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Presidential Roles and Powers

Presidential Roles and Powers. Formal Powers of the President. Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article ).

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Presidential Roles and Powers

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  1. Presidential Roles and Powers

  2. Formal Powers of the President • Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency • Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article)

  3. The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation. Head of State Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983 President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963

  4. Chief Executive • The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive. President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General, February, 1993 President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005

  5. Formal Powers: Chief Executive • “Faithfully execute” the laws • Grant pardons for federal offenses except for cases of impeachment • Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the U.S. with consent of the Senate • Fill vacancies that may happen during recess of the Senate (recess appointments)

  6. Commander-in-Chief • The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces. President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966 President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

  7. Formal Powers: Commander-in-Chief • Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy • Making undeclared war • Limited by War Powers Act 1973 • President must inform congress within 24 hours of troops being used for combat • President can commit troops for more 90 days without consent of congress

  8. Chief Legislator • The President is the chief legislator,the main architect of the nation’s public policies. President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997 President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935

  9. Formal Powers: Chief Legislator • Give State of the Union address to Congress • Recommend “measures” to the Congress • Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress

  10. Formal Powers: Chief Legislator (cont.) • Presidential Veto • Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of origin • Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days • Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both Houses • Veto Politics • Congressional override is difficult (only 4%) • Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in legislation

  11. Political Party Leader • The President acts as the chief of party,the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch. President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

  12. Chief Administrator • The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United States government. President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11 Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963

  13. As the nation’s chief diplomat,the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world. Chief Diplomat President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862 President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910

  14. Formal Powers: Foreign Affairs • Appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls • Make treaties subject to Senate confirmation • Receive ambassadors • Diplomatic Recognition – acknowledging the legal existence of a country/state

  15. The President is expected to be “the representative of all the people.” Chief Citizen

  16. Informal Powers • Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution • Similar to “necessary and proper” powers of Congress • In the modern era (since 1933), the President’s informal powers may be significantly more powerful than his formal powers

  17. Executive Orders • Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law • Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy • FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans • GWB trying suspected terrorists in military tribunals Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

  18. Executive Agreements • International agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval • Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 • GWB announced cuts in the nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between • US and other nations

  19. Executive Privilege • Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress • United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

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