The Presidency

The Oath

NATURAL BORN CITIZEN LIVED IN CONTINUOUSLY IN UNITED STATES FOR 14 YEARS 35 YEARS OLD

CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF HEAD EXECUTIVE BRANCH NEGOTIATE TREATIES STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESSES MAKE APPOINTMENTS

INFORMAL ROLES OF PRESIDENT - MORE IMPORTANT CHIEF LAWMAKER PARTY LEADER CRISIS MANAGER RECRUITER MORALE BUILDER CHIEF DIPLOMAT

WHAT DID THE FRAMERS ENVISION ROLE OF PRESIDENCY TO BE? Federalist #70 Alexander Hamilton

ARTHUR SCHLESINGER WROTE “THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY” POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS GROWN IN MODERN TIMES - “PRESIDENT CAN RULE BY DECREE”

PRESIDENT vs. CONGRESS The Struggle for Political Power

“The Presidency is the most powerful office in the world…” WHY?

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow The framers created a presidency with limited powers. To enact govt business the president must cooperate with Congress but the power is divided among the branches, and the politics of shared power is often stormy

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow The framers gave the president three roles in the new govt: Commander in chief Diplomat in chief Administrator in chief Presidents have expanded their powers in several ways. Crisis, both foreign and economic, have enlarged those powers.

Example National Security Agency (NSA): A cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S. government communications and information systems. Under President George W. Bush’s order, the NSA was allowed to listen to thousands of telephone conversations and read thousands of s from inside the U.S. to potential terrorists abroad without any congressional or judicial review.

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow The constitution is not always clear on which branch has which powers which creates controversies over - the president’s war power - authority to assert executive privilege - issue executive orders - control the budget and spending process Congress has tried to clarify the president’s role but presidents have a variety of tools for influencing Congress and they have considerable personal resources to gain support for their proposals

POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS DOMINATED CONGRESS IN FOUR MAIN AREAS:

ONE: WAR POWERS President = Commander in Chief Congress declares war President Johnson persuades Congress to enact Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

WAR POWERS ACT ENACTED DURING NIXON’S ADMINISTRATION TROOPS ABROAD REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL (BTW DAYS) CONGRESS REASSERTING ITS AUTHORITY NIXON VETOED BILL CONGRESS OVERRIDES THE VETO

TWO: LEGISLATIVE POWERS CHIEF LAWMAKER VETO POWER FEWER THAN 3% OVERRIDDEN EXECUTIVE ORDERS (Korematsu v. US)

Executive Agreement: A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval. In 2003, the Bush administration negotiated a 22-item executive agreement with Mexico to create a “smart border” that would limit the movement of illegal aliens into the United States, while improving the flow of goods between the two nations.

Federal Budget: The President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. The Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to appropriate money in the federal budget, but presidents are responsible for actually spending the money.

BUDGET IMPOUND MENT CONTROL ACT (1974) CREATED THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) GAVE CONGRESS THEIR OWN ECONOMIC ADVISORS MADE THE IMPOUNDMENT OF FUNDS MORE DIFFICULT

THREE: APPOINTEES CONFIRMING A CABINET USUALLY VERY EASY MANY WHITE HOUSE STAFF OFFICIALS (NATIONAL SECURITYADVISOR) DO NOT REQUIRE SENATE CONFIRMATION

The president's appointment power gives presidents the ability to control what happens inside departments and agencies during their terms and to shape the federal judiciary far into the future. President Obama nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice

Cabinet (inner & outer): Advisory council for the president, consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president. The departments of Defense, Justice, State, and Treasury are often called the inner cabinet because they are so important to the president's foreign and domestic success. The other departments are generally called the outer cabinet largely because they are more distant from the day-to-day worries that occupy the president and the White House staff. The cabinet is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, yet since George Washington's administration, every president has had one to act as his advisory council.

Executive Privilege: The right to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security. The Constitution does not give presidents the explicit power to withhold information from Congress or the public, but courts have recognized that presents have the executive privilege to keep secrets, especially if doing so is essential to protect national security.

Executive Orders: Formal Orders issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy. According to past Supreme Court decisions, executive orders are generally accepted as the supreme law of the land unless they are in conflict with the Constitution or a federal law. Presidents execute the laws and direct the federal departments and agencies in part through executive orders, which are formal directives that are just as strong as laws and can be challenged in the courts.

Line Item Veto: Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In an effort to control its own tendency to overspend, Congress allowed presidents to strike out specific sections of an appropriations bill while signing the rest into law with a line item veto until 1998 when it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Public Policy (how the president affects it): By custom and circumstance, presidents are now responsible for proposing initiatives in foreign policy and economic growth and stability. The different types of public policy include national security policy, economic policy, and domestic policy. In national security policy, the president is given the responsibility to negotiate treaties and commitments with other nations along with the command of two major instruments of foreign policy: the diplomatic corps and the armed services. In economic policy, presidents have been expected to promote policies to keep unemployment low, fight inflation, keep taxes down, and promote economic growth and prosperity. In domestic policy, presidents are expected to respond to the pubic demand by supporting legislation on popular issues.

FOUR: FOREIGN AFFAIRS WITH GROWING NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTS GAINED POWER OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEDGE ALLOWS THEM TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION IN COURT INQUIRIES IF INFORMATION WOULD ENDANGER NATIONAL SECURITY US v. Nixon

TREATY MAKING CONSTITUTION REQUIRES SENATE RATIFICATION OF ALL TREATIES PRESIDENTS CAN MAKE “EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS” THAT HAVE THE EFFECT OF A TREATY (NO SENATE RATIFICATION REQUIRED)

Unilateralism: Any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Presidents have a set of unilateral powers to shape the implementation of laws, even to the point of ignoring them. They control much of the information that flows from federal departments and agencies, shape the national debate through messages to Congress and the public, direct the budget process that sets the initial debate about spending and taxation, control the behavior of their political appointees through tight White House oversight, and issue executive orders and presidential directives that can either slow or accelerate the implementation of laws.

Chief of Staff: The head of the White House staff. The chief of staff, who is considered the president's most loyal assistant, heads the White House staff, which also includes the president's chief lawyer, speechwriters, legislative liaison staff, and press secretary.

National Security Council (NSC): The principal forum used by the president for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The NSC advises and assists the president on national security and foreign policies.

Executive Office of the President: The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, and several other units. The Executive Office of the President was created in 1939 to give the president more help running the federal departments and agencies.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies. The OMB is the central presidential staff agency. Its director advises the president in detail about the hundreds of government agencies--how much money they should be allotted in the budget and what kind of job they are doing.

Mandate: A president's claim of broad public support. Presidents who enter office with a large electoral margin, high public approval, and a party majority in Congress often claim a mandate to govern. Mandates also reside in public approval for either the president or some policy issue.

CONCLUSION: POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS GROWN OVER CONGRESS PRESIDENT CAN WAGE WAR PRESIDENT CAN LEGISLATE PRESIDENT CAN APPOINT PRESIDENT CAN DOMINATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS ALL WITH LITTLE INTERFERENCE FROM CONGRESS!