Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government - PowerPoint Presentation

Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government Topic 2.4 Roles and Powers of the President

Qualifications for Office and Length of Term Selection - Electoral College Disagreements based on small states fearing lack of effect, mistrust of the American people Indirectly selected by electors apportioned to each state based on representation in Congress Term – 4 years; 2 terms, 10 years 2 term precedence begun by Washington; Twenty-Second Amendment made official Qualifications – 3 formal Citizen (natural born); 35 years old; live in US 14 years prior to running

Exclusive Powers Belong only to the president Commander-in-Chief Grant Pardons Call Congress into session State of the Union address

Shared with Senate Appointment power President nominates, Senate confirms “Advice and consent” of the Senate Simple majority in the Senate Make treaties President makes treaties, Senate ratifies 2/3 to ratify

Shared with Congress Approve legislation Veto Message to Congress stating reasons for not signing the billCongress can override veto with 2/3 vote of both houses Only 4% of vetoes have been successfully overridden Pocket veto President doesn’t sign the bill AND the session of Congress ends within 10 days of receiving the bill

Line-item veto Approve some parts of a bill, not others Clinton v. New York (1998)Ruled presidential use of the line-item veto unconstitutional Violated the principle of separation of powers Bill Clinton is the only president to ever have the power of the line-item veto, following the Line-Item Veto Act of 1996. Interestingly, the law was passed by a Republican Congress. The purpose was to allow the president to control and reduce pork-barrel spending. Ronald Reagan asked for the line-item veto power when he was president, saying, “Let them at least give me the line item veto. I’ll take the responsibility, I’ll make the cuts, and I’ll take the heat.”

Pardons Presidential authority to release individuals convicted of a crime from legal consequences and set aside punishment for a crime Exception impeachment Granted normally in the final days and weeks in office Lame Duck

Informal/Implied Presidential Power The president relies heavily on his power to persuade and bargaining with Congress because he lacks extensive constitutional powers Popularity typically declines during term; highest during “honeymoon” period Presidents are most successful making major policy changes early in their term

Unilateral Presidential Action: Executive Order Policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval Implied from the president’s vested “executive power” Rule issued by the president that has the power of law Often leads to conflict with Congressional agenda Unlike a law, can be overturned by the next president via a new executive order Extensive use of executive orders if often criticized, seen as a president’s way to avoid checks and balances

Unilateral Presidential Action: Executive Order What the executive branch can do: it can only enforce the law, constitutionally. An executive order is therefore a decree from the executive branch’s CEO that “we are going to enforce the law in this particular way.” Executive orders are instructions about how the law is to be enforced. DACA. Congress passes a law saying you have to do A, B, and C to be a “legal immigrant.” If you don’t, then you are an illegal immigrant, and we have to deport you — so the executive branch is tasked with ensuring they are deported. So the President can issue an executive order saying “we are going to prioritize some people and de-prioritize others. And the ‘Dreamers’ are of so little concern to us that we are going to de-prioritize them altogether, so they can essentially live among us legally.” Controversial for sure, but that is exactly what executive orders are designed to do. The executive order decrees of one President can be undone by the executive orders of the next, which is exactly what we’re going through right now.

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Why Don’t Presidents Rely on Executive Order More Heavily? For example, Barack Obama issued an executive order raising the minimum wage for all executive branch employees. Why did he only ask Congress to raise the minimum wage nationwide instead of just issuing an executive order and doing it himself? Executive orders have to be constitutional, meaning that presidents can only issue executive orders in areas that they have power over. Since the president is head of the executive branch, he could legally implement a new higher minimum wage for people in the executive branch. However, there is nothing in the constitution that gives him the power to raise the minimum wage outside of the executive branch. Therefore, executive orders are most commonly issued as instructions to parts of the executive branch/bureaucracy and the military, since these are two areas the president has clear power over.

Unilateral Presidential Action: Signing Statements A written comment issued by the president when signing a bill Political statements or reasons for signing the bill Informs Congress and the public of the president’s interpretation of the law

Unilateral Presidential Action Executive privilege: a right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress US v. Nixon case (narrowed the definition; increased Congressional oversight of executive) Executive Agreements: International agreements like treaties that don’t require Senate confirmation Example: FDR’s Lend-Lease and numerous trade agreements, such as NAFTA From 1940-1989, presidents signed nearly 800 treaties and over 13,000 executive agreements

Tension w/ Congress As a result of the law-making process, nomination and Senate confirmation, congressional oversight, and the president’s ability to issue executive orders, there are frequent confrontations between Congress and the president The AP Exam has often highlighted the distinctions between methods of unilateral action by the president with exercises of power that require cooperation, negotiation, and compromise.