UNIT 2B: THE PRESIDENCY

Executive branch

The branch of government charged with putting the nation’s laws into effect.

Formal (enumerated) powers

Powers expressly granted in the Constitution.

Informal powers

Powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties.

Treaty

An agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the president and requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify.

State of the Union Address

The annual speech from the president to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs.

Veto

Formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress.

Pocket veto

An informal veto caused when the president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session.

Presidential pardon

Presidential authority to release individuals convicted from a crime of legal consequences and forgive an individual and set aside punishment for a crime.

Executive privilege

A right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress.

Executive agreement

An agreement between a president and another nation that does not have the same durability in the American system as a treaty but does not require Senate ratification.

Signing statement

Written comments issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consist of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but that may also include a president’s interpretation of the law itself.

Executive order

Policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval.

War Powers Resolution

A law passed over President Nixon’s veto that restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than sixty days without congressional authorization.

Impeachment

The process of removing a president from office, with articles of impeachment issues by a majority vote in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict and remove.

Executive Office of the President

A collection of offices within the White House organization designed mainly to provide

information to the president.

Electoral College

A group of 538 citizens that cast official ballots for the President every election year, the majority of which vote for the candidate that won the majority of the popular votes

Bully pulpit

Presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support his policies.

Federalist 70

Hamilton’s article where he calls for a strong single-executive branch with a President that has the energy required to effectively run this country

Commander-in-Chief

Role of the President as the highest authority over our military forces

Congressional Checks on Executive powers

Override presidential vetoes; requires a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress, power of the purse; agency budgets must be authorized and appropriated by Congress.