The Presidency

1
The Presidency

1. Powers of the President
2. Evolution of the Presidency
3. Vice President and Cabinet
4. Presidential Influence and Effectiveness

2
Vision of the Founders

• Article II of the US Constitution spells out few
  enumerated powers
• Alexander Hamilton explained the founders vision
  for a single, independent executive in Federalist
  70

3
An Independent Executive

• Most modern democracies use a parliamentary
  system with an executive who is part of the
  legislative branch.
• In the US, our independent executive is an
  important part of our separation of powers.

4
Hamiltons Federalist 70
Hamilton discussed the need for a single,
independent executive strong enough to carry out
the nations laws and protect the nation in a
crisis.
A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of
the government.
5
Who can be President?

• 35 years old
• Natural-born US citizen
• 14 years of residency in US

6
Constitutional Amendments affecting the Presidency

• 12th Amendment (1804)
• Divided vote for President and VP
• 22nd Amendment (1951)
• Limited President to two terms (or ten years)
• 25th Amendment
• Temporary removal of President from office due to
  inability to perform his duties
• Majority vote of cabinet or Congress

7
Three Basic Powers of the Presidency

• Commander-in-Chief
• -- supreme commander of armed forces
• -- power to make war, not declare war
• 2. Diplomat-in-Chief
• -- power to negotiate treaties and executive
  agreements and guide foreign relations
• Administrator-in-Chief
• -- head of all executive departments
• -- supervisor of day-to-day operations of
  federal government

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Other Presidential Powers

• Appointment of federal officials
• Veto power
• Pardon power
• Those convicted of federal crimes
• Take care power
• faithfully execute federal laws
• Gives rise to inherent powers
• Power to inform and convene Congress
• State of the Union address

9
Presidential Succession

• According to Constitution, VP succeeds President
  if necessary
• Congress has created a further line of
  succession
• Speaker of the House
• President pro-tempore of Senate
• Cabinet officers

10
Controversies Involving Presidential Powers

1. War Power
2. Executive Privilege
3. Executive Orders
4. Spending Power

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War Power

• Congress has the exclusive right to declare war.
• No declared wars since World War II
• Since then, presidents have sent combat troops
  to Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait,
  Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan?

12
Does the President Need Congressional
Authorization to Commit US Troops to Combat?

• Maybe . . .

13
War Powers Resolution (1973)

• President may commit troops to combat only
• With a declaration of war from Congress
• By other authorization of Congress
• In a national emergency involving an attack on
  the US.
• -- troop deployment must end within 60 days
  unless authorized by Congress

Has the War Powers Resolution weakened
Presidential war power?
14
Executive Privilege

• Right of presidents to keep executive
  communications secret
• Precedent est. by Washington in 1792
• WHY?

15
Challenges to Executive Privilege

• US v. Nixon (1974)
• USSC ruled that executive privilege was limited
  to matters involving national security
• Nixon ordered to turn over tapes of oval office
  conversations relating to Watergate Scandal

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Challenges to Executive Privilege

• Bush-Cheney Administration refused to turn over
  documents relating to meetings between VP Cheney
  and energy industry executives
• Federal court ruled that the process by which the
  president and advisors make decisions may be kept
  secret

Is this a good idea?
17
Executive Orders

• Not mentioned in Constitution
• Same effect as a law
• Precedent set by Washington
• Accepted by courts provided they dont conflict
  with Constitution or federal law
• Can be reversed by subsequent presidents

18
Budget and Spending Power

• Presidents Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
  prepares federal budget (to be approved by
  Congress)
• Impoundment
• Decision by president not to spend money
  appropriated by Congress

19
Limiting the Presidents Budget and Spending Power

• Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
  of 1974
• Limited presidential impoundment power
• Created Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to
  compete with presidents OMB

20
Line Item Veto

• Approved by Congress in 1996
• Allowed President to veto parts of spending bills
• Stuck down by USSC

21
Executive Office of the President

• Advisors to the president who are not cabinet
  members
• Office of Management and Budget, Council of
  Economic advisors, etc.

22
Cabinet

• The presidents cabinet is made up of the heads
  of the executive departments.
• Each of them is in charge of his/her department
  but answers to the president.

23
Vice President

• The VPs constitutional duties are limited.
• Therefore, the VPs significance varies from
  president to president.

24
The President and Congress

• The Presidents influence with Congress is a
  major source of his power.
• His influence varies significantly according to
• Electoral mandate (or lack thereof)
• Public approval
• Party in control of Congress

25
Presidential Approval Ratings
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Other Factors Influencing Presidential Influence

• Cycle of Decreasing Influence
• Tendency of president to lose support over time
• Cycle of Increasing Effectiveness
• Tendency of presidents to learn over time

27
Ranking the Presidents
What makes a president great? What makes a
president a failure?
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The Federal Bureaucracy

• Four types of bureaucratic agencies
• Departments
• Largest, highest ranking, run by cabinet officers
• Independent agencies
• Smaller, independent of both President and
  Congress
• Independent regulatory commissions
• Independence protected by law, regulatory power
• Government corporations
• Make money on their own

29
Regulating Civil Service/Bureaucracy

• Hatch Act (1939)
• Prohibited federal bureaucrats from participating
  in partisan political activities (outside of
  voting)
• Overhauled, partially repealed in 1993

30
Executing the LawsFederal Regulations

• Regulation
• A rule designed to convert a law into action
• Enforced by departments or agencies of the
  federal bureaucracy

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Making Regulations

• All federal regulations are based in some way on
  laws.
• Administrative Procedure Act (1946)
• Requires proposed rules be published in Federal
  Register
• notice and comment period allows affected
  citizens/groups/companies to make opinions known

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Spending Money

• The Federal Bureaucracy spends much of the money
  appropriated by Congress.
• A significant portion of this is uncontrollable
  spending on entitlement programs
• Entitlement programs provide financial benefits
  to all eligible citizens
• Social Security, Medicare
• These benefits are often indexed to inflation,
  which means they increase automatically

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Oversight

• Monitoring the activities of the federal
  bureaucracy/executive agencies
• The job of Congress and the executive branch
  itself