The President gov

The President

• Formal Qualifications:

• Be a natural-born citizen of the United States

• Be at least thirty-five years old

• Have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years

• Salary: $400,000

• $50,000 annual expense account

• $100,000 travel account

• $19,000 for entertainment account

• Term: Four years, 2x

The President’s Sources of Power

• Expressed Powers

– Serves as Commander in Chief

– Pardons crimes

– Appoints officials

– Enters into treaties (with Senate approval)

– Gives the State of the Union

– Convenes Congress

– Receives ambassadors

– Commissions U.S. officers

• Inherent Powers

– “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed”

– Purchasing territory, expanding the government, providing health care?

• Statutory Powers

– Line-item veto (1996-1997 R.I.P)

• Special Powers

– Executive Orders (which carry the force of law)

– Emergency Powers

– Executive Privilege

• The People

– The Bully Pulpit

• The ability and opportunity to speak on any issue

– Approval Ratings

• The highest points of a president’s approval is during the honeymoon period and in moments of rallying around the flag

– Technology and media

• Twitter, Facebook, memes, interviews, photo-ops and so on

– The President’s interests and family

The Executive as Legislator

• The President has the power to veto legislation

– This is fairly rare

– There was once a line-item veto, but this is banned

• The President also has the ability to issue a signing statement

. . . as Chief Economist

• The President submits a budget to Congress

• Appoints “the Fed” or the Federal Reserve Board

• Can exercise other informal powers here

• His budgetary powers are not formally listed in the Constitution

as party leader

• Symbolic leader of his party

• Selects national party chair

• Primary fundraiser

• Nominates party members into the Executive

chief diplomat

• Negotiates treaties and international agreements

• Can create an executive agreement

– Not subject to Senate approval

– Not binding for future presidents

• Appoints ambassadors and other diplomats

commander in chief

• Supreme military commander of U.S. forces

• Sends troops into battle

• Sets military strategy

• Serves as a figurehead for the military

chief executive

Leader in domestic and foreign policy initiatives

• Appoints Secretaries to his Cabinet and other officials

• Manages the Executive Office of the President

(EOP)

– Including the White House Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council

• Determines how the bureaucracy will work

chief of state

• Symbolic leader of the nation

• For example:

– Formal visits

– Events and galas

– Commemoration ceremonies

• Similar to the ceremonial roles played by PMs in other countries

What does the Vice President do?

Formal Requirements:

– Be a natural-born U.S. citizen

– Be at least 35 years old

– Have resided in the U.S. at least 14 years

– Generally is from a different state than the

President

• Salary: $235,100

• Term: Same as the President’s

The Vice President’s Role in Office

Often very ceremonial

• Other roles can include:

– Liaison with Congress

– Policy Director

– Adviser

– Policy drafter, etc..

• Successor to the President

• Note: Some VPs have later been elected president, but this is a very hard road to take

The Vice President’s Role in the Campaign

• The VP is meant to create a balanced ticket

• Takes part in the Vice Presidential Debate

• Often serves as the “Hatchet Man”

What if the President shouldn’t serve?

• Impeachment

– Formal accusation through the House of Representatives with the articles of impeachment and a majority vote

– The articles of impeachment are forwarded to the Senate. The Senate tries the president and determines the penalty

– Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton faced impeachment but were acquitted

– Richard Nixon faced impeachment and resigned

What if the President can’t serve?

• When the president dies, there is a clear line of succession:

– Vice President

– Speaker of the House

– President Pro Tempore

– Secretary of the State, etc.

• If a president does not die but cannot serve, it was once less clear. This was handled in the 25th Amendment (1967).

– The President Notifies Congress and the VP takes over

A Brief History of Presidential Power

• Thomas Jefferson

– Anti-federalist but expands federal powers

– Louisiana Purchase

– Party leader power

• Andrew Jackson

– Party leadership mixed with populism

– South Carolina and tariffs

– Loved to veto!

• Abraham Lincoln

– Suspended Habeas Corpus

– Expanded troops and blockaded Southern ports without Congress

• Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson

– Worked to define both bills and the powers of the legislature

Public perception and media coverage have been very different in the post-Watergate age

• Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter

– The end of the imperial presidency

– What happens when there’s a lack of authority?

• Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama

– A mixed legacy?

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt

– The Work Progress Administration and New Deal Economic Policies

– Social Security, unemployment, public works projects

– War powers during WWII

• Turning Point: Richard Nixon

– The “courts” and the Imperial Presidency

– The Pentagon Papers leak

– Watergate Scandal

– War Powers Resolution