AP GOV U4 Vocab: Executive Branch

Test 2/17/26

22nd Amendment

Limits the president to 2 terms

25th Amendment

1. Succession of VP if president dies/incapable to do job

2. If there is no VP, president must appoint + Congress must approve

Formal Powers of President / Expressed Powers

• Veto power

• Command armed forces

• Pardoning power

• Appointment powers

• Make treaties

• Convene Congress

Informal Powers of President / Inherent Powers

• Control and regulate economy

• Nuclear arsenal

• National crisis suspend civil liberties

• Mobilize country for war

Commander in Chief

President is head of military forces, raises an army, and awards service medals

Cabinet

Advisory council for the President, consisting of:

• Heads of executive departments

• VP

• Few other officials selected by President

Executive Office of President

Agencies that perform staff services for the President but are not part of the White House

Federalist 70

US requires a strong, energetic executive; plural executive is dangerous

Executive orders

Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy. Not in the Constitution, therefore an inherent power

Bully Pulpit

President’s use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public

Patronage

Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments in office in return for political supprot

Bureaucracy

Employees of government who are not hired nor elected. May be fired by new presidents and replaced—the spoils system

Civil Service

System of hiring and promotion based on the merit principle and desire to create a nonpartisan government service

Iron Triangle

Close relationship between an agency, congressional committee, and interest group

Issue Network

Network that includes policy experts, media pundits, congressional staff members, and interest groups who regularly debate an issue

Delegated Discretionary Authority

Extent to which appoint bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws

Regulation

Use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector

Merit System

Hiring people into government jobs on the basis of their qualifications

Presidential Veto

President’s authority to reject a bill passed by Congress; may be overridden only by a 2/3 majority in each House; formal power

Pocket Veto

Veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing; informal power

Emergency Powers

Broad powers exercised by the president during times of national crisis; informal power