The President

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  • Created by: ljoy1801
  • Created on: 18-04-19 09:24
Sources of presidential power: the Constitution
Powers detailed in Article II of the Constitution, such as the power to propose legislation; using the commander-in-chief power, which was used by GWB to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan
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Sources of presidential power: Congress
- Delegated power. - Powers given to the president by Congress, eg Congress has given the President the power to impose trade tariffs on other countries - Trump did this in 2018
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Sources of presidential power: implied powers from the Constitution or Congress
- Includes the power to use emergency powers if required by circumstances. - Trump used them to get funding for his wall, FDR used them to force Japanese-Americans into camps during WW2.
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Sources of presidential power: The President's constitutional role as head of the executive
- Inherent powers. - Not specifically set out in the constitution. -'The executive power shall be vested in the President'. -GWB said that he could detain terror suspects for longer as he had sole exec power
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Formal powers: Executive powers
-Chief executive of federal government. -Prepares annual federal budget, although this must be passed through Congress
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Formal powers: Legislative powers
-Proposes legislation to congress. -Signs legislation so it is passed into law. -Can veto laws from Congress
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Formal powers: appointment powers
-Nominates officials to the executive branch eg sec of state, but these must be confirmed. -Nominated federal and supreme court judges, but these must be confirmed
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Formal powers: foreign affairs powers
-Commander in chief. -Can initiate military action (eg GWB and Iraq). -Negotiates treaties, although these must be ratified by 2/3 in the Senate
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Formal powers: pardons
-President can pardon someone who has acknowledged that they are guilty of a federal crime eg President Ford pardoned Nixon
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Informal powers: the power to persuade
-President can use personal influence and authority of their office to get supporters eg Obama intervened when some Dems didn't want to pass the ACA
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Informal powers: agenda setting
-Can force the media to discuss the policies they want to discuss eg Trumps tweets about Korea meant the media discussed tensions more
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Informal powers: Executive influence
-The President can use the support of his VP, cabinet officers and his lobbyists to push his agenda.
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Informal powers: de facto party leader
-President is effectively the head of their party. -Helpful if the President's party controls one or both houses of congress; passing legislation is easier
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Informal powers: world leader
-Reagan led the Western powers in the cold war, Obama was a key part of the Paris Agreement. -Trump has taken a step back from this by leaving NATO and the Paris Agreement
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Informal powers: direct authority and stretching of implied powers
-Exec orders are direct authority (FDR=3721 orders) -GWB used orders to pass surveillance of suspects after 9/11. -Exec agreements used to avoid ratifying treaties eg Iran Deal. -Can be overturned by later presidents eg Trump left Paris deal.
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Informal powers: Bureaucratic power
-EXOP is a collection of offices providing policy advise and administrative support to the president.
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Checks and balances from Congress: amending, delaying or rejecting the president's legislation
-Cannot pass legislation w/out support of Congress even in spite of public opinion eg Obama did not pass his anti-gun legislation. Not an effective check during united govt eg Bush and Iraq checks were weak
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Checks and balances from Congress: overriding a presidential veto
-Needs 2/3 majority which is difficult to get. Only managed to override one of Obama's vetos - JASTA
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Checks and balances from Congress: power of the purse
-Congress has to approve the executive's power. -Often negotiations must take place eg Trump and DACA funding in return for border wall money. -Can force a govt shutdown which is bad for the president
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Checks and balances from Congress: refusing to confirm presidential appointments (senate only)
-Will reflect badly on president if not approved. -Robert Bork lost his vote under Reagan. -Senate refused to let Merrick Garland be voted on in 2016. -Difficult under divided government
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Checks and balances from Congress: refusing to ratify treaties only (Senate only)
-Rejected Treaty of Versailles which caused more isolationist policies in 1920s. -Needs 2/3 to ratify. -Presidents tend to use executive agreements to avoid this
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Checks and balances from Congress: the power to declare war
-Limited effectiveness:Congress has not declared war since 1941 despite further involvement in Korean war, Vietnam. -George W Bush received permission from Congress for military action in Iraq
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Checks and balances from Congress: investigation
-Important part of scrutiny; attract publicity. -Benghazi investigation and investigation in Trump and Russia can affect popularity
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Checks and balances from Congress: impeachment and trial of the President
-Can lead to President's removal from office. -Even if the President is acquitted (eg Clinton) it generates scrutiny and media attention
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Checks and balances by the judiciary: judicial review
-Courts can declare govt actions as unconstitutional. -Judicial review can be done by the Supreme Court eg Guantanamo Bay declared unconstitutional from a review or by federal courts eg 'Muslim ban' declared unconstitutional by federal courts
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Constraints on the President: Party support in Congress
-Hard to pass legislation and get nominees confirmed in divided government. -Difficult to pass legislation in united govt when the party are not behind the president eg Trump's limited success
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Constraints on the President: prevailing orientation of the Supreme Court
-Whether the court has a liberal or conservative balance can affect the President
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Constraints on the President: interest groups
-May campaign against a president's agenda eg NRA used funding of Republicans to ensure no anti-gun legislation was passed under Obama
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Constraints on the President: media
-Trump claims his premiership is undermined by fake news. -Obama felt his administration was unfairly attacked by Fox News. -Impact not as bad as people will watch channels they agree with ideologically anyway
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Constraints on the President: public opinion
-Approval ratings are important. -Trump's approval ratings are the lowest ever recorded with his highest peak being 46%. Perhaps this is why he has had limited success
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The President's relationship with the Cabinet
-President does not have to take advise of cabinet s they have sole exec power. -Will only meet a few times a year (average of 3.5 - Obama). Reagan met more with his cabinet.
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The President's relationship with the Executive Office of the Presidency (EXOP)
-A group of about a dozen agencies which support the President in running the govt. -Includes White House Office, Office of Management and Budget, National Security Office. -Importance of different agencies changes w/ each president
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The President's relationship with the White House Office (part of EXOP)
-Responsible for controlling who has access to the President. -Appointments do not need senate confirmation.
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The President's relationship with the National Security Council
-Chaired by the President. -Coordinates national security and foreign policy within all agencies.
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The President's different relationship with their Chief of Staff and EXOP advisors
-Obama valued his chief of staff Emmanuel more than some cabinet officials. -Trump's first chief of staff resigned after six months. -GWB's national security advisor was overly-supportive of his ideas, making analysis impossible.
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The federal bureaucracy and federal agencies
-Cabinet officers head the govt departments that make up the federal bureaucracy eg the department of state. -Some are independently run eg CIA. -Dem Presidents tend to increase federal bureaucracies, Reps abolish them (Trump plans to abolish 22)
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Imperial presidency definition
-Termed by Arthur Schlesinger. -Idea that the modern presidency is almost emperor like. -President dominates congress and conducts foreign policy alone. -Goes beyond powers in the constitution
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Imperilled presidency definition
-Gerald Ford argued that the presidency was imperilled, meaning the Presidents power was affected by overly-powerful congress and large federal bureaucracy
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Arguments in favour of an imperial presidency
-Nixon sent troops to Cambodia and Laos w/out telling congress. -Watergate (use of corrupt methods). -Use of exec orders. -9/11 surveillance+Guantanamo Bay. -Obama sought no approval for intervention in Libya
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Arguments in favour of an imperilled presidency
-Congress responded to Nixon's actions by passing acts such as the War Power Act. -Divided govt makes gridlock more likely (7 of 11 govt since 2000 have been divided), hyper-partisanship means gridlock happens often, presidents lame ducks in 2nd term
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

- Delegated power. - Powers given to the president by Congress, eg Congress has given the President the power to impose trade tariffs on other countries - Trump did this in 2018

Back

Sources of presidential power: Congress

Card 3

Front

- Includes the power to use emergency powers if required by circumstances. - Trump used them to get funding for his wall, FDR used them to force Japanese-Americans into camps during WW2.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

- Inherent powers. - Not specifically set out in the constitution. -'The executive power shall be vested in the President'. -GWB said that he could detain terror suspects for longer as he had sole exec power

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

-Chief executive of federal government. -Prepares annual federal budget, although this must be passed through Congress

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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