EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The President And The Executive Branch Of

Government

The President of the United States

• The president makes the news in many different ways.

• The job of President may be the hardest job there is.

Laws and Facts about the Presidency

• Be born a citizen of the United States

• Be at least 35 years old• Have lived in the

United States for at least 14 years.

The Constitution says that the President must:

Laws and Facts about the Presidency

• The president’s term in office shall be 4 years long.• The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that

the president may only be elected for two terms.• The president is paid $400,000 a year + expenses.

The president lives and works in the White House.

Chief Executive

• The Constitution gives the President power to carry out laws.

• Every year the President makes a budget.

• The President is the boss of more than three million government workers.

Chief of State (Chief of Country)

• The President meets with visitors from other countries.• Meeting with visitors & giving speeches are

ceremonial jobs.

Chief Diplomat

• The President is the official who works with governments of other countries.

• The President is responsible for setting the foreign policy of the country (relations with other countries).

• The President makes treaties = agreements between nations.• The President appoints ambassadors = a person from the U.S. that goes

to another country to represent the U.S.

Commander-in-Chief

• The President is the leader of the armed forces.

• The President has the power to send the armed forces anywhere in the world.

Chief Lawmaker

• The President has the veto power.

• The President often gives ideas to Congress for laws.

• The President gives the ‘State of the Union’ speech each year to Congress.

Party Chief

• The President is the leader of his political party.

• The President usually has held lower offices and worked hard for his party for many years.

• The President helps other people get elected to office.

• He must always put the best interests of the country first.

The Presidents Team

The main groups of people & offices that make up the President’s Team are:

• The Vice President

• The White House Office

• The Special Councils

• The Cabinet (heads of the 14 executive dept.)

The Vice President (VP)

• The VP has far less power than the President.• The Constitution gives the VP the job of leading the

Senate.• The Constitution states that the VP becomes President if

the current President cannot do the job.• Since 1900, five VP have succeeded to the presidency.• Four of the Presidents died in office.• The fifth President (Nixon), was the only one to resign

(quit).• The President decides how much the VP will do.

The Executive Office of the President• The Executive Office is made up of councils that

are made up of the Presidents closest advisors.

The White House Office (WHO)• The White House Office is the heart of the Executive

Office of the White House.

• The President’s Chief-of-Staff directs the office & people.

• The W.H.O. advises the Presdient every day about: foreign policy, money matters, defense, & Congress.

• The W.H.O. helps to: write the President’s speeches, plan the President’s trips, and the press secretary gives the news to newspaper, TV, and radio reporters.

Special Councils

The special councils are groups with plans for the President to consider.

• The National Security Council (NSC) - makes plans for safety & security for the country.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – prepares the yearly federal budget

The Council of Economic Advisors – keeps close watch on the nation’s economy

The Council of Environmental Quality – helps with problems related to keeping our

environment clean and safe

The Cabinet

• The Cabinet is made up of 14 executive departments.

• These members of the Cabinet do two things:– They are in charge of what happens in their

department– They all serve as close advisors to the President as

experts in their areas– The Cabinet members are called Secretaries; except

the head of the Justice Department is called the Attorney General.

The Cabinet• The President chooses his Secretaries & the

Senate approves his choices.• The President holds Cabinet meetings 1-2 times a

week to report on what is going on in each area.

The President and the People

• The President learns what people want by: listening to his Cabinet & media & regular people , reading letters & studies.