The Presidency

The Oath

• NATURAL BORN CITIZEN

• LIVED IN CONTINUOUSLY IN UNITED STATES FOR 14 YEARS

• 35 YEARS OLD

WHAT DID THE FRAMERS ENVISION ROLE OF

PRESIDENCY TO BE?

Federalist #70

Alexander Hamilton

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow

The framers created a presidency with limited powers.

To enact govt business the president must cooperate with Congress but the power is divided among the branches, and the politics of shared power is often stormy

CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

• HEAD EXECUTIVE BRANCH

• NEGOTIATE TREATIES

• STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESSES

• MAKE APPOINTMENTS

ARTHUR SCHLESINGER WROTE “THE IMPERIAL

PRESIDENCY”

POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS GROWN IN MODERN TIMES -

“PRESIDENT CAN RULE BY DECREE”

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow

Presidents have expanded their powers in several ways. Crisis, both foreign and economic, have enlarged

those powers.

Example National Security Agency (NSA): A cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S. government communications and information systems.

Under President George W. Bush’s order, the NSA was allowed to listen to thousands of telephone conversations and read thousands of emails from inside the U.S. to potential terrorists abroad without any congressional or judicial review.

INFORMAL ROLES OF PRESIDENT -

MORE IMPORTANT

CHIEF LAWMAKERPARTY LEADER

CRISIS MANAGERRECRUITER

MORALE BUILDERCHIEF DIPLOMAT

This has resulted in tensions between the Executive and Congressional branches….

PRESIDENT vs. CONGRESS

The Struggle for Political Power

Presidential Powers Continue to Grow

The constitution is not always clear on which branch has which powers which creates controversies over

- the president’s war power- authority to assert executive privilege- issue executive orders- control the budget and spending process

Congress has tried to clarify the president’s role but presidents have a variety of tools for influencing Congress and they have considerable personal resources to gain support for their proposals

POWER OF PRESIDENCY

HAS DOMINATED CONGRESS IN FOUR

MAIN AREAS:

ONE: WAR POWERS

• President = Commander in Chief

• Congress declares war

• President Johnson persuades Congress to enact Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

WAR POWERS ACT

• ENACTED DURING NIXON’S ADMINISTRATION • TROOPS ABROAD REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL

APPROVAL (BTW 60 - 90 DAYS)

• CONGRESS REASSERTING ITS AUTHORITY• NIXON VETOED BILL• CONGRESS OVERRIDES THE VETO

TWO: LEGISLATIVE POWERS

• CHIEF LAWMAKER• VETO POWER

• FEWER THAN 3% OVERRIDDEN

• EXECUTIVE ORDERS (Korematsu v. US)

Executive Orders: Formal Orders issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy. According to past Supreme Court decisions, executive orders are generally accepted as the supreme law of the land unless they are in conflict with the Constitution or a federal law.

Presidents execute the laws and direct the federal departments and agencies in part through executive orders, which are formal directives that are just as strong as laws and can be challenged in the courts.

THREE: APPOINTEES

• CONFIRMING A CABINET USUALLY VERY EASY

• MANY WHITE HOUSE STAFF OFFICIALS (NATIONAL SECURITYADVISOR) DO NOT REQUIRE SENATE CONFIRMATION

The president's appointment power gives presidents the ability to control what happens inside departments and agencies during their terms and to shape the federal judiciary far into the future.

President Obama nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice

FOUR: FOREIGN AFFAIRS

• WITH GROWING NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTS GAINED POWER OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEDGE

• ALLOWS THEM TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION IN COURT INQUIRIES IF INFORMATION WOULD ENDANGER NATIONAL SECURITY

• US v. Nixon

Executive Agreement: A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.

In 2003, the Bush administration negotiated a 22-item executive agreement with Mexico to create a “smart border” that would limit the movement of illegal aliens into the United States, while improving the flow of goods between the two nations.

A few other ways Presidential power has increased….

Federal Budget: The President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1.

The Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to appropriate money in the federal budget, but presidents are responsible for actually spending the money.

Impoundment

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.

The OMB is the central presidential staff agency. Its director advises the president in detail about the hundreds of government agencies--how much money they should be allotted in the budget and what kind of job they are doing.

BUDGET IMPOUND MENT CONTROL ACT (1974)

• CREATED THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO)

• GAVE CONGRESS THEIR OWN ECONOMIC ADVISORS

• MADE THE IMPOUNDMENT OF FUNDS MORE DIFFICULT

Cabinet (inner & outer): Advisory council for the president, consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president. The cabinet is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, yet since George Washington's administration, every president has had one to act as his advisory council.

Executive Privilege: The right to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.

The Constitution does not give presidents the explicit power to withhold information from Congress or the public, but courts have recognized that presents have the executive privilege to keep secrets, especially if doing so is essential to protect national security.

Line Item Veto: Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

In an effort to control its own tendency to overspend, Congress allowed presidents to strike out specific sections of an appropriations bill while signing the rest into law with a line item veto until 1998 when it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

CONCLUSION:

• POWER OF PRESIDENCY HAS GROWN OVER CONGRESS

• PRESIDENT CAN WAGE WAR• PRESIDENT CAN LEGISLATE• PRESIDENT CAN APPOINT• PRESIDENT CAN DOMINATE FOREIGN

AFFAIRS• ALL WITH LITTLE INTERFERENCE FROM

CONGRESS!