations that does not
require Senate approval.
In 2003, the Bush administration negotiated a 22-item
executive agreement with Mexico to create a “smart border”
that would limit the movement of illegal aliens into the United
States, while improving the flow of goods between the two
nations.
A few other ways Presidential
power has increased….
Federal Budget: The President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which
recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1.
The Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to appropriate
money in the federal budget, but presidents are responsible for actually
spending the money.
Impoundment
Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Presidential staff agency that
serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management
improvements for government agencies.
The OMB is the central presidential staff agency. Its director advises the
president in detail about the hundreds of government agencies--how
much money they should be allotted in the budget and what kind of job
they are doing.
BUDGET IMPOUND MENT
CONTROL ACT (1974)
• CREATED THE CONGRESSIONAL
BUDGET OFFICE (CBO)
• GAVE CONGRESS THEIR OWN
ECONOMIC ADVISORS
• MADE THE IMPOUNDMENT OF
FUNDS MORE DIFFICULT
Cabinet (inner & outer): Advisory council for the president, consisting of
the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few
other officials selected by the president.
The cabinet is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, yet since
George Washington's administration, every president has had one to act
as his advisory council.
Executive Privilege: The right to keep executive communications confidential,
especially if they relate to national security.
The Constitution does not give presidents the explicit power to withhold
information from Congress or the public, but courts have recognized that
presents have the executive privilege to keep secrets, especially if doing so is
essential to protect national security.
Line Item Veto: Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending
bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court.
In an effort to control its own tendency to overspend, Congress allowed presidents to
strike out specific sections of an appropriations bill while signing the rest into law with a
line item veto until 1998 when it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
CONCLUSION:
• POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS
GROWN OVER CONGRESS
• PRESIDENT CAN WAGE WAR
• PRESIDENT CAN LEGISLATE
• PRESIDENT CAN APPOINT
• PRESIDENT CAN DOMINATE
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
• ALL WITH LITTLE INTERFERENCE
FROM CONGRESS!