Powers of the President

Powers of the President Formal Powers of the President The president is head of state and head of government. The Foundling fathers feared a tyranny of executive branch Role of Head of State •Chief public representative of America who carries out ceremonial and diplomatic duties •Important during national tragedies •George Bush following the attacks on USA 11 September 2001 - addressed nation from Oval Office •Trump played this role less successfully during the COVID19 pandemic and the national reaction to George Floyd's death 2020 •This role allows the president to exert authority - the position commands cultural respect which allows them to project their leadership of the nation •Engage with media platforms to facilitate this role - Obama was the first president to use Twitter and president trump was arguably the first Twitter president - he set the agenda and bypassed traditional media and the White House press corps - as head of state he used twitter to engage the nation and the world on topics as diverse as his impeachment and relations with North Korea Role as Head of Governme nt •President is chief executive and head of the executive branch of federal government - granted by the constitution •Formal powers are the presidents tasks, functions or duties - enumerated powers as their written in Article 2 Formal powers Details of these powers Executive powers The president is the chief executive of the federal government and prepares the annual budget although it must be passed by Congress Legislativ e powers The president proposes legislation to Congress and the president signs legislation passed by Congress to make it into law. The president can veto legislation passed by Congress Appointm ent powers The president nominates officials to the executive branch but they must be confirmed by the Senate and he nominates all federal judges including the Supreme Court justices when vacancies arise however the senate must confirm all these nominations Foreign affairs powers The president is the commander in chief of the U S military and can initiate military action although only Congress can declare war The power of the pardon The president can pardon someone who has acknowledged their guilty of a federal crime, but not someone who has been impeached Executive Powers Acting as Chief Executive •The article two grants president all executive powers - he is in charge of running the branch of federal government •Much of the day-to-day running is delegated to those who work in federal government department and agencies - known as the federal bureaucracy - the executive office of the president helps coordinate the work of the federal government Submitting the annual budget •The office of management and budget draws up the annual federal budget for the president, it is part of the bureaucracy which is known as the executive office of the president EXOP •The president submits budget to Congress and there is a lengthy bargaining process, especially in divided governments, has caused gridlock and government shut-downs •Budget shutdown = 35 days 2021 – Trump’s budget was not accepted by the House of Representatives (mainly due to his wall proposal) which led to a government shutdown •The president can propose the budget however it’s up to congress to agree and pass it Legislative•The president proposes legislation to Congress often in the annual state of the 1 / 4

powers Union address •The president also proposes legislation by calling a press conference or making an announcement at a public event for example 2018, trump used his state of the Union address to promise a crackdown on immigration, keeping open Guantanamo Bay and bolstering the USA's nuclear arsenal Signing legislation •Once bills passed through legislative process in Congress, they come to the president who can sign the bill into law Vetoing legislation •The president can veto legislation, a much-used presidential weapon, even the threat of veto is a bargaining tool •Since Washington to Trump there have been over 1500 regular vetoes •Congress may try to override the president’s veto but this is rarely successful •During Obama's 2 terms, 12 regular vetoes •Only one of Obama's vetoes were overturned - 2016 he vetoed the justice against sponsors of Terrorism Act which would have allowed families of victims of the terrorist attacks on 2001 to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role they played in the plot •Obama vetoed because he said the legislation would undermine core U S interests and create complications in diplomatic relations •The congressional override wasn't a surprise to the president as the legislation passed through both houses on a near unanimous vote •Trump used his regular veto power 10 times and his ninth was overridden by Congress •The president has the power of pocket veto used at the end of a congressional session - may only be used at the end of a legislative session whereby bills not signed are lost •These vetoes can't be overridden by Congress - George Bush used 15 pocket vetoes Appointment powers Nominatin g executive branch officials •The president nominates officials to the executive branch, most importantly the 15 heads of executive department such as treasury commerce state and agriculture •Biden 2021 administration - Janet Yellen as secretary of the treasury •There are also lower-level officials in these departments and ambassadors, agency heads - the Senate must confirm all these appointments with a simple majority vote, appointments continue to be made throughout the president’s term of office Nominatin g all federal judges •The federal Supreme Court, the federal trial district an appeal circuit courts •All judicial appointments are for life and must be confirmed by a simple majority in the Senate •Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court judges Recess appointme nts •The president has this power which allows the president to make temporary appointments to vacancies which would usually require senate approval which he cant get as the senate is in recess – these appointments expire at the end of the next session of senate and the president must then formally nominate the person he chose temporarily or pick someone else – Obama had 32 recess appointments Foreign Policy Acting as commande r in chief •Particularly important in the 1940s to 1980s as presidents was seen as a highly significant role as commander in chief of the armed forces e.g. Richard Nixon in Vietnam •After the demise of the Soviet Union and breakup of the communist bloc in Eastern Europe - the post Cold War era saw a reduction of the presidents command in chief role •1991-2001 brought no significant foreign policy engagements however 2001 changed all that and Bush found himself thrown into a wartime president role and Barack Obama was involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria and managed a highly sensitive relationships with Russia and Cuba •Trump increasingly complained of the cost of the country being world policeman and criticised NATO for not paying enough towards defence - in 2019 he with drew troops from Syria and Afghanistan •Biden with drew troops from Afghanistan in 2021 2 / 4

•Congress is less strong in checking the presidents foreign powers, Congress is power to declare war hasn't been used since 1941 •The president now asked Congress to authorise the use of troops and it also passed authorising resolutions in 1991 and 2002 before US troops were used in Iraq •Congress has the power of the purse which checks presidential war making but isn't always effective •The president always has access to the nuclear codes Negotiatin g treaties •Nuclear arms treaty with Russia Obama •The presidents power is checked by the Senate who ratifies treaties with a 2/3 majority •In the 20th century, the Senate rejected 7 treaties such as bill Clintons comprehensive test ban treaty Pardons •Presidents vary in the use of the pardon, Clinton pardoned 140 people on his final day in office such as Mark Rich whose former wife had made a large monetary donation to Clintons election campaign and gave expensive personal gifts to Clinton •Obama pardoned 70 people in his first seven years however pardoned 142 in his last month of office, overall 212 •Trump initially used it sparingly with only 25 pardons in his first three years that was criticised for granting clemency with well connected offenders who hadn't filed petitions with the office of the pardon attorney in the Justice Department •Trump sometimes sought counsel from legally unorthodox sources such as Kim Kardashian persuaded him to pardon Alice Marie Johnson who served 22 years for a non-violent drug trafficking crime •In his final months in office trump pardoned former political associate such as Roger stone The Vice President The Role of the Vice president •Taking over as president if necessary •Nine vice presidents have become president after the death or resignation such as Lyndon Johnson became president 1963 after Kennedy was assassinated and Gerald Ford 1974 after Nixon’s resignation •25th amendment allows the vice president to become acting president if the president is declared as disabled •During trump's final days as president after the attack on the capital, many Democrats in Congress try to persuade Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment and declare himself acting president but they weren't successful Acting as the presiding officer of the Senate •The vice president can cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie, very rare •Perform this function that divided president will attend the chamber, three have used this power •Mike Pence 2017 to 2020 made 13 tiebreaking votes, more than any other in history whereas Biden never used this power and became the first price president to serve two full terms and never cast a tie breaking vote - mike pence tiebreak education secretary on Betsy DeVos 2017 •March 2021, vice president Kamala Harris made three tie break votes such as a motion to proceed on the American rescue plan act Presiding over the counting of the Electoral College votes •Until January 2021, this was a ceremonial moment when the vice president opened, counted and announced the Electoral College votes cast in each state capital and Washington DC the previous month in front of a joint session of Congress •This was a ceremonial event that president trump attempted to use to overturn the result of the 2020 election after falsely alleging that there was widespread fraud •Trump's final gambit was to try and pressure his own vice president to use this ceremony to change the election outcome •Pence chose to abide by the constitutional order and ignore the pleadings of his president •The influence of the vice president depends on how much power the president allows the holder •Trump demanded subservience which caused Mike Pence to lack the status and the clear-cut role of his predecessors •Joe Biden has shown that he will delegate considerable powers to Kamala Harris 3 / 4

such as putting her in charge of the March 2021 leading the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at US southern border Informal Powers What? •Powers not explicitly mentioned in the constitution such as the cabinet and the executive office of the president •Article 2 covers formal powers, presidents have created and courts have affirmed a whole range of informal powers that have profound influence on policy The cabinet The cabinet isn't mentioned in the constitution and it is an advisory group set up by the president to aid in making decisions and coordinating the work of the federal government Executive office of the president Contains the top staff agencies in the White House that assist the president in carrying out major responsibilities in the presidential office White House office The personal office of the president within EXOP, containing the staff who facilitates the presidents communication with Congress, department an agency heads, the press and public National Security Council Part of the EXOP, the NSC is the president official forum for deliberating national security and foreign policy Office of managem ent and budget The office within the EXOP that reviews budget requests, legislative initiatives and proposed rules and regulations from the executive departments and agencies Powers of persuasio n The president uses personal influence, authority of office and political capital and makes deals to convince key political actors to support him Executive orders Executive orders are issued as a form of direct authority, they are often issued by presidents frustrated by congressional resistance to their agenda as an alternative to legislation Executive agreeme nts Executive agreements are an agreement reached between the president and a foreign nation and are often used as alternatives to formal treaties to avoid the difficult process of getting a treaty ratified by Congress Signing statemen ts These are statements issued by the president on signing a bill which may challenge specific provisions of the bill on constitutional or other grounds Electoral mandate The larger the presidents electoral mandate at the last election, the greater is their chance of success in achieving their legislative mandate, the bigger the president share of the vote, the greater their legitimacy Public approval Elections measure popularity in a snapshot on Election Day but the presidents public approval rating can be important in terms of their ability to get things done National events National events can affect presidential power, enhancing or weakening the president's position in relation to Congress, the States and their personal approval ratings The Cabinet Historical backgroun d •An advice-giving group which is selected by the president, there are 15 executive department heads as well as the vice president and other officials such as the White House chief of staff and the director of the office of management and budget •The cabinet isn't mentioned in the constitution, but does state that the president may require the opinion in writing of the principle officer of each of the executive departments •Individually, cabinet members can exercise great responsibility and autonomy in their designated areas however as a group the cabinet is unimportant as cabinet meetings are hardly ever held •The president often appoints cabinet officers from policy specialists such as 2021, Biden appointed retired army general Lloyd Austin as secretary of defence •All cabinet appointments must be confirmed by a simple majority in the Senate and it's unusual for the Senate to reject the nominees other than 1989 George Bush's nomination of John tower as secretary of defence •Each member of cabinet head a department

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