CE

Chapter#12 - The Presidency

The Presidency: Overview

  • The Presidency is established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which begins: “the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
  • Article II outlines how the president is chosen and defines the basic powers of the presidency.
  • The President is indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College.
  • The first president, George Washington, won a unanimous vote of the Electoral College.
  • Since 1789, 45 individuals have served as president, but there have been 47 presidencies because Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump served two non-consecutive terms, creating a discrepancy between the number of presidencies and individuals who have held the office.

Eligibility and Terms

  • Who can be President?
    • Must be a natural-born citizen (a naturalized citizen is someone who becomes a citizen of the United States by a congressional process; naturalized citizens are not eligible).
    • Must be at least 35 years old.
    • Must be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.
  • Term length and limits
    • The Twenty-Second Amendment (ratified in 1951) limits the president to two terms in office (totaling 8 years).
    • Prior to the amendment, there was no formal term limit; George Washington established a tradition of serving a maximum of two terms.
    • Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to a fourth term and served for 13 years before dying in office in 1945, which helped motivate the two-term limit.
    • The Twenty-Second Amendment was enacted to prevent future presidents from serving more than two terms.

Presidential Powers

  • Make treaties with the approval of the Senate.
  • Represent the nation in talks with foreign countries.
  • Enforce the laws passed by Congress.
  • Act as Commander-in-Chief during war.
  • Head the national intelligence network (CIA, NSC) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
  • Grant pardons (e.g., Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon in 1974; Carter’s blanket pardon for Vietnam draft evaders in 1977).
  • Appoint federal judges, ambassadors, Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and other federal officials.
  • Issue executive orders (e.g., Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 initiating the Manhattan Project—the code name for the development of the atomic weapon during World War II).
  • Veto bills (regular veto or pocket veto) and sign bills into law.

Executive Orders: Totals by President

  • The following are executive order totals as listed in the material (note: some entries show duplicates due to slide formatting):
    • Franklin D. Roosevelt (D): 3{,}725
    • Harry S. Truman (D): 907
    • Dwight D. Eisenhower (R): 484
    • John F. Kennedy (D): 214
    • Lyndon B. Johnson (D): 325
    • Richard Nixon (R): 346
    • Gerald R. Ford (R): 169
    • Jimmy Carter (D): 320
    • Ronald Reagan (R): 381
    • George H. W. Bush (R): 44
    • Bill Clinton (D): 364
    • George W. Bush (R): 291
    • Barack Obama (D): 635 (Note: the slide lists 635 in a connected table column)
    • Donald J. Trump (R): 220
    • Joe Biden (D): 162
    • Donald J. Trump (R): 152 (duplicate entry shown on the slide)

Executive Orders: Regular vs Pocket; Total and Overrides

  • A table shows Regular orders, Pocket vetoes, Total, and Overrides for various presidents. Selected totals from the slide include:
    • Donald J. Trump: Regular 0, Pocket 0, Total 0, Overridden 0
    • Joseph R. Biden Jr.: Regular 13, Pocket 0, Total 13, Overridden 0
    • Donald J. Trump: Regular 10, Pocket 0, Total 10, Overridden 1
    • Barack Obama: Regular 12, Pocket 0, Total 12, Overridden 1
    • George W. Bush: Regular 12, Pocket 0, Total 12, Overridden 4
    • Bill Clinton: Regular 36, Pocket 1, Total 37, Overridden 2
    • George H. W. Bush: Regular 29, Pocket 15, Total 44, Overridden 1
    • Ronald Reagan: Regular 39, Pocket 39, Total 78, Overridden 9
    • Jimmy Carter: Regular 13, Pocket 18, Total 31, Overridden 2
    • Gerald R. Ford: Regular 48, Pocket 18, Total 66, Overridden 12
    • Richard M. Nixon: Regular 26, Pocket 17, Total 43, Overridden 7
    • Lyndon B. Johnson: Regular 16, Pocket 14, Total 30, Overridden 0
    • Franklin D. Roosevelt: Regular 372, Pocket 263, Total 635, Overridden 9

The Cabinet

  • Cabinet definition and status
    • Cabinet comprises the secretaries or chief administrators of the major federal departments.
    • Cabinet members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
    • The cabinet has no constitutional status; it is not a collective government body like in some parliamentary systems.
  • Historical context
    • George Washington’s cabinet included four members: the Attorney General and the secretaries of War, State, and the Treasury.
  • Current organization
    • There are fifteen departments in the cabinet today.
    • The last department added was the Department of Homeland Security.

Cabinet: Illustrative Compositions (Slide Examples)

  • Cabinet under President Donald Trump (illustrative):
    • Vice President – JD Vance
    • Secretary of Education – Linda McMahon
    • Secretary of State – Marco Rubio
    • Secretary of Veterans Affairs – Doug Collins
    • Secretary of the Treasury – Scott Bessent
    • Secretary of Homeland Security – Kristi Noem
    • Secretary of Defense – Pete Hegseth
    • Secretary of Health and Human Services – Robert Kennedy, Jr.
    • Attorney General – Pam Bondi
    • Administrator of the EPA – Lee Zeldin
    • Secretary of the Interior – Doug Burgum
    • U.S. Trade Representative – Jamieson Greer
    • Secretary of Agriculture – Brooke Rollins
    • Director of National Intelligence – Tulsi Gabbard
    • Secretary of Commerce – Howard Lutnick
    • Administrator of the Small Business Administration – Kelly Loeffler
    • Secretary of Labor – Lori Chavez-DeRemer
    • Director of the Office of Management and Budget – Russ Vought
    • Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – Scott Turner
    • Director of the Central Intelligence Agency – John Ratcliffe
    • Secretary of Transportation – Sean Duffy
    • Secretary of Energy – Chris Wright
  • Cabinet under President Joe Biden (illustrative):
    • Vice President – Kamala Harris
    • Secretary of Labor – Marty Walsh
    • Secretary of State – Antony Blinken
    • Secretary of Education – Dr. Miguel Cardona
    • Secretary of the Treasury – Dr. Janet Yellen
    • Secretary of Veterans Affairs – Denis McDonough
    • Secretary of Defense – Lloyd Austin
    • Secretary of Homeland Security – Alejandro Mayorkas
    • Attorney General – Merrick Garland
    • Administrator of the EPA – Michael Regan
    • Secretary of the Interior – Deb Haaland
    • Director of National Intelligence – Avril Haines
    • Secretary of Agriculture – Tom Vilsack
    • United States Trade Representative – Katherine Tai
    • Secretary of Commerce – Gina Raimondo
    • United States Ambassador to the United Nations – Linda Thomas-Greenfield
    • Secretary of Health and Human Services – Xavier Becerra
    • Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers – Dr. Cecilia Rouse
    • Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia Fudge
    • Administrator of the Small Business Administration – Isabel Guzman
    • Secretary of Transportation – Pete Buttigieg
    • Chief of Staff – Ron Klain
    • Secretary of Energy – Jennifer Granholm

The White House and the Cabinet (Inside the White House)

  • The slides include a visual section labeled “Inside the White House” and “THE CABINET.”

Vice President

  • Roles and purpose
    • Exists for two purposes: to succeed the president if the president dies, resigns, or is incapacitated, and to preside over the Senate, casting a tie-breaking vote when necessary.
  • Historical perspective
    • The vice presidency has often been viewed as an insignificant office.
    • Example: Lyndon Johnson initially worried about accepting Kennedy’s offer as running mate, fearing impact on political trajectory.
  • Recent developments
    • Some vice presidents have taken on more important advisory roles (e.g., Al Gore during Bill Clinton’s presidency).
  • Selection strategy
    • Presidential candidates often choose vice presidents who can help win support in key states.

Vice President Tie-Breaking Votes

  • The slide lists several vice presidencies and the number of tie-breaking votes by administration:
    • JD Vance: 1
    • Kamala Harris: 33
    • Mike Pence: 13
    • Joe Biden: 0
    • Richard B. Cheney: 8
    • Albert Gore: 4
    • Dan Quayle: 0
    • George H. W. Bush: 7
    • Walter Mondale: 1
    • Nelson A. Rockefeller: 0
    • Gerald R. Ford: 0
    • Spiro T. Agnew: 2

Presidents Assassinated and Attempted

  • Assassinated presidents
    • Abraham Lincoln (1865) — assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
    • James A. Garfield (1881) — assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau
    • William McKinley (1901) — assassinated by Leon Czolgosz
    • John F. Kennedy (1963) — assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald
  • Attempted assassinations
    • Theodore Roosevelt (1912) — attempted by John Schrank
    • Ronald Reagan (1981) — attempted by John Hinckley Jr.
    • Donald Trump (2024) — attempted by Thomas Crooks

Notable Court and Conspiracy-Related Details (Assassination Context)

  • Ford’s Theatre site and related imagery (visuals referenced in slides)
  • The conspirators and post-event outcomes (as depicted in the slides):
    • Samuel Arnold – life in prison (Dry Tortugas)
    • George Atzerodt – executed by hanging
    • John Wilkes Booth – shot to death by a Union soldier
    • David Herold – executed by hanging
    • Samuel Mudd – life in prison (Dry Tortugas)
    • Michael O’Laughlen – life in prison (Dry Tortugas)
    • Lewis Powell – executed by hanging
    • Edman Spangler – six years (Dry Tortugas)
    • Mary Surratt – executed by hanging
    • John Surratt – fugitive and later set free (hung jury outcomes vary in slides)

First Ladies

  • Roles of First Ladies
    • Greet foreign dignitaries, visit other countries, provide informal policy advice, lobby for reform, attend national ceremonies.
    • Their activity level can vary by preference of the president and their own interests.
  • Early examples
    • Abigail Adams helped John Adams maintain a steady head during his presidency.
    • Edith Wilson played a significant informal role when Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated by a stroke, leading to calls for her as a “first lady president.”
    • Eleanor Roosevelt traveled, spoke on New Deal policies, and advocated for poor children and broader Democratic causes; she also wrote a newspaper column and supported Democratic candidates.

First Ladies (Recent Examples)

  • Melania Trump
  • Dr. Jill Biden
  • Michelle Obama
  • Pat Nixon
  • Laura Bush
  • Barbara Bush
  • Rosalynn Carter
  • Betty Ford
  • Hillary Clinton
  • Nancy Reagan

Impeachment

  • Definition
    • Impeachment means charging a government official (including the president and vice president) with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Mismeneans” and bringing the case before Congress to determine guilt.
    • The Constitution grants Congress the power of impeachment over the president, vice president, and other executive officials.
  • Process
    • Impeachment is like a criminal indictment: the House of Representatives acts as a grand jury, voting by simple majority to decide if the accused should be impeached.
    • If the House votes to impeach, the trial moves to the Senate, which acts as a trial jury and votes on conviction and removal from office (a two-thirds majority is required).
  • Historical cases
    • Andrew Johnson (1868): Impeached in the House; survived removal by one vote in the Senate.
    • Bill Clinton (1998): Impeached on two counts (lying under oath and obstructing justice); Senate did not convict (2/3 needed).
  • Notable presidents in impeachment discourse
    • Donald Trump: Impeached twice (2019 and 2021) for abuse of power/obstruction of Congress and incitement of insurrection; Senate did not convict in either case.
    • Richard Nixon: Not impeached; faced impeachment process, but resigned before charges could be read to the House (August 9, 1974).

Notable Endnotes

  • The material includes various slide images and captions (e.g., FORD’S THEATRE, WHITE HOUSE interior) that accompany the topics above and illustrate historical contexts.
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