presidential power

formal sources - chief executive

• President has the power to run the government’s executive branch and uses the Executive Office of the President (EXOP) to help do this

formal sources - proposing legislation

• The president has powers to propose legislation to Congress in the annual State of the Union Address

• The budget is key legislation submitted by the president to Congress and is drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which sits within the EXOP

formal sources - signing and vetoing

• Once a bill is passed through Congress’ legislative process, the president has the power to sign the bill into law

• If the president objects to legislation passed by Congress, they can veto it - if it’s vetoed, the bill must be returned to Congress within 10 days

• The president can use a pocket veto, which is when the president doesn’t sign a bill until the Congressional session has ended, at which point the bill can no longer become law

formal sources - commander-in-chief

• The president has the power to lead the US armed forces in foreign policy action

• In practice, the president asks for approval from Congress to use the army

• The president will always carry the nuclear ‘football’, which has access to the nuclear codes to authorise a nuclear attack

formal sources - head of state

• The president is the figurehead of the US - they carry out ceremonial functions on behalf of the US and leads the nation during times of national crises

  • EX: President Bush led the US following the 9/11 terror attacks

formal sources - nominations, treaties, pardons

• The president has the power to nominate judges to the SC and the federal courts

• The president nominates officials to the executive branch, including the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors and heads of government agencies - nominations must be approved by a vote in the Senate

• The president can make and negotiate treaties with other countries

• The president has the power to pardon citizens from criminal sentences

  • EX: 2025, Trump pardoned all Jan 6th rioters

informal sources - electoral mandate

• Being elected gives the president the mandate to carry out policies outlined in the election campaign

• An electoral mandate is important as a president elected with a large majority has a stronger mandate to carry out their policies than a president with a smaller majority

  • EX: 2008 - Obama won 52.9% of the popular vote

  • EX: 2016 - Trump won 46.2% of the popular vote, 2% less than his opponent Hillary Clinton

limits to the power of the electoral mandate

• An electoral mandate is limited in the power it gives the president because Congress can block the president’s legislative proposals

  • EX: despite Obama having a strong mandate in 2008, lots of his legislation was blocked after the 2010 midterms as there was divided government (House was Republican)

informal sources - executive orders

• Executive orders are documents which have the effect of law and are drafted by the government

• Executive orders give the president the power to manage certain federal government operations and direct government officials to act

• Executive orders are presidential powers which are not written in the Constitution

  • EX: 2025 Trump attempted to use an executive order to restrict birthright citizenship for children born in the US ‘Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship’

informal sources - national events

• Specific national events can give the president power because they enable the president to become a symbol of national unity

cabinet - membership & recruitment

• The cabinet is comprised of the 15 executive department heads, in addition to other officials appointed by the president

• The president chooses cabinet members mainly from outside Congress, including state governors, city mayors, or academics from universities

  • EX: John Kerry resigned from the Senate when appointed as Secretary of State by Obama in 2013

cabinet - power for the president

• The cabinet gives the president power to present ‘big picture items’ which affect the cabinet such as major legislation, the budget and elections

• Presidents try to unite their cabinet at the start of their administration into a team that will move forward with the president’s agenda

• Presidents use their cabinet to look collegial and open to consulting others in the government on policies and issues

• Cabinet meetings can be used by presidents to check on legislation of interest to them which is passing through Congress

cabinet IS significant

• The cabinet fulfils key functions for cabinet members, including resolving disputes between government departments and provides a chance for interaction with the president

• Cabinet members are among the most important in the executive as they are the heads of the main state departments

cabinet ISN’T significant

• The EXOP has grown in importance and often has greater access to the president than the cabinet, thus it can be the main source of advice for the president

• The constitution gives all executive power to the president rather than the cabinet, meaning cabinet members are not equals of the president

• Cabinet officers have divided loyalties and have loyalties other than to the president, including loyalty to their own department

EXOP overview

• Created in 1939 following the Brownlow Committee report which found that the president needed help

• The EXOP consists of several offices, including the National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the White House Office

national security council (NSC) overview

• The NSC supports the president in coordinating foreign policy and national security policy

• Under Clinton, Bush and Obama, the NSC has had an ‘honest broker’ role, acting as an advisor for the president

• The NSC is led by the National Security Advisor

  • EX: Current NSA as of 2026 is Marco Rubio, who was appointed May 2025

significance of the NSC

• The NSC’s significance depends on the president and how they choose to seek its advice on key policy matters, in addition the personality in the NSA role

  • EX: in Obama’s first term, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Obama made key foreign policy decisions whilst the NSC played a smaller role

  • EX: in Obama’s second term, Susan Rice (the NSA) was more politically minded and more outspoken than previous NSAs

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was formed in 1970 by President Nixon and has 3 main roles:

  • The OMB oversees all federal department and agency spending

  • The OMB offers the president advice on how to allocate funding in the budget

  • The OMB analyses legislation and regulation proposed by the executive for its financial implications to the budget

• The OMB’s director must be confirmed by a Senate vote and speaks on behalf of the president on areas relating to the budget

White House Office (WHO)

• The WHO is the president’s personal office made up of their closest advisers

• The WHO’s functions include policy advice, acting as a communicator between the President and Congress, management of the president’s daily schedule and running the White House

• The WHO manages any crises and makes sure that decisions are reached in an orderly way by presenting all relevant options to the president

• The WHO’s members are meant to be anonymous, and act as impartial advisors rather than policymakers

• The WHO is composed of over 30 offices including the Office of Political

 

powers of persuasion - persuasion through people

• The president often seeks to exploit the ‘honeymoon’ period of the presidency by appointing key roles in cabinet, to take advantage of the (usually) unified government

  • EX: Obama only had unified government in his first 2 years of presidency

• The president often seeks to appoint a chief of staff who is a good political operator, not just a gatekeeper

  • EX: George W. Bush’s chief of staff Andrew Card had the second longest tenure, providing critical administrative continuity through economic recession an 9/11

• The president often uses closed discussions when formulating the detail but is open to ‘selling’ final programmes

  • EX: Biden was able to sign the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act through to improve public transportation and road infrastructure by corralling both parties’ support

  • EX: Clinton was unable to persuade his own party that his proposed healthcare reforms were feasible and suffered the ignominy of Congress not even taking a vote on his proposal, as the Democrats were ideologically divided, despite controlling Congress

• The president aims to build an ‘esprit de corps’ between staffers and cabinet secretaries

  • EX: during and following 9/11, Bush’s administration united around him

  • Most 2 term presidents, such as Bush, Obama, and Clinton risk becoming lame duck presidents (period in which the president has lost power and struggles to implement policy objective), which can decrease feelings of loyalty in their administration

powers of persuasion - persuasion through perks

• The president can use perks to secure the support and votes of members of Congress

• Presidents can offer support for legislation that benefits a member’s district or state

• The president can offer to campaign for members of Congress in elections if they are from the same party

• The president may meet with small groups of members of Congress at the White House or in Congress to persuade them

• Presidents can contact individual directly to encourage them to vote a certain way

significance of powers through persuasion

• Persuasion is important because most presidential powers are checked by Congress and require its agreement

• If there is divided Congress, it is more difficult for a president to pass legislation

• Persuasion is important as the president often needs Congress to pass legislation, confirm appointments, and sustain vetoes

factors affecting powers of persuasion

• A president’s personality is important in building strong relations with Congress

• If Congress and the president are from the same party, persuasion is more likely to be successful

  • EX: when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and Bill Clinton was president, he succeeded in 86.4% of votes on issues he supported, compared to 36.2% under divided government