Executive Branch Zehe Test Prep

what did Alexander Hamilton say about the exec branch

• made fed 70s- basically saying a strong unitary executive makes for a good gov

• Hamilton says the leading characteristic in the def of a good gov is: an ENERGETIC executive

• a unitary executive is necessary (according to Hamilton) to ensure accountability in government

• a unitary executive needs: sufficient power, a level of secrecy, unity, and ENERGY

• Hamilton is pro fed, thinks a strong exec makes a strong fed, which is necessary

• Hamilton did not believe in strong state power so his rationale of a strong exec is logical to his political mentality

22nd amendment

established the limit on the amount of terms a president can serve

• max: 2 terms each 4 years, does not have to be consecutive (ex: Grover Cleveland)

25th amendment

presidential succession

• 1. if the pres is incapacitated/dead/resigns… then the pres role is vacant

• 2. the vice president becomes president of the USA ( if the president is temporarily incapacitated, the VP assumes the role of acting president until the pres is able to resume his duties)

• 3. if VP is unable, than the Speaker of the House becomes president of the USA

• 4. if the Speaker of the House cannot be the pres, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes President of the USA

• 5. If the Pres of the Senate cannot, then the secretary of state becomes president of the USA

• 6. all hope is gone, the fed gov cleanses itself and new ppl r in the roles

role of the vice president

presiding officer of the Senate and ceremonial assistant to the President

• VP is as powerful as he is ALLOWED to be, the VP majorly acts when the president tells him what to do

• VP casts a tie breaking vote in Congress, being the sole decider on the fate of a bill

• VP’s overall power/significance has increased with time, as President’s increasingly delegate responsibilities to the VP

• example of a powerful VP: Dick Cheny, the VP to George W Bush, was the real power and master behind the atrocities in Iraq

person with closest access to the president

• chief of staff

why has presidential power grown over time?

1. one unitary exec has more potential to act quickly and efficently, unlike a giant Congress

2. progressive need for a strong leader (population growth, external issues, etc)

3. greater reliance from the people, on federal government programs

4. size of staff supporting the president has grown, so executive involvement in government has increased

5. people’s growing focus on the presidency, making a strong and charming president deemed an acceptable president

what is the source of the president’s power to enforce the law?

oath of office and take care clause

• the president is basically the national policeman

ordinance power

power of the president to issue executive orders, originates from the Constitution and acts of Congress

• executive order: a declaration by the president to force a law they desire, Congress cannot overturn it, so this is essentially an emperor-like power given to the pres

a governor is basically the ____ of their state

president

• why? the pres of the USA is the leader and head of the USA, a governor of a state is the leader and head of their state, so same concept

appointment power

president’s power to appoint top ranking officials, who are then approved by a majority vote in the Senate

removal powers

• presidents power to remove appointed officials, with the exception of federal judges, does not require Congressional approval

• president can remove ppl from his personal staff for whatever reason, but for heads of independent agencies, there must be reason

• Congress does not have the power to stop the presidents removal power, however they can make protections and statutes limiting the usage of the removal power as a check

how are treaties made and approved?

made by the president and requires 2/3 approval by the Senate

executive agreements

made by the president, allows him to form agreements with foreign nations without Senate approval

recognition power

• recognizes the legal status of other nations on behalf of the US, therefore legitimizing the existence of other countries in the eyes of the US

• US pres is using his role as chief diplomat + also when hosting foreign dignatories or going to foreign diplomatic events

what are the President’s powers as commander in chief

lead armed forces, wage war in crisis, broadens various powers of the presidency

• wartime is the period in which the president’s power is at its height

presidents legislative powers

• propose bills, setting the Congressional legislative agenda

• pass or veto laws

• ordinance power- executive orders

• propose the budget

president’s judicial powers

• appoint judges

• the longer a president’s chosen SCOTUS member stays in office, the greater the presidents power is, during term and after term in regards to political ethos applied in legal interpretation (SCOTUS’ power)

article 2

executive article

• establishes the executive branch of the national government, headed by a single President. Outlines the method for electing the President, the scope of the President's powers and duties, and the process of removing one from office

6 Constitutional (expressed) powers granted to the president

• command armed forces (commander in chief during war)

• appointment powers (appointing officials in his cabinet, supreme court, fed judges, etc)

• send and receive diplomatic representatives

• ensure laws are faithfully executed (national policeman, chief legislator)

• executive clemency & presidential pardon -(grant pardon to ppl who’ve committed federal crimes, essentially reversing the legal effects someone would go through)

• sign or veto legislation

• submit the annual budget to Congress

• make treaties with 2/3 Senate vote to pass

• chief diplomat engaging foreign countries and leaders

can the president pardon himself

maybe

• not explicitly said whether the pres can or cannot pardon himself

• president’s pardon is unconditional

• if the president is convicted for a federal crimes, and he pardons himself, the power of Congressional impeachment is made null, therefore rejecting the checks and balances

• SCOTUS can interpret if a president can or cannot pardon himself, which would set a precedent if interpreted as a true right

imperial presidency theory and criticism

• theory: emperor-like president who is all powerful

• criticism: rejects the political ethos cemented by the Constitution, makes a dictatorial political climate

who confirms presidential appointments

the Senate

lame duck

after a new president is elected, the previous president is in a lack duck period for 2 months where he does not have presidential powers anymore but is still president by title

executive privilege

the right of the president and the executive department to keep private any information that they believe should not be made public, within certain bounds set by the Supreme Court

in what ways does the President act as the country's chief diplomat?

when he deals with foreign governments and helps prepare treaties

• treaties are approved by 2/3 of the Senate

• treaties are binding for the US

presidents may be removed from office by

impeachment in the House (prosecutor) and conviction at a trial held in the Senate (judge)

first 100 days of a presidents term is called

honeymoon time

how is the president elected?

democratically- by popular vote, aka vote by the people

actually- by the electoral college

• electoral college: entity of voters from each state, voting on the president

• why does the electoral college exist? the Framers thought the people could not be held responsible in electing the president, therefore Representatives of the people, aka the electoral college, votes for the president

how many electoral votes does a pres candidate need to become pres?

270

how many federal agencies?

15 + the VP

• secretaries of… agriculture, commerce, defense, edu, energy, health, human services, homeland security, housing & urban development, interior, labor, state, transportation, treasury, vet affairs, chief of staff, and the Attorney General

• comes from Article 2, Section 2, of the Constitution

most prominent fed agencies

• Secretary of Defense: protects US defense policy and ensures external issues affecting the US are at bay

• Attorney General: chief law officer, principal legal advisor, reps the gov in legal issues

• Chief of Staff: has the CLOSEST access to the President, is like a glorified secretary

executive branch pyramid

president requirements

• 35+ years old

• natural born US citizen (born in the USA)

• 14+ years of consecutive residency in the USA

executive reprieve

presidential power to delay a sentence or enable a temporary relief for people committing offenses

• difference from a pardon: pardon is permanent, reprieve is temporary

executive commutation

presidential power to reduce a sentence length for a crime

inherent powers

• signing statements: a president expressing how much he wants to enforce a law (essentially the president’s opinion of a law)

• emergency/crisis powers: when in war, the presidents power is at its highest

• executive privilege: withhold info from the public & congress (ex: atomic bomb making)

what factors might influence how much power a president wields?

• crisis /war

• Checks and balances 

• Popularity

• Public persuasiveness 

• Divided v. Unified government (when the government is divided it is harder for the president to get congressional approval & pass laws he wants)

• Policy agenda- laws that the president wants to put into place (they don’t have authority to pass these laws) but they try to get a policy agenda with their informal and formal powers. 

regular veto vs pocket veto

• regular veto: veto of a bill, can be overturned by 2/3 both Congress house vote

• pocket veto: indirect veto of a bill by letting a bill sit (unsigned) on the presidents desk till it dies (10 day period when Congress is adjourned)

war powers + war powers resolution

• war powers: president allowed to break and create presidential prerogatives

• war powers resolution: requires that the President communicate to Congress abt wartime affairs without 48hrs and the duration of the President’s war powers is 60 days, must be terminated after the window unless Congress declares war or extends authorization

• does the resolution really apply: Clinton started the Bosnian war, George W Bush the Iraq war- not as communicators approved by Congress, but imperial-like presidents doing their deeds in war

why do some argue the president should have primary responsibility in war affairs?

• president is a single person, more efficient and more effective, esp in a turbulent time like war

• supporters of the imperial presidency theory

• supporters of the exec branch being the most powerful

budgetary power

• The President takes increasingly central roles in the budget process 

impoundment

president’s power to not spend money that has been appropriated by Congress (federal funds), either temporarily or permanently

• congress’s response to Nixon’s Impoundment: passing the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control, which was vetoed by Nixon but passed by Congress overruling

executive privilege

implied power of the president (executive privilege), to gatekeep info from Congress and the people

• infamous use of executive privilege- Watergate Scandal, revealed Nixon to be slimy, ended in Nixon resigning to avoid impeachment issues

US v Nixon

established that NOONE is above the law, not even the president

vote of 8-0 (1 judge did not vote)

a few days later, Nixon resigned shamefully

how was the VP selected and how is the VP selected now?

• used to: runner up in the presidential election

• now: nominees for president select their VP running mates, they are essentially a package deal

12th amendment

how the pres and VP are elected (the procedure)

• each elector (in the electoral college) must cast distinct votes for president and VP (so they are elected together), instead of 2 votes for pres (old version)

where does the president live?

White House office, works in the Executive office

Cabinet + VP and President meet up in what time interval?

once a week

• myth: the cabinet members are the president’s great council of advisors

• reality: the cabinet members are more administrators of their agencies than advisors to the pres, busy with the affairs of their department, plus there is a lack of secrecy in the cabinet members affairs so trusting them in confidence is tough

who broke record for most tie breaking votes?

Kamala Harris

Group created by law that includes president, vice president, and diplomatic and chief people that help make military decisions

National Security Council

annual state of the union address

president’s annual address to Congress and the people about the progress achieved in his term so far

• president using his role as chief legislator to propose legislate befitting his agenda and party, in the state of the union address

president uses his ___ role when talking to the people

chief citizen

• also chief legislator role when he is trying to convince the public on supporting his policy agenda; ex: Obama convinced the public on Obamacare which is like med insurance for all, and the public votes for their congressmen and women, so a lotta Congress members relented and voted in favor of Obamacare which was passed (another ex: trump and his MAGA cult unfortunately)

the president is the ____ of his political party

chief of party

• ex: Biden is the chief of the Democratic party

• NOT to be confused with the VPs role of being the residing officer of the Senate, who casts a tiebreaking vote in favor of their parties ideology (ex: Harris would vote in favor of Medicaid for all in the situation of a tiebreaking vote calling for the enaction or rejection of the aforementioned topic, bc her and Biden are Dems)

article ___ is all encompassing about the presidents expressed powers

2

national conventions

the meetings where people are chosen as presidential and vice presidential nominees by delegates, and they need to win a majority of delegates to be an official nominee. The delegates are usually from their state (state delegates) who go to the Nat convention to vote and confirm their choice of candidate.

• ex: in the 2016 national convention, the dem party chose Hillary Clinton as a presidential nominee in their party by majority delegate vote, same concept for Donald Trump in the Republican party

• keynote addresses are delivered at national conventions, they are partisanship (political party adhering) speeches that set the stage for naming a parties pres and VP candidates

treaty

a formal agreement between 2 or more sovereign states

• pres acts in his role of chief diplomat, his treaties need confirmation by Senate BUT executive agreements DO NOT need Senate vote to be passed

• the pres is the most powerful person in international affairs, because he is one person (unitary ENERGETIC exec) making diplomatic exchanges

presidents checks & balances on the other 2 branches (legislative and judicial)

• executive checks: pres can appoint SCOTUS (Supreme Court) judges, president can veto legislation created by congress

• executive balances: pres’ actions can be deemed unconstitutional by the SCOTUS (ex: US v Nixon where SCOTUS 8-0 vote deemed Nixon corrupt in Watergate), pres can be impeached by the House and officially expelled from office by the Senate (Jonhson, Clinton, and Trump have been impeached but ZERO presidents have actually been expelled from office by Congress)

amnesty

a blanket pardon to a group of law violators

clemency vs pardon

• clemency & pardo grants absolute legal forgiveness of a crime

• pardon grants absolute legal forgiveness of a crime

• they are basically the same, but the clemency is more used for whole classes/communities while a pardon is more used for a singular person

• the term presidential pardon is used more

• this is an unconditional power granted to the president, with grey areas on whether he can pardon himself or not (not explicitly expressed as able or unable)

executive office of the president

the umbrella agency composed of the President himself and his advisors, cabinet, and assistants from the several agencies in the exec branch