2. The Executive Branch

General

Roots: Article II

• Qualifications: 35 years old, natural born citizen, resident for 14 years

• 22nd Amendment limits the pres to 2 terms

• Exec privilege allows the pres to withhold some information

• Presidential Succession Act: establishes the line of succession

• 25th Amendment provides procedures for replacing the pres or vp

Powers:

• Appointment power: ability to appt cabinet, judges, and fed officials

• Power to convene Cong: the pres can call special sessions of cong during extraordinary circums

• Power to make treaties: pres negotiates treaties w/ for nations

• Executive agreeements: tools of dip that dont req s8 apprvl

• Veto power: pres can reject leg passed by Cong

• Commander in Chief: pres presides over mil

• Pardoning power: pres grants pardons for fed offenses

Power growth

• inherent powers

• incremental expansions b/w 1809-1933

• modern presidency sind FDR, pres has expanded in dom and for policy

PG-Incremental Expansion

• The Early Pres (1789-1837)

  • GW establish precedents (two terms, for neutra

  • lity)

  • Heavily relied on Cong for lawmaking

• Expansion during Jacksonian (1829-1837)

  • AJ used the veto as a tool; introduced pres as a central figured that defies Cong when necessary

• Lincoln and the Civil War (1861-1865)

  • AL exercised “extraordinary powers” (suspended hab corpus, emanc proc)

  • Estab precedent for greater powers during emergencies

• The Growth of Pres Power (1900-1933)

  • TR advocated for strong exec to lead reforms w/ “bully pulpit”

  • WW expanded the role of pres in international affairs (WWI) and dom reforms

PG-The Modern Presidency

• FDR’s New Deal (1933-1945)

  • Significant increase in fed gov power

  • Expanded exec branch, creating programs to combat the Great Depression

  • “Fireside chats” to comm directly with the public

  • Pres as the central figure in Am politics

• Post-WWII and the Imp Pres (1945-1974)

  • HT continued expansion of fed powers (Kor War, Cold War)

  • Pres’s role in for pol expanded during Cold War

  • “Imperial pres” due to unchecked exec actions

• Modern Presidency (1974-Present)

  • Post-Watergate reforms to check pres power (War Powers Res, limits on executive privilege)

  • Despite reforms, pres mantained signif authority

  • Increased use of exec orders

Roles and Functions of the Executive

• The VP

  • Succeed the pres

  • Advise the pres

  • Rep US in diplomatic matters

  • Leading policy initiatives

• The Cabinet

  • Heads of 15 exec departments

  • Members are appointed by pres and confirmed by S8

  • Influence depends on the pres style (some rely while others don’t)

  • Cabinet includes VP and other officials

• Pres spouses

  • Evolved from ceremonial to influential

  • Champion social causes (MO healthy eating, NR anti-drugs)

  • Influence on public op & play a role in discussions

  • Mainly informal

• The Exec Office

  • OMB preps fed budged and oversees performance of fed agencies

  • NSC advises the POTUS on ntl sec and for pol

  • CEA offers econ pol advice

• The White House Staff

  • Chief of Staff manages staff and controls access to the pres

  • Press Secretary communicates the administration’s pols and messages to the media

  • National Security Advisor provides direct counsel on sec matters without consulting the larger NSC

The President and the Public

• The White House staff helps manage the daily operations and communications with the public

• Charisma and leadership style impacts how the public perceives

• Pres often appeals directly to the public to gain support for their policies

Pres & Cong

• The pres can propose bills and influence leg outcomes

  • Budgetary process: OMB helps the pres prepare the budget

  • Executive orders allow the pres to bypass Cong on certain issues but can be challenged in court

  • Pres may issue signing statements to outline their interp of leg

The President’s power has grown -

Bureaucracy

Roots

• [1789] Federal Bureaucracy initially 3 departments: Foreign Affairs, War, Treasury

• [1816-1861] post office expansion

• [Post-Civil War] the US Pension Bureau experiences huge growth due to large influx of disabled union vets

  • Linc expanded bureaucracy to manage war log [1862] Dep of Agriculture

• [under Andrew Jackson] spoils system, where political loyalty det gov jobs

  • Merit system repl spoils system post Garfield assassination

  • Pendleton Act: estab principle of fed employment on the basis of open comp exams; created the Civil Service System

• [1887] regulating railroads n other monopolies via Interstate Commerce Commission

• [20th Century growth] pres power expanded due to crises like World Wars, Great Depression, Great Society [1914] FTA

• 16th Amendment gives Cong power to levy income taxes on individs n corporations w/o regard to pop

Growing Periods

• [WWI] econ boom due to higher manufacturing, need for regulation

• [Great Depression] FDIC issues money in banks

• [WWII] GI bill provides college loans and reduces mortgage rates

• [Great Society] HUD and equal employment opportunity commission

Organization

• 15 cabinet departments

  • State, Justice, Defense, Homeland Security

• Independent Executive Agencies act alongside the Exec

  • NASA

• Independent Regulatory Commissions regulate national thingies

  • Securities and Exchange Commission

• Gov corporations provide public services w/ bus model

  • USPS, Amtrak

• Bureaucratic Hierarchies have a chain of command w/ specialization and clear authority

Gov Workers & Pol Involvement

• Pol Activities Act aka Hatch Act [1939]

  • prevents fed employees from becoming involved w/ working for pol candidates

  • Am fear that civil service implements pub policy n elections [1930s]

  • Fed employees…

    • CAN run of office in nonpartisan elections, contribute money to pol orgs, and campaign for & against candidates in part lctns

    • CANNOT engage in pol activity on duty, solicit contrib from pub, run for office in part lctns

Bureaucratic Roles

1. Appointive pol makers: pres appointees subj to s8 conf who appt high level pol making assistants

2. Indep reg commissioners: pres appointees that become indep of pres direct influence while in office

3. Low-level, non pol patronagers: mainly admin assistants

The Model Bureaucracy

1. chain of command where auth flows from top to bottom

2. div of labor where work is app among specialized workers

3. clear lines of authority among workers n superiors

4. goal orientation that det structure, auth, n rules

5. impersonality, where all workers are treated fair based on merit and all clients are served equally

6. productivity, where all work evaluated according to rules

Workings

• Cong creating a dep, agency, or comm delegates enumerated powers A1S8

  • Execution methods called implementation

• Iron triangle vs issue networks

  • Iron triangle: alliances among bureaucrats, interest groups, and cong subcommitte staff that promote common causes

  • Issue network: network that include an iron triangle plus more (universities, mass media, etc.)

• Interagency councils: working groups that fac coordination of policy making and implementation

• Pol coordinating committeees: comms created at sub-Cab level to fac int b/w agencies and dep to handle diff policy probs

Making Policy

• Admin discretion; bureaucrats’ ability to make choices conc the best way to impl cong or exec intentions

• Ex:

  • Clean Air Act sets legal standards, EPA decided how to implements

• Rule making: quasi-legl process that create regulations that have characteristics of lefl acts

  • Regs: rules that govern the op of all gov programs

  • Ex: OSHA

• Process: creates rules and regulations (Fed Register) to interpret laws through admin adjud

Regulations for Regulations

• Admin Proc Act [1946]

  • Public notice of the time, place, and nature of rule-making proceedings prov in the Fed Reg

  • Int parties given opp to submit writtena rguments

  • Statutory purpose and basis must be stated