1. The Presidency in Action Chapter 14

2. Introduction ●What are the executive powers and how were they established? The President: ●Executes and interprets the law of the land ●Issues executive orders ●Appoints many public officials ●Removes appointed officials ●Can use executive privilege to withhold information from Congress and the federal courts These powers come from the Constitution and from acts of Congress.

3. The Chief Executive ●The President enforces and carries out all federal laws. This authority comes from two sources: ○The oath of office, which requires the President to “faithfully execute the Office of President” and “protect and defend the Constitution.” ○The constitutional requirement that the President “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

4. Ordinance Power ●The President can issue executive orders—rules and regulations that have the force of law. This is called the ordinance power. The President must have this authority in order to use some of the executive powers granted by the Constitution. In addition, Congress has delegated the authority to direct and regulate many legislative policies and programs to the President and the executive branch.

5. Appointment Power ●The Constitution grants the President appointment power, the ability to appoint some federal officials. This power is necessary to ensure that presidential policies are carried out. The President appoints some 3,000 of the 2.7 million federal workers. The majority of the rest are hired according to civil service laws.

6. Presidential Appointments ●Presidents appoint top-ranking officials such as: – Cabinet members and their top aides – Ambassadors and other diplomats – The heads of independent agencies – All federal judges, U.S. marshals, and attorneys – All officers in the U.S. armed forces ●These appointments must be a approved by a majority vote of the Senate.

7. Presidential Appointments, cont. This graphic outlines the process of nominating and approving or rejecting a presidential appointee. –Under the custom of senatorial courtesy, the Senate will only approve federal appointees supported by the Senators from their state who belong to the President’s party.

8. The Removal Power ●The Constitution does not say how appointed officers should be removed. ●The First Congress gave the President the power to remove any appointed officer except for federal judges.

9. Removal Power continued ●In 1935, the Court ruled Congress can set the conditions under which members of independent regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, may be removed from office. – This ruling applies only to a small number of appointed offices. – –In general, the President can remove whomever they appoint.

10. Executive Privilege ●At times, Presidents have refused to reveal certain information to Congress or the federal courts. ●Congress has never officially recognized the right of executive privilege. –The President’s advisers and staff must be able to speak freely to give good advice. To do so, they must believe that their words are confidential unless the President chooses to reveal them publicly. What is the court’s stand on executive privilege?

11. Executive Privilege, cont. ● In the 1974 case United States v. Nixon, the Court ruled unanimously that the President could claim executive privilege in matters involving national security. However, the Court also ruled that executive privilege cannot be used to prevent evidence from being heard in a criminal proceeding.

12. Introduction, Section 3 ●What tools are available to the President to implement foreign policy? ○Making treaties and executive agreements with foreign countries ○Recognizing foreign nations ○Recalling American diplomats or expelling foreign diplomats from U.S. soil ○Ordering the U.S. military to conduct operations on foreign soil without a formal declaration of war

13. Chief Diplomat ●The Constitution does not formally give the status of chief diplomat to the President. But two presidential powers play a key role: The President is the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces. The President, usually acting through the secretary of state, negotiates treaties with foreign nations.

14. Treaties ●Treaties have the same legal status as an act of Congress. ●Congress can repeal a treaty by passing a law that nullifies its provisions. ●An existing law can be repealed by the terms of a treaty. ●A treaty cannot conflict with any part of the Constitution. ●If a treaty and a federal law conflict, the most recently passed measure wins.

15. Treaties and the Senate ●A two-thirds majority of the Senate must approve all treaties before they go into effect. This gives the Senate an important role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. A Senate minority can kill a treaty. In 1920 the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

16. Executive Agreements How do executive agreements differ from treaties? Presidents can make executive agreements without Senate approval. These agreements cannot overrule state or federal law. Executive agreements do not become part of American law. Only those agreements made by the current President remain in force.

17. Power of Recognition ●The President recognizes the legal status of other nations on behalf of the United States. ●Countries usually recognize each other by exchanging diplomatic representatives.

18. Power of Recognition, cont. ●Out of political necessity, the United States recognizes some nations whose conduct it does not agree with. ●Recognizing a new nation, such as Panama or Israel, can help ensure its success. ●Expelling foreign diplomats or recalling U.S. diplomats from a foreign country is a strong expression of disapproval and sometimes a step toward war.

19. Commander in Chief ●Presidents delegate many command decisions to military officers, but Presidents make the most critical decisions and have the authority to take command in the field. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=841qG6V M0UI

20. Making Undeclared War ●Only Congress can declare war; however, many U.S. presidents have sent armed forces into combat abroad without a declaration of war: ○John Adams had the U.S. Navy fight French warships in 1798. ○Ronald Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983 to block a military coup. ○George H.W. Bush ordered the ouster of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989. ○Bill Clinton sent troops to the Balkans in the 1990s. How might a President exercise the role of commander in chief?

21. Congressional Resolutions Congress has not declared war since World War II. ●However, Congress has passed eight joint resolutions authorizing the President to use military force abroad, such as: ○In 1955, Congress let President Dwight Eisenhower position the U.S. Navy to block Chinese aggression toward Taiwan. ○The Iraq Resolution of 2002 authorized the use of force against Iraq

22. War Powers Resolution Why did Congress enact the War Powers Act? The results of the undeclared Vietnam War led Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution of 1973. There is still a debate over whether this Resolution is constitutional or not.

23. War Powers Act ●The War Powers Act states that the President can commit military forces to combat only ○If Congress has declared war, OR If Congress has authorized military action, OR If an attack on the nation or its armed forces has taken place. In this case, Congress must be notified within 48 hours and can end the commitment of troops at any time.

24. Introduction, section 4 ●How can the President check the actions of the legislative and judicial branches? By using the message power to influence Congress to pass desired legislation By vetoing bills passed by Congress By issuing signing statements By pardoning citizens accused or convicted of crimes By reducing fines or the length of sentences By granting amnesty to groups of people

25. Legislative Powers ●As party chief, the President can greatly influence Congress. ●The President sends messages to Congress to suggests legislation. ●There are three major messages a year: ○The State of the Union, delivered to a joint session of Congress. ○The President’s budget message ○The Annual Economic Report

26. Veto Power What options are available to the President when presented with a bill? Every bill or measure requiring the consent of both House and Senate must be submitted to the President.

27. Overriding a Veto ●Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority, but this rarely happens. ○It is difficult to gather enough votes in each house for a veto override. ○The mere threat of a veto can often defeat a bill or cause changes to its provisions. ○Early Presidents rarely exercised the veto, but it is common today.

29. Signing Statements ●Signing statements describe how a new law should be enforced or point out problems that the President sees with the law. ●Presidents may issue signing statements when signing a bill into law.

30. Signing Statements, cont ●President George W. Bush issued a record number of signing statements. – He claimed the power to refuse to enforce certain provisions of a law or to interpret it as he saw fit. –Critics saw this as an attempt to veto bills without exercising a formal veto.

31. Line-Item Veto ●The President can either accept all of a bill or reject all of it. ●The Supreme Court has ruled that the line-item veto power can only be given to the President by a constitutional amendment. How is a line-item veto different from a regular veto?

32. Line-Item Veto, cont. ●The proposed line-item veto would allow the President to cancel out some parts of a bill while approving others. Supporters argue that this would cut down on wasteful federal spending. Opponents argue that the line-item veto would shift too much power from the legislative branch to the executive branch.

33. Judicial Powers ●The President can grant pardons and reprieves in federal cases. The President can pardon people before they have even been tried or convicted, though this is rare. ●President Gerald Ford famously pardoned former President Nixon in 1974 before Nixon had been tried. A person must accept a pardon for it to go into effect.

34. Judicial Powers, cont. What powers are included under the power to pardon? The President can commute, or reduce, a fine or prison sentence. The President can also issue a blanket amnesty that pardons a group of people. ●In 1977, President Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to all Vietnam War draft evaders.