The Executive Branch

The President’s Roles (8)

  • Chief of State

    • Ceremonial, symbol of the people, symbol of the people, head of government

  • Chief Executive

  • “The most powerful office in the world”

    • Not all powerful because there are 3 branches

  • Chief Administrator

    • Head of the executive branch of government

    • Directs the bureaucracy, almost 3 million people

  • Chief Diplomat

    • Main architect of American foreign policy

    • Nation’s chief spokesperson

    • Secretary of State has most foreign control

  • Commander in Chief

    • Commander of all armed forces

    • President dominates both foreign and military affairs

  • Chief Legislator

    • Usually President sets Congressional agenda

    • Office of President suggests most legislation

  • Party Chief

    • Leads the party that controls the executive branch

  • Chief CItizen

    • Represents the interests of the whole United States. The public interest over the private interest.

      • FDR — The Presidency is not merely and administrative office… it is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership”

  • Formal Qualification

    • Natural born citizen

    • 35 years of age]

    • Lived in the US 14 years

  • The President’s Term

    • Term of office 4 years

    • 22nd Amendment

      • Elected maximum two full terms of office

      • 10 year maximum

  • Pay and Benefits

    • Salary cannot increase or decrease during a presidential term

    • Salary = $400,000

      • $50,000 for expenses

    • Added Benefits

The Executive: Succession and the Vice President

  • Succession=a plan for filling an opening in the presidency

    • Constitution = no plan

    • V.P filled the office by custom

  • 25th Amendment formalized succession

  • President Succession Act

    • Speaker

    • President Pro Tempore

    • Secretary of State

Presidential Disability

  • 25th Amendment

    • VP becomes acting president

      • If President relinquishes power

      • V.P and the majority of the cabinet

    • The Vice Presidency

      • President over Senate

      • Decide presidential disability

  • VP replaced by President and approved by Congress

  • VP today are more influential

  • Balance the ticket

    • Choose a running mate who will help get you elected

      • Geography, race, ethnicity, gender, religion

The Election of the President

  • Political Platform — the aims and principals of a political party

  • Keynote Address — speech that may be a pathway to a nomination

Typical Characteristics

  • Have existing political experience — governors of states/ senators

  • Incumbency — currently in office

  • Come from the larger states — New York, Ohio, Illinois, Texas, and California

  • married with a family: Buchanan and Cleveland (He gets married in office.)

Original Provisions

  • Original Electoral College

    • President and VP chosen by presidential electors

    • Person with the most votes became President.

      • Person wit the 2nd most votes became V.P

The Electoral College Today

  • Not voting directly for president

    • Voting for electors

    • Reps & Dems have their own slate of electros

    • Each state has as many electors as members of Congress CA — 54 electoral votes

    • The number of electoral votes a state has is equal to the number if members of Congress the state has.

    • Electors are chosen on a winner-takes-all basis

      • Except for Maine and Nebraska

  • Electing the Pres

    • Nov — We the People

    • Dec — Electoral College

    • Jan. Votes counted its official

Flaws in the Electoral College

  • Winner of the popular vote will not win the presidency

    1. Winner-take-all

    2. Distribution of electoral votes —

      1. CA — one electoral vote represents 615816 people

  • 21 states do not require their electors to vote the way of the state

    • *Rogue (or faithless) electors are very rare

    • Never affected the outcome of an election

  • The House of Representatives chooses the president if there is no electoral (270).

    • Each state only gets one vote… Small states count more than big states

Proposed Reforms

  • -The proportional plan

    • Each candidate would be awarded electors in proportion the number of votes in a state.

  • Direct Popular Election

    • Get rid of the Electoral College and let the people vote for the president

      • Require an amendment

      • Small states lose their advantage

  • National Bonus Plan

    • Same electoral college votrs

    • Add 102 votes to the candidate who wins the popular elections

The Growth of Presidential Power

  • Expressed Presidential Power

    Commander-in-chief

  • Receive ambassadors

  • Make treaties (confirmed by senate)

  • Veto

  • Grant pardons

Why Presidential Power has Grown

  • Presidential power has grown over the last 200 years

    • One person is president

    • Strong personalities

    • Technological advances & Mass Media

  • Loose definition of Executive Power

  • *President is not all powerful!

The Presidential View

  • The Stewardship Theory

    • Stronger chief executive’

    • Works well with Congress

    • TR, FDR, Reagan

Imperial Presidency

  • President as emperor

  • Ignores Congress

  • Nixon

The President’s Executive Power

  • Chief Executive/administrator

    • Enforced the law

    • “Marshall made his opinion.. let him enforce it.”

The Ordinance Power

  • Executive Order issued by the president and has the force of law.

  • Allows the president to determine “how” laws are enforced

    • Ex: focus on deportation of certain illegal immigrants over others.

The Appointment Power

  • President appoints top ranking government officials

    • Majority of Senate must approve

    • Ambassador, cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, heads off independent and regulatory agencies, officers in the armed forces.

The Removal Power

  • The Constitution doesn’t talk about removal

  • The 1st Congress decided the President needed power to remove any officer except for federal judges

Power of Recognition

  • By receiving an ambassador the President is also acknowledging the existence of that country

  • President can also ask that diplomats be recalled

Commander in Chief

  • President dominates military policy

    • Checked by Congress’ power to declare war

    • Many presidents make war without a declaration of war from Congress

    • War Powers Resolution Act

      • Designed to limit war making powers of the President

        • President must report the deployment of troops within 48 hours.

        • Troops can only be deployed for 60 days unless Congress approves an extension

        • Congress may end combats commitment at any time

Diplomatic and Military Powers

  • treaty → formal agreement between two or more sovereign states

  • President has the power to negotiate

    • Checked by Senate approval of 2/3

Executive Agreement

  • Agreement between the prez and the head of another country

  • Does not require Senate approval

Legislative and Judicial Powers

  • Recommending Legislation

    • Most ideas for laws come from the White House

  • The Veto Power

    • President is the last person to act on a bill

    • Threat of a veto is often enough to defeat a bill.

    • Congress can override with a 2/3 vote.

Judicial Power

  • President has the power to grant

    • Reprieves:

    • Postponement of a sentence

  • Commutation: deletes or lowers the punishment

  • Pardon: Forgiveness of a crime; not impeachment

  • Amnesty: pardon given to a Groupon of people

  • Only for federal offenses. Also can be for crimes not yet committed