limitations on presidential power

• Constitution

  • The Constitution outlines a system of checks and balances whereby each of the three branches of government can check the actions of the others.
  • The Constitution outlines the checks on the executive that Congress and the Supreme Court have.
• congress- legislation checks

  • Congress has checks on the president’s powers regarding legislation and policy.
  • Congress can amend the president’s budgetary requests.
  • Congress can reject, amend, and delay the president’s legislative proposals.
  • Congress has the power of the purse and the power to declare war, limiting the president’s foreign policy actions.
  • Congress can override the president’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.
• • Congress can impeach and remove a president from office.
  • The Senate can reject presidential nominations to the executive and judiciary.
  • The Senate must ratify treaties negotiated by the president,
• supreme court-

  • The Supreme Court limits presidential power through judicial review, overruling laws or executive actions deemed unconstitutional.
  • In the 2006 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case, the Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush’s military commissions for Guantanamo Bay detainees were unconstitutional.
  • In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s use of recess appointments was unconstitutional.
• election cycle

  • A small mandate from the previous election weakens the president’s ability to carry out legislation and policies.
  • A second-term president faces more constraints on power than in their first term.
  • The 22nd Amendment limits the president to two terms, making them a ‘lame duck’ in their second term with reduced influence due to limited time left in office.
• divided government-

  • A divided government occurs when one party does not control the presidency, House, and Senate.
  • It limits the president’s ability to get legislation approved.
  • If the Senate is controlled by a different party, presidential appointments to the executive and judiciary face more challenges.
• changign nature of power-

  • A president’s public approval fluctuates throughout their term.
  • Lower approval ratings reduce a president's political power.
  • Bill Clinton's 73% approval in 1999 influenced the Senate's decision to vote against his impeachment.
  • Trump's approval fell to 36% in 2018.
• Interest groups

  • Interest groups can limit the president’s power by mobilising public opinion against or in favour of their policies.
  • The National Rifle Association (NRA) was able to prevent President Obama’s reforms to gun control by mobilising public opinion and lobbying key members of Congress to vote against them.
• The media

  • Media can influence the president’s actions in an era of 24/7 media coverage which scrutinises the president’s actions.
  • The media campaign for removing US troops from Afghanistan limited President Obama’s options and put pressure on him to withdraw the US military by the end of 2016.