Unit IV: InstitutionsCh. 14: The Presidency

pp. 368-407

Non-constitutional Roles:

A. Head of Political Party B. Chief Economist

1. Selects the party’s chairman of the national committee and VP nominee

2. Political patronage (appoints loyal party members to federal positions)

1. Responsible for the overall health of the economy

2. Proposes the federal budget (though Congress can alter it)

I. Presidents vs. Prime Ministers1. How are they chosen?2. How do they work within their respective

legislatures?1. Relationship2. Removal3. Policy

II. Evolution of the Presidency: Constitutional Convention

A. Alternatives B. Concerns of Founders:

1. Proposals for the new “executive”

“Fetus of monarchy”

“Make him too weak: the legislature will usurp his powers. Make him too strong: he will usurp the legislature.”

C. Election of the President1. Congress

2. Some wanted direct election. Problems:

3. Compromise: The Electoral College

4. Term of office?

III. The First PresidentsA. Washington-Monroe, 1789-1825

B. Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837.

1. Background?

2. Precedent?

3. Presidential appointments: rule of fitness

Expansion of presidential power:

1. Spoils system

2. vetoes

C. The Reemergence of Congress, 1837-19321. With the end of Jackson’s 2nd term, Congress quickly

reestablished its power

2. There were some brief flashes of presidential power:

3. Role of Congress as initiating legislation

4. Strong personality and/or national crisis

D. Emergence of the Presidency.1. FDR’s New Deal2. WWII3. Cold War4. In the 1970s, Congress finally reasserted

itself. Reagan restored the power and prestige of the presidency.

5. Bush 436. Obama?

E. Growth of Presidential Power1. Originally Congress, not President, was to be

dominant2. Non-constitutional sources of presidential power

a) Unity of office:b) Presidential character and personality:c) Growing complexity of society:d) Congressional delegation of authority to the

executive branch:e) “electronic throne”f) US during Cold War

3. Three rules of thumb to maximize presidential power and effectiveness:

1) “move it or lose it” –popularity declines over time.

2) “avoid details”3) “cabinets don’t get much done; people do”

IV: Overview and Powers of the Presidency A. Qualifications:

B. Terms of Office:

C. Compensation

D. Succession1. If office of presidency is vacant due to death,

resignation, or impeachment and removal, 2. Presidential Succession Act of 1947.3. 25th Amendment :

V. The Office of the PresidentA. White House Office/White House Staff

1. Immediate staff of President:

2. Rule of propinquity:

3. Organization: two general formsa) Circular methodb) Pyramid methodc) Analysis:

3. Appointments to the White House Office (e.g. Chief of Staff) do not require Senate consent.

executive privilege. Presidents typically seek people who will be loyal-fewer

divided loyalties as compared to Cabinet positions

B. The Executive Office of the PresidentAppointments to the EOP require Senate consent.

3. OMB:

4. NSC:

5. CEA:

6. Council on Environmental Quality:

7. US Trade Rep

8. OPM:

EOP Organization

VI. The CabinetA. Definition:

B. Each of these is appointed by the President with Senate consent

C. In our system: Divided loyalties of Cabinet officials: are the Secretaries most

loyal to President? To the Congress (which funds departments)? To client groups (which depend on departments)? To employees of departments (Secretaries deal with daily)?

President’s goals often conflict with Cabinet department’s goals

The Cabinet

E. Presidential influence over the Cabinet: limited

F. Factors affecting selection of Cabinet Secretaries:

VII. Who Gets Appointed to Federal Positions?

A. The number of appointments is large, but the percentage of appointed positions in the federal government is small (less than 10%)

B. Presidents often do not know their appointees well and depend heavily on staff recommendations.

C. Background of appointees:

VIII. The Power to PersuadeI. Power of the office of the presidency

A. Powers are not as clearly defined in the Constitution as are Congresses’.

B. In crisis, power grows, but in “normal” times, subject to checks and balances.

II. Checks that weaken the President:A. Constitutional checks:B. Informal checks:

IX. Congress vs. the PresidentSources of Conflict:A. Separation of powers and checks and balancesB. Each represents different constituenciesC. Different times of electionD. PartisanshipE. Unity of office vs. diffusion of powerF. “two presidencies” thesis:

A. Use of media. Media focuses more on a single person than on 535 people. President can easily go directly to the people with his case. “Presidential power is the power to persuade” –Neustaedt

B. “Mandate from the people”

C. Patronage:

D. Chief of party role:

E. Personal lobbying of members of Congress.

F. Veto, or its threat.

G. national emergency.

Sources of influence on Congress:

Chief legislator:(Constitutional Role)

Powers:1. Proposes legislation2. Signs laws. Sometimes uses “signing statements” Reagan: 75 issued. Bush 43: 161 issued. Obama: 20 (Dec. 31,

2011). Clinton issued more than any other president, but how Bush 43 used them remains controversial.

1. Vetoes legislation (no line item veto as ruled by SCOTUS [Clinton v. NY, 1998] – separation of powers)

2. Calls special sessions of Congress3. Makes a State of the Union Address to Congress (Jan.

24, 2012)Checks: Congress can override veto with 2/3 majority in both

houses

X. The Power to Say No: The Imperial PresidencyA. Charges by Congress that presidential power has grown excessive.

Coined by Arthur Schlesinger (1973).

B. Response: economic growth necessitated a strong executive Congress itself delegated strong powers to the executive branch,

especially in the area of foreign policy

C. Areas of abuse cited by Schlesinger: 1. War Powers:2. Emergency powers:3. Use of executive agreements rather than treaties.

The former does not require Senate ratification as does the latter. 4. Executive privilege

Right of President to not divulge conversations between himself and his advisers.

In U.S. v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court stated that Presidents are in fact entitled to executive privilege most of the time, but not in criminal cases.

5. Impoundment. Define: Without a line item veto, Presidents must either sign

an entire bill or veto it. Nixon impounded funds for policy objectives. Passage of Budget and Impoundment Control Act of

1974:6. Signing Statements

Reagan: 75 issued. Bush 43: 161 issued. Obama: 20 (Dec. 31, 2011). Clinton issued more than any other president, but how Bush 43 used them remains controversial.

7. Executive Orders

Constitutional vs. Rhetorical Signing Statements In a "constitutional" signing

statement, a president will object to a provision of law by directly citing a provision of the Constitution, or by citing a Supreme Court ruling interpreting the Constitution, or by bare assertion (without citation to authority) that the law offends the Constitution or invades the power of the Executive. A president may announce his intent to disregard the law due to claimed constitutional infirmity, or he may announce that he will interpret the law to avoid the constitutional difficulties that he perceives.

By contrast, a "rhetorical" signing statement is ceremonial in nature, and usually praises the wisdom of the law or the lawmakers, or notes the importance of the issue addressed by the law. Or a rhetorical statement may criticize Congress or the enactment without challenging Congress's authority to act.

34% of President Reagan's signing statements raised constitutional objections47% of President George H. W. Bush's signing statements raised constitutional objections18% of President Clinton's signing statements raised constitutional objections78% of President George W. Bush's signing statements raised constitutional objections

Other Constitutional Roles-Chief Executive:

Powers:

1. “take care” clause of Article II requires that the president enforces laws, treaties, and court decisions: Impoundment Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus Electronic eavesdropping by Bush 43 administration FISA

2. Appoints officials, and can fire them Recess appointments

3. executive orders (“Stroke of the pen. Law of the Land. Kinda cool." Paul Begala, former Clinton advisor, The New York Times, July 5, 1998)

Checks:

1. Congress passes the laws; has “power of the purse”

2. Senate can reject appointments and treaties

3. Impeachment (House) and removal (Senate)

4. Supreme Court can strike down executive orders

Commander-in-Chief D. Chief Diplomat

Power:

1. head of the armed forces

Checks:

1. Congress appropriates

2. Congress declares war

3. War Powers Act of 1973

Powers:1. Sets foreign policy2. Appoints and receives

ambassadors3. Negotiates treaties and executive

agreements4. Negotiates “congressional-

executive agreements”5. diplomatic recognition to foreign

governmentsChecks:1. Congress appropriates2. Senate can reject ambassadors

and treaties

Chief of State F. Chief Jurist

1. ceremonial head of our nation

Powers:1. Appoints federal

judges2. Issues pardons and

amnestyChecks:1. Senate can reject

judicial appointments2. Senators can place

“holds” and/or filibuster nominations

XI. President’s Program. Congress Responds to the Imperial Presidency: reassertion of congressional authority in mid-1970s.

War Powers: passage of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.A. President can send troops overseas to an area where

hostilities are imminent without a congressional war declaration only under these circumstances:

1. Must notify Congress within ___________2. Must withdraw the troops after __ days (can be

extended by __ days if safety of troops requires it)3. Must consult with Congress if troops are to engage in

combat.4. Congress can pass a resolution, not subject to

presidential veto, to withdraw troops.B. Criticisms:

1. Unconstitutional:2. Ties the hands of President3. Makes it easy on the enemy (wait it out)

Emergency Powers: National Emergencies Act of 1976

Congress and the CIA

1. President must inform Congress in advance of powers to be used as emergencies

2. State of emergency automatically ends after 6 months

3. President can declare another 6 months, subject to Congressional review

1. Past CIA abuses led to investigations and oversight committees in 1970s

2. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978):

Impoundment Confirmation of presidential appointees1. Passage of Budget and

Impoundment Control Act of 1974: If President impounds funds

temporarily (deferral), either house can override.

If president impounds funds permanently (rescission), the act is automatically voided unless both house of Congress approve within 45 days.

Establishment of CBO as a check on OMB.

Congress given 3 additional months to consider the President’s proposed budget.

Establishment of Budget Committees in each house.

1. Senatorial courtesy

2. Controversy over recess appointments

3. policy preferences over “rule of fitness”

4. Long confirmation delays (holds)

Legislative Veto

1. Define:

2. In INS v. Chada (1983) the Supreme Court declared the legislative veto to be an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers.

3. 1996: Congressional Review Act:

Foreign affairs.1.appropriations2. Iran-Contra hearings 1980s3.Gulf War (1991)4.Kosovo (1999)5.war on terror6.Patriot Act

XII. Presidential Transition: The Vice PresidentA. Only two constitutional duties:

1. Preside over the Senate

B. Traditionally, the job is a dull, do-nothing one.

C. VP is selected to balance the ticket.

D. Importance of the office:1. 9 of 44 Presidents have not finished their terms of

office.2. VP can become Acting President if President becomes

disabled. (25th Amendment).3. More recently, Presidents have made more effective

use of the VP, especially Bush-Cheney, but also Reagan, Clinton)

4. Can be a steppingstone to the presidency