Unit 2: Executive Branch (AP Government Vocabulary)

Bully Pulpit

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

Cabinet

The heads of the fifteen executive Branch departments that also serve as advisors to the President.

Executive Agreement

A pact between the President and the head of a foreign nation. Unlike treaties, they DO NOT require Senate consent and may only last for the duration of a president’s term.

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

A mini-bureaucracy created in 1939 to help the president oversee the executive branch bureaucracy. A collection of offices within the White House Organization, staffed by the President’s closed advisors, designed mainly to provide information to the president.

Executive Order

A directive, rule, or regulation that carries the weight of law that is given by the president without the consent of Congress to the bureaucracy.

Executive Privilege

The president’s ability to keep certain communications private from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress. U.S. v. Nixon clarifies its limitations.

Formal Power

Authority given to the president that is specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

Going Public

A tactic through which presidents reach out directly to the American people with the hope that the people will, in turn put pressure upon their representatives and senators to press for a president’s policy goals.

Gridlock

A slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

Impeachment

The constitutional process of bringing charges against a government official. If convicted, the official is removed from office and can never hold an elected office again. The House draws up the charges and needs to pass them with a simple majority vote, the Senate conducts the trial, and a two-third vote is necessary for conviction/removal from office.

Informal Power (Inherent)

Authority given to the president that is NOT specifically mentioned in the Constitution but can be inferred.

Lame-Duck Period

Period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees. An official still in office after they lost a bid for re-election or has reached their term limit.

Line-Item Veto

The power to cancel specific dollar amounts that involve taxing or spending within a bill without vetoing the entire bill. The Supreme Court has found this UNCONSTITUTIONAL for presidents to use.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

The office that prepares the president’s annual budget proposal, reviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analysis of proposed bills and agency rules.

Pardon

Presidential authority to forgive a person for their crimes and sets aside their punishment. It restores all the rights and privileges of citizenship to that person that was charged or convicted of a crime.

Pocket Veto

When a bill fails to become law, because the president did not sign it within the 10 days before Congress adjourned.

Signing Statement

Issued by the president after passing a bill into law; reveals what the president thinks of a new law and how it ought to be enforced. Usually consists of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but may also include a president’s interpretation of the law itself.

State of the Union Address

The annual speech from the President to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs and where the president attempts to set the upcoming legislative agenda by making requests to Congress to see specific legislation passed.

Treaty

A formal public agreement made between the United States and one or more nations that must be ratified (approved) by two-thirds of the Senate.

Twenty-Fifth Amendment

Adopted in 1967 to establish procedures for filling vacancies in the office of the president and vice president as well as providing procedures to deals with the disability of a president.

Twenty-Second Amendment

Adopted in 1951; prevents a president from serving more than two terms, or more than ten years if they came into office via the death, resignation, or impeachment of their predecessor.

U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

Supreme Court ruling on power of the president, holding that no absolute constitutional executive privilege allows a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial.

Veto

The formal, constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing them from becoming law without further congressional action (congressional override with a 2/3 vote).

War Powers Resolution

Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a 60 day period in peacetime (which can be extended an additional 30 days to permit the safe withdrawal of the troops) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.