1. Unit IV Module 2 AP Gov Miller
The President
Unit IV Module 2
AP Gov
Miller

2. Objectives By the end of this module, SWBAT
Identify and describe the major job functions of the president
Explain the President’s checks and balances against the Congress, judiciary, and bureaucracy
Explain the source of both the President’s formal and informal powers
Describe how public opinion affects the actions of the President
List and describe the amendments to the Constitution that directly influence the Presidency

3. Hard at Work
The President performs all of the jobs below simultaneously
Chief Executive – leader of the whole federal bureaucracy
Chief Legislator – proposes bills through allies in Congress and exerts influence to try to pass them
Commander in Chief – Top military officer in the nation, initiates military action
Chief Diplomat – leads the effort of the State Department to create and enact foreign policy

4. Hard at Work Presidential jobs (continued)
Economic planner – prepares a budget proposal every fiscal year and then compromises with Congress to pass it
Party Chief – most powerful member of his or her party, uses prestige to raise funds and support allies
Chief of State – symbolic leader of nation, performs ceremonial, traditional duties

5. Article II
Source of most of the powers in the jobs listed previously is Article II of the Constitution
Any powers expressed in the text of the Constitution = formal powers
Chief Executive
Power to name a Cabinet [of appointed advisors]
Power to federal judges, but they must be confirmed by the Senate

6. Chief Executive
Cabinet just the tip of the iceberg of the federal bureaucracy
Cabinet originally just had Secretaries of State, War, Treasury, Attorney General and Postmaster General
Has steadily grown over the years
White House Office (WHO) – consists of close advisors that actually work with the President on a daily basis
Chief of Staff (if there is one)
Press Secretary
Speechwriters, etc.

7. Chief Executive
Most specialized bureaucrats that work with President are the Executive Office of the President (EOP)
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Joint Chiefs of Staff
National Security Council
Council of Economic Advisors

8. Chief Executive
The President also has the ability to nominate leaders of various independent and regulatory bureaucratic agencies
NASA
CIA
FBI
EPA
Federal Reserve

9. Chief Executive
In most cases, presidential nominations must be approved by a majority vote in the Senate
Judiciary nominations (i.e. Supreme Court) undergo a double check by the Senate called “senatorial courtesy”
President confers with the two senators from the nominee’s home state first BEFORE announcing the nomination publicly

10. Chief Executive
Overall theme of the role of chief executive is to enforce the law as created by Congress and signed by the President
President, however, can use his control of the federal bureaucracy to check Congress
President can order agencies to withhold funds appropriated for a program by Congress – effectively shuts program down temporarily – this process is called “impoundment”

11. Chief Executive
President can also issue commands to his or her bureaucratic minions that have the effect of law – these are called “executive orders”
These do NOT have to be approved by Congress
These CAN however be subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court
They ONLY last as long as the President who created them is in office OR the following President wishes to continue them

12. Chief Legislator
Pres cannot vote on floor of either House or Senate BUT
VP can vote in the Senate in case there is a tie
VP does have the Constitutional power to preside over Senate meetings (although this is very rare)
Every year Pres has to make a State of Union address to whole Congress
Set agenda
Apply media pressure to Congress

13. Chief Legislator
Pres cannot vote on floor of either House or Senate BUT
Pres can also lengthen sessions of Congress or call for emergency sessions
Pres has strong ties to Congressional leaders, both inside and outside of political party
Pres can also appeal directly to people via media to encourage voters to place pressure on Congress

14. Chief Legislator
Overall, Pres’s lawmaking powers are informal in nature except for one potent weapon – the veto
Two kinds of vetoes
Veto
“Pocket” veto

15. “Normal” Veto Both chambers of Congress pass a bill
The bill arrives at the Oval Office
President does NOT sign it
President vetoes it
President writes veto message, stating problems with the bill
Congress receives veto message, either amends the bill and tries to pass it again OR
Congress attempts to override veto with 2/3rds vote

16. “Pocket” Veto
*Only works within 10 working days of the end of Congressional session
Both chambers of Congress pass a bill
Bill arrives at the Oval Office
President does NOT sign the bill
Congressional session ends
Unsigned bill gets “reset” as the first item to be voted on in next session
Bill effectively dies since it will be passé by the time the next session starts

17. Normal vs. Pocket Veto Normal Pocket Public action
Gets a lot of media coverage
More private action
Gets less media coverage

18. Passing Bills Into Law
Just like two ways to veto, two ways to pass bills into law
One is overt and one is covert

19. Sign the Bill Congress passes the bill Bill arrives at the Oval Office
Amid much fanfare and press coverage, President signs the bill
Often, sponsors of the bill in Congress will be present
Media event

20. Don’t Sign the Bill Congress passes the bill
Bill arrives at the Oval Office
President does NOT sign the bill
10 work days pass
Bill becomes law automatically

21. Bills into Law Why not sign it?
Issue is controversial and might upset political party base
Gay rights bill passed with a moderate Republican president
Anti-immigration bill passed with a moderate Democratic president

22. The Last Word
President can still affect the application of the new law via “signing statements”
Sort of a blend between chief legislator and chief executive
But what if the President could edit the exact wording of new law? Then that would be called the …

23. Line Item Veto
The ultimate blend of lawmaking and law-enforcing powers for the President
Would give the President the power to erase particular sections, or “line items”, from laws
Meant as a way to cut away pork from bills and save taxpayer dollars

24. Line Item Veto
Declared unconstitutional in the case of New York vs. Clinton
Violation of separation of powers doctrine
Pres must sign entire contents of bill OR veto entire contents
Cannot pick and choose favorite sections

25. Commander-in-Chief Pres commands the military
Most cases, it is helpful if Pres has some relatable military experience
Definitely useful considering that American soldiers have been deployed over 200 times in our history but only six wars have been officially “declared” by Congress
War of 1812
Mexican American War
Spanish American War
World War I
World War II
First Gulf War

26. Commander-in-Chief Closest branch to the president is the Marine Corps
Requires more Congressional support to mobilize Army, Navy or Air Force (don’t forget about the Coast Guard)
Most military decisions discussed with the National Security Council

27. National Security Council
JSOC (Joint Chiefs of Staff)
Vice President
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of State
Oftentimes, they all meet in the Situation Room in the West Wing basement
Allows president to talk to any commanders on the ground anywhere on Earth
Example: Obama watched the bin Laden assault live with footage coming from Seal Team 6 body cams

28. Deployment
As per the War Powers Act, Pres can deploy forces as he/she sees fit but any prolonged action requires Congressional support
Why? First, Congress often can’t move quickly enough to address a pressing military matter
Also, longer deployments require more supplies, which Congress has to pay for

29. Chief Diplomat President serves as Chief Diplomat
Visits other nations and meets with other heads of state
Receives foreign heads of state
Also appoints other key members of diplomatic corps
Secretary of State
Foreign ambassadors

30. Foreign Policy Meets with many bureaucrats to form foreign policy
Cabinet – State Department
EOP – National Security Council (NSC), National Economic Council (NEC)
WHO – Chief of Staff, economic advisors

31. Executive Agreements Work like executive orders
Don’t need to be approved by Congress
Totally independent
Binding agreements between President and other nation
Only binding as long as both nations’ leaders are still in power and in agreement
Example: Kyoto Accords started by Clinton and then promptly ended by Bush II

32. Economic Planner
Newest function of the President, first time Pres suggested a radically different budget than Congress was FDR in the New Deal
Since then, it has become customary for President to propose a version of the budget and compromise with the Congress’s version of that same budget

33. Economic Experts President’s Economic Staff Congress’s Economic Staff
Cabinet
Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Labor
EOP
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
WHO
Chief of Staff, economic advisors
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Congressional Budget Committees in House, Senate
House Ways and Means Committee

34. Budget Process Federal agencies submit requests to President for funds
With help of the OMB, Pres collates these requests into a budget proposal
Meanwhile, Congress has been crafting its own budget version with the CBO
CBO receives both versions and analyzes them, publishes information for House, Senate budget committees
These committees produce budget resolutions and then a conference resolution is drafted
If it passes, then the budget is approved

35. Economic Indicators
President now ultimately held responsible for various indicators of economic strength
Unemployment rate
Stock indexes (Dow Jones Industrial Average)
Rate of inflation
Strength of housing market
Comparative value of the dollar
For most of these indicators, President has very little control
Will still take credit for them when they are positive, and still dodge responsibility when they are negative

36. Party Chief President most prestigious member of her or his party
Can use this prestige to assist party
Fundraising efforts
Re-election campaigns
Iterate and reinforce party platform during speeches
Appoint sympathetic bureaucrats to judiciary, agency heads

37. Party Chief
Most powerful expression of party power by President is “coattail” effect
Occurs when President is elected or re-elected
Pres with strong coattails will not only win election but also elicit strong response from rank and file and party activists to help others get elected simultaneously
Congressional races
Gubernatorial races
State referenda and initiatives

38. Chief of State
Ceremonial leader of USA – conducts important national rituals
Pardoning turkeys
Lighting Christmas trees
Throwing first baseball of the season
Easiest take by far of the President
Important to humanize the President and make the office relatable

39. Good Pres, Bad Pres Approval Rating Up Approval Rating Down
Economic indicators positive
Early stages of war
No major scandals
First term
Economic indicators negative
Protracted long wars
Major personal scandals
Second term

40. Good Pres, Bad Pres
Early months of new administration called “honeymoon” period
Easier to pass legislation and govern while Americans excited about new administration
Last months of an administration after new “President-Elect” is chosen by Electoral College called “lame duck” period
Although technically still the Commander in Chief, Pres finds that prestige is almost gone, can’t get much done
Still can use some of the formal powers of the President such as
Appointments
Pardons

41. Good Pres, Bad Pres
Presidents must be more responsive to public opinion in first term
Once re-elected, President can more aggressively push personal agenda with nothing to lose
Must be careful, however, to not tarnish image of party while doing so  make next presidential nominee of the party work harder

42. Checks and Balances Pres checks Congress Pres checks Pres
Vetoes
Impoundment of funds
State of the Union address
Military deployments
Uses “bully pulpit” media attention to criticize Congress
Extends Congressional sessions & calls for special sessions
Issues executive orders
Reverses executive orders
Reverses executive agreements

43. Checks and Balances Pres checks Judiciary Pres checks Bureaucracy
Nominates judges
Refuses to enforce decision of judges
Pardons
Nominates, appoints heads of bureaucratic agencies
Uses executive orders
Writes signing statements on new laws

44. Presidential Amendments
12th
Pres, VP must run for office together on one “ticket”
22nd
Pres has a term limit of two
25th
Presidential succession clarified in case of death, incapacitation
Pres, VP, Speaker of House, Pres Pro Tem of Senate, Sec of State, etc.

45. Summary
Clearly, Founding Fathers never thought modern President would become this strong compared to Congress
Modern pace of life necessitates quicker action and Congress works too slowly, President needs to be decisive at times to act in USA’s best interests
However, also needs to espouse the rule of law and tradition at times
It is this balance that is key to success in the White House