3. The Presidency

• Article II of the US Constitution gives executive power to the president:

  • The President is indirectly elected via the Electoral College System
  • The president is heard of the federal government, head of state and commander-in-chief
  • Executive power is held solely by the president, though they may delegate this power
  • The president has a range of powers, only some of which are define in the constitution
  • Powers are limited by a system of checks and balances from the legislative and judicial branches of government
  • Different presidents use their powers with varying degrees of effectiveness
• Sources of Presidential Power

  Enumerated Powers: Explicit given to the president:

  • Constitutional powers set out in Article II of the Constitution, e.g. the power to propose legislation to Congress
  • Delegated powers from Congress, e.g. the power to determine detailed regulations for Congress's laws
• Sources of Presidential Power

  Implied Powers:

  • implied by the text of the Constitution
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's use of implied powers to justify emergency powers during WWII. Roosevelt argued that by declaring war, Congress had declared a state of emergency that implied the president could use emergency powers to protect the USA. Roosevelt issued an executive order in 1942 that forced some 120,000 Japanese-Americans into internment camps.
• Sources of Presidential Powers

  Inherent Powers:

  • not set out in the constitution, but needed for the president to carry out their constitutional role as head of the executive
  • Not linked to a specific power mentioned in the Constitution. Instead, they are inherent to the president's overall role.
  • George W. Bush's use of inherent powers against terrorist suspects. Following 9/11, Bush argued that the inherent powers of the presidency allowed him to ignore the civil liberties of terrorist suspects by detaining them for an indefinite period.
• Formal Powers of the President

  Executive Powers:

  • Chief executive of the federal government
  • Prepares the annual federal budget, although it must be passed by Congress
• Formal Powers of the President

  Legislative Powers:

  • Proposes legislation to Congress
  • Signs legislation passed by Congress into law
  • Can choose to veto legislation passed by Congress, to prevent it becoming law - Congress managed to override only one of President Trump's ten vetoes.
• Formal Powers of the President

  Appointment Powers:

  • Nominates officials to the executive branch, e.g. heads of executive departments, though these must be confirmed by the Senate
  • Nominates all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices when vacancies arise. These must all be confirmed by the Senate.
• Formal Powers of the President

  Foreign affairs powers:

  • Commander-in-chief of the US military
  • Can initiate military action (George W Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan)
  • The War Powers Act 1973 requires presidents to ask Congress to approve military action in advance, but some have acted without approval (Obama NATO airstrikes in Libya 2011)
  • Negotiates treaties, although these must be ratified by Senate with a 2/3 supermajority
• Formal Powers of the President

  Pardons:

  • The president can pardon someone who has acknowledged that they are guilty of a federal crime
• Informal Powers of the President 


  'The Power to Persuade'

  • A phrase coined by Professor Richard Neustadt, who argued that persuasion was the most important presidential power
  • Presidents can use personal influence, the authority of their office and their political capital to convince other key political figures to support them
• Informal Powers of the President

  Deal Making:

  • Presidents may win support from politicians by making deals to help them with their own priorities
• Informal Powers of the President

  Agenda Setting:

  • Because presidents command the spotlight, they set the political agenda
  • President Trump used Twitter to commander the political agenda with controversial tweets, forcing the media to focus on his chosen issues
• Informal Powers of the President

  Executive Influence:

  • Presidents can use the support of their vice president, cabinet officers and their lobbyists in the Office of Legislative Affairs to push forward their agenda
• Informal Powers of the President

  De Facto Party Leader:

  • The president is in effect the head of their party, which allows them to influence its membership
  • If the President's party controls one or both Houses of Congress, it should be much easier for the President to pass their legislation
• Informal Powers of the President

  World leader:

  • The President has huge international influence as the leader of the most powerful superpower in history
  • Reagan led Western Powers in the Cold War, Bush II led an international coalition in a 'war against terror' and Obama played a key role in 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change
  • Trump was less interested, preferred developing relationships with countries rather than international organisations and withdrawing from Paris Agreement
  • Biden restored American Leadership, recommitting to NATO, Paris Agreement and WHO
• Informal Powers of the President 


  Direct Authority, 'stretching' implied powers:

  Direct authority is the power of the president to stretch implied powers to create more power.

  • Executive Orders can be made by the president directly to the federal government, having the effect of Law
  • Signing Statements occur when a president makes a written comment when signing a bill into law, can state that part of the legislation shall not be enforced
  • Exective Agreements are deals made between the US and another country, used by presidents to avoid the difficult process of getting a treaty ratified.
• Informal Powers of the President

  Bureaucratic power:

  • The Executive Office of the President (EXOP) is a collection of offices.
  • It provides policy adice and administrative support to help the president run the federal government and promote their agenda.
• Checks on the president by Congress 


  Amending, delaying or rejecting the presidents legislation:

  • without the support of Congress, a president cannot pass legislation e.g. Obama gun control
  • It is generally less effective during unified government
  • Congress can check the president during unified government, as senators may use the filibuster. Democrats used budget reconciliation to pass Biden American Rescue Plan Act in
• Checks on the president by Congress 


  Overriding a presidential veto:

  • This rarely happens, as a two thirds majority is needed in both houses
  • Congress only overrode only one of Trumps ten vetoes
• Checks on the president by Congress 



  Power of the Purse:

  • a powerful check on the executive, which needs congress to pass its budgets
  • Congress can extract concessions to pass the budget
  • A government shutdown can be forced if the budget is not passed by Congress, putting pressure on the president
  • Congress's refusal to fund Trump's border plan caused a 35 day government shutdown, Trump found a way around by declaring a national emergency to access special funding
• Checks on the president by Congress 



  Refusing to confirm presidential appointments (Senate only):

  • This can be very significant, especially with high profile appointments
  • In 2016 the republicans controlled the senate and refused to hold confirmation hearings on Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland; to prevent the Supreme Court from having a majority of Democrats
• Checks on the president by Congress 




  Refusing to Ratify Treaties (Senate only):

  • most significant example is the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, which resulted in a much more isolationist US foreign policy. In 2012, the Senate refused to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the disabled
  • A 2/3 Majority is needed to ratify a treaty: since the Second World War, presidents have increasingly used executive agreements to avoid this process
• Checks on the president by Congress 



  Power to Declare War:

  • Very limited effectiveness - Congress has not declared war since 1941, despite many wars since
  • The 1973 War Powers Act means that presidents should ask Congress to approve military action, even if war is not declared. Obama did not seek authorisation for his 2011 Libya Airstrikes
• Checks on the president by Congress 



  Investigation:

  • High-profile Congressional investigations are an important form of oversight, generating media scrutiny
  • The Senate Intelligence Committee considered the effectiveness of Obamas response to Russian Interference in the 2016 Election, making suggestions to avoid a recurrence
• Checks on the president by Congress 



  Impeachment:

  • can lead to the president being removed from office, though no president has ever been
  • Even if the president is acquitted, the process generates huge public scrutiny. e.g. Bill Clinton 1998, Nixon resigning in 1974
  • Trump faced two separate trials for the crimes of extracting political favours from Ukraine, and 'inciting insurrection'
• Checks on the President by the Judiciary

  Judicial Review:

  • can declare governments actions unconstitutional
  • powerful check on the executive - Trump was forced to amend his 2017 ban on travellers from seven majority muslim countries entering the USA, Trump broadened the ban and the Supreme Court ruled in favour of it in 2018
  • 2020, Supreme Court ruled in Trump v Vance, that the president could not deny prosecutors access to his personal financial records
• Other Constraints on the President

  • Party Support in Congress
  • Party Orientation of the Supreme Court
  • State governors
  • Interest groups
  • Media
  • Public Opinion
• Relationship between Presidency and Cabinet

  • Cabinet members are policy specialists and usually give advice on their specific department rather than giving political advice.
  • The president does not have to take the advice of his cabinet members - the constitution gives him sole executive authority
  • Cabinet members may be former politicians, academics, experts, Business Leaders, retired Military Leaders and lobbyists
  • The Cabinet meets a few times a year, chaired by the President
  • Relationship changes, depending on the presidents attitude to the cabinet
• Relationship between Presidency and EXOP

  EXOP was set up by Roosevelt in the 1930s:

  • a group of offices that support the President, including the White House, National Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, and Council of Economic advisors
  • There are about 3,000-4,000 staff
  • headed by White House chief of staff
• Relationship between presidency and the White House Office:

  • works most closely with the president
  • includes Chief of Staff, Offices of Legislative Affairs and Cabinet Affairs
  • Appointments are at the discretion of the president and do not need Senate Confirmation
  • Many Offices are based in the West Wing, headed by the White House Chief of Staff, the most senior advisor to the President
• Relationship between presidency and the NSC:

  • The National Security Council is the president's main forum for considering national security or foreign policy issues
  • chaired by the president, and based in the secure situation room
  • Members include the Vice President, Secretary of State, Treasury and Defence. The chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the military advisor
  • The NSC Co-ordinates national security and foreign policy within the government, responding to domestic or international crises
  • The relationship varies depending on the presidents attitudes, and politicisation of EXOP
• Relationship between Presidency and federal agencies:

  • Cabinet Officers head the 15 government departments to make up the federal bureaucracy
  • There are more than 60 independent federal Agencies (CIA)
  • Some (usually democrat) Presidents aim to increase the scope of bureaucracy, while others (republicans) aim to reduce its size
  • Trump attempted to abolish 22 agencies but was blocked by Congress
• Case Study: Waxing and Waning of Presidential Power


  Obama's Presidency illustrates the tendency of power to grow or shrink during a presidency:

  • Obama was elected with large popularity, helped in Congress by Democrats controlling both crisis. Obama was very active in his first 100 days, implementing an economic stimulus, support for financial and car industries and Obamacare
  • The Republicans won the house in 2010, and Senate turned in 2014, Obama was increasingly slowed by Congress as he was loathed by many conservatives
  • Obama used executive orders, but his powers were limited by SC
• Imperial Presidency 


  Describes the idea that the modern presidency has an imperial character. Under this model, presidents dominate Congress and conduct foreign policy independently.

  This type of Presidency goes beyond the intentions of the Founding Fathers, overriding checks and balances of Congress
• Imperilled Presidency 


  In response to imperial presidency, President Ford argued that the presidency was actually imperilled as its effectiveness was limited by an overly assertive Congress and large bureaucracy