Interactions Among Government - Executive Branch - Midterm IDs

Article II

Established the executive branch of the federal government

Federalist Paper 70

• Argumentative Essay written by Alexander Hamilton

• Argued that a good executive needed

  • Unity

    • Only one person

  • Adequate provisions

    • Salary

  • Energy

    • Ability to act quickly

  • Secrecy

Electoral College

Method for electing the president

• Each state has at least 3 votes

  • Electoral votes determined by amount of representatives in Congress

• 23nd Amendment

  • Gives D.C. 3 votes

Powers of the President

• Divided into two categories, formal vs informal

  • Formal powers are explicitly given by the Constitution

  • Informal powers are not

• The President has four jobs

  • Chief Legislator

    • Signing bills into law

    • Veto power

    • Pocket veto

      • Action is not taken and Congress isn’t in session

  • Chief Administrator

    • Executive order

      • Same effect as law

    • Executive privilege

      • Withhold information from another branch

    • Appointment power

    • Granting Pardons

  • Commander in chief

    • Oversees all branches of the Military

  • Chief Diplomat

    • Represents the US

    • Make treaties

    • Receive ambassadors

    • Executive agreements

      • Simple contracts between heads of state

    • Facilitate trade

    • Provide mutual defense

Appointment Power

Power of the President to appoint government officials

• These officials include

  • SCOTUS justice

  • Federal judge

  • Cabinet secretary

Executive Privilege

Power of the President to withhold information from another branch

Executive Agreement

Power of the President - they are simple contracts between heads of state

Presidential Powers during wartime

Can command troops

Office of Management and Budget

Helps President create budget to be delivered to Congress

22nd Amendment

Amendment that limited presidents to either two terms or 10 years in office

Legislative checks on the Executive

• Veto override

• Impeach president

• Approve / deny appointments

Judicial checks on the Executive

Their main ability to check the Executive is Judicial Review