American Gov Unit 3: Executive branch

1. chief of state

a. ceremonial head of the nation

b. not all chiefs of state rule, the president of the US does

- king of england does not

2. Chief Executive

a. head of the executive branch of government

i. signs and vetoes bills

ii. part of the checks and balances cycle

b. all of the agencies that fall under this branch answer to the president

3. chief administrator

a. head of the government in general (THE BOSS)

b. responsible for an almost 5 trillion dollar operation

- proposes the fiscal budget of the US

4. chief diplomat

a. spokesperson and architect of foreign policy

b. meets with foreign dignitaries/leaders

c. appoints ambassadors to other countries

5. commander in chief

a. control of the US military

b. 1.5 million troops and the powerful US arsenal of weapons are under the direct and immediate control of the president

c. limited by the war powers act

6. chief legislator

a. proposes the fiscal budget of the US

b. plays a big role in setting the agenda of congress

- bills they will work on

- bills he won't sign

c. outlines his plan in state of the union address

7. chief of party

a. leader of his/her political party

i. what he says is very tied to the party's identity

ii. successful president = successful party

8. chief citizen

a. representative of all people

b. should be an upstanding citizen to successfully fill this role

c. all us citizens are constituents of the president

qualifications to be president

1. must be a natural born citizen

2. 35 years of age

3. lived in the US for at least 14 years

informal qualifications

- Military/political experience

- well known business figure

- Well spoken

- elite university, highly educated

president's term

1. 4 year term

2. unlimited until 1951

3. 22nd amendment changed the terms of the presidential term

a. president can serve two, four year terms, up to 10 years total

b. in response to FDR who ran and won 4 terms

D. pay and benefits

1. congress sets the salary of the president: $400k

2. white house

3. camp david (cottage)

4. paid staff

5. yacht

6. air force 1, the beast (president limo)

7. travel and entertainment fund/expense budget

8. pension when leaves office of 144k / year

A. duties of the Vice President

1. the vice president has 2 duties given to them by the Constitution

a. President of the Senate

i. votes in case of tie

ii. recognizes senators to speak

b. help decide if the president is capable to perform his duties

VP Perks

1. $235k

2. Big mansion

applying for/filling the job

1. how is VP chosen?

a. nominated with president

b. chosen by presidential nominee

- often chosen based on helping to win the election

2. president can't fire or dismiss VP

- only removed through impeachment

the 25 amendment

1. presidential succession covered officially in the constitution

2. VP vacancy - how to fill it:

a. president may appoint a new vice president to fill a vacancy in office

b. new vice presidents must be approved by a majority of both houses of congress

presidential disability

originally there was no provision for this

1. 25th amendment also covers this

2. vice president may take over if:

a. VP informs congress that the president can't perform the job

b. VP takes over if the VP and the majority of the cabinet members inform congress the president can't perform the job

c. president can reclaim powers by informing congress he is able to perform duties, but VP and cabinet can challenge

electing the president of the US

A. the constitutional convention's approach

1. a lot of time was spent here deciding how to elect a leader

2. initially wanted congress to choose

- decided that was too much power given to congress

- it was also a little too close to a parliamentary style of government

3. hated popular vote

4. decided on electoral college

5. changes

a. 12th amendment: cast separate votes for pre and VP

b. 23rd amendment: gives DC 3 electoral votes

how the electoral college works

1. each state gets an elector for each congressperson

a. wisconsin gets 10

2. electors are chosen however each state determines

a. generally it is just determine by the state political parties

how the electoral votes are counted

1. votes are counted in front of congress

a. 270 words

b. if a tie exists or a majority is not gained

i. house chooses the president

ii. senate chooses VP

2. originally the second most votes was elected vice president

- 12th amendment (1804) changed that

election tied!

- thomas jefferson and aaron burr tie in the election of 1800

- it took the house of reps 36 ballots to break tie and choose jefferson

a. the original method

1. party caucuses in congress decide on nomination

a. caucuses are meetings of certain groups of people

- republican caucus, tea party caucus

presidential primaries beginning

1. began in wisco-1905

a. very first in US history

b. progressive party

- began to put down corruption by party bosses and political machines

2. primary is when an election is held to pick a candidate for a party from the larger pool of candidates

primaries today

1. very front loaded

a. meaning states want to hold their primary early in the cycle so your vote counts more

b. lead to super tuesday: many states voting in primaries the same day.

2. new hampshire has always been first primary

who gets nomination

1. party with incumbent president keeps that candidate however some have been challenged

2. party out of power it is an open field

flaws of the electoral college system

1. winner of the popular vote may not win election

2. elections are not required to stick to their pledges "pointless electors"

3. there is a chance the house of representatives could decide election

4. a strong 3rd party candidate can affect an election

most powerful person in the world

- chief executive: administrator of the US

- running both foreign and domestic affairs of the country

a. the framers' intentions

1. single executive with broad powers (article 2)

2. not a tyrant or king though

why power has grown so much

1. unity of president: one person makes decisions vs.

- congress: many people makes decisions

UNITY wins

ex: lincoln

why power has grown cont.

3. people want the government to be involved, president is the face of that

4. need of decisive action - wars, economic crisis, etc

5. congress has passed laws to give more authority

6. role and use of media, 24/7 access

what has limited power of president

1. supreme court decisions primarily

2. public opinion

5 principle powers of president

1. executive powers

2. diplomatic powers

3. military powers

4. legislative powers

5. judicial powers

executive powers

1. executing the law

- president

2. ordinance power

- executive orders: directive, rule, regulation that affects the law

- congress has delegated this power to the president

3. appointing power

- not all members of the executive branch are appointed

- senate must approve cabinet, supreme court, ambasadors

4. removal power

- the president has the power to remove (except judges)

executive power ex

undoing of numerous trump executive orders

- jan 2021

freezing federal fin regulation

- trump jan 2017

dont ask, dont tell

- clinton feb 1994

diplomatic powers

1. treaty making

a. agreement between 2 or more sovereign states

b. senate approves with 2/3 vote

2. executive agreements

a. pacts between president and foreign leaders without senate consent

b. do not require senate approval

3. power of recognition

a. recognize legal existence of a government or country

b. can stabilize or create turmoil in other countries

Military Powers of the President

*Commander-in-chief of armed forces

*Can conduct military operations

*Can call out national guard or the military to preserve domestic order

limit on president's military powers

a. war powers resolution (1973)

- act designed to limit presidential power to wage undeclared war (reaction to vietnam war)

b. key provisiosn

- president must report to congress within 48 hours

- 60 days max without congress approval

- congress can end a conflict

persian gulf war

(1990 - 1991) Conflict between Iraq and a coalition of countries led by the United States to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait which they had invaded in hopes of controlling their oil supply. A very one sided war with the United States' coalition emerging victorious.

legislative powers

1. chief legislator role

2. state of the union speech

3. power to recommend

a. suggests and supports different legislation to congress

4. veto power

a. every law goes through the president

5. other powers

a. special sessions

b. adjourn houses

president's 4 options when a bill gets to their desk

a. sign it (IT"S A LAW)

b. veto it

- can be overridden with 2/3 vote of congress

c. pocket veto (not law)

- do nothing session ends

d. let it become law without signing it

judicial powers

1. powers of clemency

- limited to federal crimes excluding impeachment

2. reprieve

- postpone a sentence

3. pardon

- legally forgives

4. commute

- reduced sentence

5. amnesty

- pardon of a large group

the cabinet

15 positions that help advise the president

US civil service

Composed of all appointed positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the federal government (excludes military)

Opportunities in civil service in many government agencies and institutions

These includes:

Federal prisons

VA hospitals

Military bases

spoil system

The practice of giving a pointed positions in government to people loyal to the party and power

enraged by garfield's assassination

president chester a. arthur and the congress enact pendleton act

- civil service and the merit system replace the spoils system