Government U4

Article II -- Study guide

Primary duty of the executive branch

• to enforce laws

Constitutional requirements on the President (3)

• 35 years old
• must be a natural born citizen
• 14 years of citizenship

administrative state

• Involve the agencies created by congress
  • agencies are in all three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) -- executive branch oversees a lot of agencies
  • independent agency -- something that is not under a cabinet department specifically
  • largest -- military
• agencies possess the power to 1) execute (carry out) laws and regulations, 2) adjudicate (to make official judgement about problem) laws or regulations, and 3) the power to make regulations
• is democratic and farce
  • people vote for what they want, but ultimately congress can disregard the people’s vote and determine what will happen
• president determines the head of the agencies -- he decides whether or not he thinks they are fit for the job
  • however, if the experts are wrong -- then the president has little power to determine the rest of the actions or to fire the department head
• carry our executive orders

How the electoral college functions

• candidates are elected directly by popular vote
  • compromise between popular vote by people and vote from congress

Why people want to change the electoral college

• people say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency
  • if people have the power to vote then why not exercise it -- why then just allow for the college to vote the president in

Formal Powers of the president

• ==Command armed forces==
  • Rules of engagement
  • check/limit – congress
    • Category – military
• ==reprieve/pardon federal felons==
  • Forgive federal or US offenses
  • Cannot be in impeachment cases
    • Judicial + executive
• ==Make treaties==
  • Engage with foreign nations
  • ⅔ of senate
    • Executive
• ==Appoint ambassadors, federal judges, and officers==
  • Decision making
  • Consent of senate
    • Judicial, military, executive
• ==Receive ambassadors and foreign officials==
  • Legitimacy to foreign nations
  • Cannot take money
    • Executive
• ==State of the union==
  • Provide times for congress to meet
  • No check
    • legislative

Informal power of the president

• Command armed forces
  • @@Rules of engagement@@
  • check/limit – congress
    • Category – military
• reprieve/pardon federal felons
  • @@Forgive federal or US offenses@@
  • Cannot be in impeachment cases
    • Judicial + executive
• Make treaties
  • @@Engage with foreign nations@@
  • ⅔ of senate
    • Executive
• Appoint ambassadors, federal judges, and officers
  • @@Decision making@@
  • Consent of senate
    • Judicial, military, executive
• Receive ambassadors and foreign officials
  • @@Legitimacy to foreign nations@@
  • Cannot take money
    • Executive
• State of the union
  • @@Provide times for congress to meet@@
  • No check
    • legislative

Checks on presidential power

• Command armed forces
  • Rules of engagement
  • $check/limit – congress$
    • Category – military
• reprieve/pardon federal felons
  • Forgive federal or US offenses
  • $Cannot be in impeachment cases$
    • Judicial + executive
• Make treaties
  • Engage with foreign nations
  • $⅔ of senate$
    • Executive
• Appoint ambassadors, federal judges, and officers
  • Decision making
  • $Consent of senate$
    • Judicial, military, executive
• Receive ambassadors and foreign officials
  • Legitimacy to foreign nations
  • $Cannot take money$
    • Executive
• State of the union
  • Provide times for congress to meet
  • $No check$
    • legislative

How can the president check legislative and judicial branch actions

• Legislative -- can challenge certain orders and take them to court
  • orders could be determined unconstitutional and therefore be vetoed
• Judicial -- whether or not the president will be administering justice
• all systems work together to avoid and overuse of power
  • president can check on the legislative and judicial while the branches are working together to deem stuff that is unconstitutional
• “with the consent of the senate” -- legislative

duties of the president

• faithfully execute the laws
• receive ambassadors and public ministers
• commission all the officers of the US
• convene both houses

Impeachment process

• both houses have to agree on impeachment
• The Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of the senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office

foreign policy influence by the executive branch

• ^^a country’s actions, words, and beliefs towards other countries^^
  • main goals -- protect the US, support economic growth and human rights around the world, increase support for American values of democracy and freedom.
  • main people are the president and the executive branch -- both items work together with the legislative to practically carry out the polices
  • department of state is responsible for foreign policies

Presidential cabinet positions and responsibilities

1. presidential cabinets divide power into 15 departments

     1. these departments are full of people who are experts of the area 2. elected by the president

2. %%department of treasury%%

     1. handles the country’s finance 2. promotes economic policies

3. %%department of education%%

     1. handles educational systems

4. %%department of homeland security%%

     1. responsible for securing the US from threats and providing security

5. %%department of defense%%

     1. militia

6. %%department of state%%

     1. responsible for the state’s representation and foreign policies

7. %%department of energy%%

     1. responsible for the US’ energy policies

8. %%department of commerce%%

     1. responsible for promoting job creation and economic growth and improve the standards of living

9. %%department of agriculture%%

     1. responsible for farm. production and conservation

10. %%department of health and human services%%

     1. responsible for health requirements, mandates, and regulations

11. %%department of justice%%

     1. responsible for upholding the rule of law to keep the country safe

12. %%department of labor%%

     1. responsible for worker conditions and rights

13. %%department of housing and urban development%%

     1. responsible for public housing and regulations

14. %%department of transportation%%

     1. responsible for coordinating transportation over federal lines

15. %%department of veterans affairs%%

     1. responsible for healthcare for veterans and managements of benefits

16. %%department of interior%%

     1. responsible for public land and resources

executive orders

• a rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law
  • different power than a law
  • used in war and economic crisis -- needed when decisions need to be made fast and promptly
• subject to judicial review -- can be determined whether or not the order is constitutional

presidential election process

• Right now, there is a total of 538 electors apart of the electoral college. Each elector would cast one vote in the general election. The candidate who gets 270 votes or more wins. The second closest become vice president

1. have to win a nomination -- each party’s formal choice of who their official presidential candidate will be

1. primary election
2. caucus

       1. select the candidate that the state wishes to nominate for each party in the national election

2. convention -- meeting of delegates of a political party to choose candidates for elected office
3. general election
4. electoral college

1. results

domestic policy influence by the Executive branch

• domestic policy -- dealing with national stuff within the US ; affects all citizens
• the executive branch is able to either veto or execute the ideas given
• president works with executive branch and legislative branch to provide check and balances for the president
• state of the union
  • suggest policies to follow or possible laws
• executive orders