US presidency

Three formal powers of the president

• Issuing executive orders - eg pulling out of WHO by tRUMP, and Paris climate accord

• pardon - Joe Biden PARDONING HIS SON. Donald Trump pardoning capitol riots people.

• veto legislation - Obama vetoes 12, only one was overridden.

3 more executive powers…

• appointments eg Merrick garland

• executive branch officials in 15 departments. - Brooke Rollins as sec. of agriculture

• commander in chief - nuclear football if je needs to authorise war. Congress does have power to authorise war but this is rarely used, instead they legitimise resolutions eg 2002.

Three functions of cabinet meetings.

• big picture items, eg before state of the union address etc. Obama used his cabinet meeting on 30 September to discuss the implications of the upcoming partial shut down.

• policy debate - Reagan’s were described as ‘vigorous’

• prompting action - eg Chuck hAGEL OVER GUANTANAMO BAY ‘i don’t think your moving fast enough Chuck’

what is the composition of expo

while house office - facilitate communication with congress and people, includes office of cabinet affairs etc…

White House chief of staff

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tHE nsc

Power to persuade…

Direct authority…?

• signing statements - signing a bill which may challenge it constitutionally - adds power over legislation - -Obama for ACA are over four pages long

• executive orders - trump more than 60 by February.

• executive agreements eg George H.W Bush with NAFTA

Factors that effect presidential success

• unified/divided government - healthcare reforms?\

• Crises - COVID 19 and executive orders.

• first/second terms - second term means presidents can become lame ducks - Obama’s approval was 67% in first week, v 40% in 201

Three war related powers of Congress?

• ratify treaties eg…Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter

• power to declare war - 1941 pearl harbour

• power to agree budgets - large spending power

Three checks against the President?

• congress

• supreme court

• interest groups that can mobile or demobilise policy eg NRA opposed Obama’s gun control proposals

• The media can also report…fact checking has become more prevalent especially from tv debates from Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Three powers of the Vice President?

• counting and then announcing electoral votes

• Become temporary president eg cheney when George W. Bush required a colonoscopy

• power to break a tie in the senate eg mike pence and the vote for betsy deVos as secretary of education

rational choice - three considerations presidents make when appointing cabinet members

• friendship eg george osborne as foreign sec…

• ideology; obama placed chuck hagel as secretary of defense, want to represent wider wings of the party, michael heseltine and thatcher

• dependent upon the election vote eg David Cameron had to appoint lib dems to 5 of the 22 cabinet posts. this is not the same in america.

3 examples of roles in foreign policy with the president?

• appointments to foreign cabinet positions eg sec of state marco rubio

• negotiating treaties; Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signing a nuclear arms treaty in 2010., paris agreement with Biden in 2021

• commander in chief; President Biden's order in January 2024 to destroy Houthi rebel targets in Yemen