Unit 5, Ch.6.2: The President

Executive Powers: When presidents take the oath of office, they pledge to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.” This means that they have to exercise the powers of their office in a Constitutional manner. The president has 3 main powers: appointment and removal of key executive branch officials, issuing executive orders, and maintaining executive privilege.

Appointment and Removal Powers: The president can appoint people to fill top posts in the executive branch. Often, a president will use this power as a political tool, rewarding supporters and winning new ones. Of the jobs a president fills, about 1/3rd are subject to the “advice and consent” of the Senate. This goes for posts like judges, ambassador, or cabinet members. Most of these people serve at the “pleasure of the president”, which means he can remove them at any time for any reason.. Except judges.

Executive Orders: As chief executive, presidents have the power to issue executive orders (formal rules or regulation instructing officials on how to carry out their jobs). Executive orders have the force of law. They are used for a variety of purposes, to clarify a law, establish rules and regulations for an agency, or signing statements.

Executive Privilege: This power allows a president to refuse to release info to Congress or a court. This is often disputed by the other branches. Presidents claim the right of executive privilege in order to shield information in the interest of national security, but others argue that he could hide information like Nixon did.

Diplomatic Powers: The president represents the U.S. in its interacts with foreign governments. He can sign treaties, form alliances, and establish trade relationships. The Senate can block treaties with a 2/3rds vote. He can also formally recognize the legitimacy of a foreign government. This is known as diplomatic recognize.

Military Powers: As commander in chief, the president has the responsibility to ensure the defense and security of the nation. Presidents have claimed the power to take military action without a formal congressional declaration of war. Since WWII, we haven’t declared war so all of the conflicts have been presidents sending troops. After Vietnam, Congress made the president have to consult with Congress before they will fund committing troops.

Legislative Powers: The president can’t write laws, but he can influence Congress through the state of the union address and the federal budget proposal. He can suggest legislation at any time. He can veto laws.

Judicial Powers: Presidents have two means of exercising judicial power. First, they can nominate people to be federal judges and justices. They can choose judges that share their political views. Secondly, they may pardon people convicted of crimes.

Informal Powers: These are powers not directly stated by the Constitution. The 2 main sources of these powers are access to the media and his position as party leader. Because he has access to the press at any time, Presidents can easily present their case to the media and the people. This helps him build support. His position as party leader helps him to push members of his party in Congress to follow his agenda, and in return he will help them come re-election time.

Checks on the President’s Powers: The Constitution places checks on the president and the executive branch. Formal Checks: Presidential actions are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court, if they find an action to be unconstitutional. Congress also can be checked by Congress by blocking appointments for top positions or override a veto with a 2/3rds vote.

Informal Checks: The media is the primary source of informal checks on presidential power. They can keep the public informed to potential abuses of power, the founder knew it was important enough to be included in the 1st amendment. This was demonstrated during the Nixon scandal. Public approval is another check, successful presidents have strong public support and can sometimes bully Congress to follow them.

Changes in Presidential power: In the 1st 100 years, the majority of power rested with Congress. Early presidents acted accordingly and deferred to Congress on most matters of domestic policy. Vetoes were seldom used. Andrew Jackson started to change this, and started using the veto if he disagreed with Congress. Congress was angry with him after he withdrew funds from the congressionally chartered 2nd bank of the U.S. so they censured (reprimanded) him.

Presidential Power Expands: The Civil War was a turning point. Government expanded to meet the emergency, and Lincoln took on great power. He believed that the crisis demanded him to take steps that would preserve the union. His relations with Congress were friendly, he deferred to their decisions on domestic issues and rarely vetoed. Teddy Roosevelt believed that big business was a big enough threat that they needed to grant him more power to deal with it as well as to protect land, and more.

Presidential Power Expands: Franklin D. Roosevelt had to deal with the Great Depression, which meant that he needed to expand power even further. He created new government programs like Social Security. This changed how people viewed the executive branch. By the 60’s and 70’s, people became worried about presidential power. They were worried about the president becoming like a monarch. They were right to be concerned. Presidential power has grown significantly.

Presidential Power and the Media: One of the ways modern presidents project that power is through the media. Presidents have long relied on the media to get their message out. In the early days, presidents used posters, flyers, etc. to do so. FDR used his radio “fireside chats”. Modern Presidents use TV and internet. The power they hold through the media can also work against them. Intense media scrutiny can quickly damage less popular presidents and decrease their power.