The executive branch- the US presidency

Question 1

The executive office of the president:

Answer 1

The EXOP is essentially the president’s own branch of government-divided into a number of administrative units most importantly: the white house office, the council of economic advisors, the office of management and budget overseas and the national secuirty council

Question 2

How many units of the EXOP are there and how many staff?

Answer 2

15 units of the EXOP with a staff of around 2000 people who are all working too help advise the president and form policy.

Question 3

The cabinet-Article 2 Section 2 clause one

Answer 3

“he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principle offer in each of the executive department’s, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respected officers.…..”. This means the president can ask the cabinet members for that views.

Question 4

Where and how does the constitution make it clear that executive power is invested in one person?

Answer 4

Article 2 section one states “the executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America”.

Question 5

How many civilians did the federal bureaucracy employ in 2021

Answer 5

In 2021, the federal executive employed 2.85 million civilians, only 7.5% based in the DC area.

Question 6

Independent agencies

Answer 6

agencies that exist outside of the executive department. For example the CIA a NASA. Have important roles of implementation, adjudication, and regulation: 1970 Clean Air Act left it to the Environmental Protection Agency to right rules setting specific pollution standards.

Question 7

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 1

Answer 7

“The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America”.

Question 8

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 2- what is the president given command over?

Answer 8

“the president shall be commander in chief of the army and Navy of the United states, and of the militia of the several states, when called in to the actual service of the United states”.

Question 9

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 2 gives the present the power to ask who from thier views?

Answer 9

“he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principle officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respected officers”.

Question 10

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 2- what can the president grant and what is the exception

Answer 10

“and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United states, except in cases of impeachment.”

Question 11

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 2- what international power is the president given (with the senate)?

Answer 11

“he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided 2/3 of the senators present concur”.

Question 12

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 2- what appointments power is the president given?

Answer 12

“ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United states” “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate”

Question 13

how many people did Trump, Obama and Clinton pardon?

Answer 13

trump pardoned 143 people in four years and Obama pardoned 142 people in eight years. Nixon managed to pardon 863 people in just 5.5 years.

Question 14

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 3- what appointment powers are goven here?

Answer 14

“the president shall have the power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.” - this is uncommon today-2011-2012 pro forma sessions to prevent any Obama appointments

Question 15

Presidents enumerated powers: article 2 section 3- state of union address ever4y February and keeping congress up to date

Answer 15

“shall from time to time give the Congress information of the state of union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient”.

Question 16

Presidents enumerated powers: what power is given to the president by article 1

Answer 16

“every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the president of the United states, if he approved he shall sign it but if not he shall return it”.

Question 17

How many justices did JFK, Clinton, Obama and George HW Bush make to the supreme court?

Answer 17

JFK was able to make 2 appointments in 2 1/2 years and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W Bush were able to make two appointments in eight years

Question 18

How many veto’s did Donald trump use?

Answer 18

Donald Trump used 10 regular vetoes in his time and only had one overridden when he had already lost the re election.

Question 19

Example of a recent treaty powers being used: Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol 2016

Answer 19

Montreal protocol is an international agreement to phase out the “production and consumption of substances that depleted the ozone layer”. The Senate Foreign Relations committee approved the amendment in may 2022 and the Senate voted 69 to 27 to consent its ratification in September 2022.

Question 20

Example of the executives secondary legislative powers: Clean air act 1970

Answer 20

authorised the Environmental Protection Agency to set national air quality standards. This led to the national primary and secondary air quality standards of 1971

Question 21

The more difficult it becomes surpassed new legislation through an increasingly partisan and often gridlocked Congress the more tempting it can become to search for existing laws that already delegate the necessary legislative powers- Give an example of this involving Biden

Answer 21

Biden has sought to encourage electric cars use in his budget request, and a new legislation in April 2023, the EPA also proposed new stringent emissions standards for cars under the Clean Air Act.

Question 22

Budget under counting act of 1921

Answer 22

delegated power to the executive to propose an annual budget. In February the president sends a budget proposal to Congress for the upcoming year, and in April the house and the Senate budget committees draw a budget resolution

Question 23

as congress lacks the time and expertise to decide where appropriations should be spent, sometimes massive appropriations come in with little strings the ominous appropriations act of 2009

Answer 23

authorised the Department of Justice to spend $178.5 million for discretionary grants to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.

Question 24

presidents engage in their own pork barrel spending, how can the distribution of money can appear to be quite political?

Answer 24

studies show that swing states receive 250 million more dollars in federal grants each year then safe states-and often even more in election cycles.

Question 25

congress has delegated powers to the president in national emergencies, how many of these were there 1976-2020?

Answer 25

From 1976 to 2020, 69 national emergencies were declared. Remarkably, over half of these emergencies have been renewed annually and remain in effect.

Question 26

Trumps 2019 national emergency

Answer 26

A 2019 spending bill included $1.375 billion for the construction of additional border fencing but this was far short of the 5.7 billion trump had requested for 234 miles of steel. On the same day trump declared nation emergency, allowing him to divert 3.6 billion.

Question 27

What was renewed to enable Obama to negotiate a free trade agreement in 2015?

Answer 27

o Bipartisan congressional trade priorities and accountability acts of 2015 renewed fast track authority until 2021 to enable President Obama to negotiate the trans Pacific partnership-a 12 nation free trade deal.

Question 28

war powers resolution 1973, limited the president’s power to initiate military action under 3 established circumstances:

Answer 28

o a declaration of war
o specific statutory authorization
o a national emergency created by an attack upon the United states, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.

Question 29

How has congresses broad language in the authorization for use of military force 2002 been ground breaking?

Answer 29

This was ground breaking because it authorised attacks against groups and individuals rather than specific states. The authorization has been cited by President Bush, Obama, trump, and Biden justifying terrorist attacks on at least 22 countries.

Question 30

After the DREAMers bill was defeated in 2011, President Obama said that he would use prosecutorial discretion to reform US immigration policy without Congress. what did he do?

Answer 30

In 2012, the secretary of Homeland Security centre memorandum to the US Customs and Border protection, US citizenship and immigrant services and the US Immigration and Customs enforcement instructing them to allow the 800,000 children who arrived in America illegally to remain in the country.

Question 31

Examples of presidents deploying troops to maintain national security

Answer 31

President Truman sent troops to South Korea in 1950, president Eisenhower sent troops to Lebanon in 1958 and President Kennedy authorised the Bay of Pigs attacks in Cuba in 1961

Question 32

What did Roosevelt refer to the office of the president as?

Answer 32

It was president Theodore Roosevelt 1901 to 1909 who first referred to the office of the president as the bully pulpit from which to publicly advocate

Question 33

what was trumps approval rating amongst republicans vs the general public?

Answer 33

President Donald Trump left office in 2021 with an average approval rating of 41%, the lowest in Gallups records, but his four year average approval rating amongst republican members was remarkably high at 88%.

Question 34

how has being the head of state and responding to nation crisis changes presidential approval rating? trump and bush

Answer 34

o Donald Trump reached his highest approval rating of 49% in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
o President George W Bush’s approval rose from 51% to 90% following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Question 35

ways presidents have stretched implied powers:

Answer 35

• Executive orders, presidential memoranda’s, soul executive agreements and signing statements can be uncontroversial when used in more limited, administrative ways.

Question 36

presidents veto atempts to limit inherent powers- when was this seen in 2020?

Answer 36

Congress passed a joint resolution directing president trump to engage in no further hostilities with Iran without fresh congressional approval (Vetoed)

Question 37

presidents veto attempts to limit delegated powers- when was this seen in 2018?

Answer 37

2018 Congress passed a joint resolution to end the national emergency that president trump had declared on the southern border, the resolution was vetoed

Question 38

How did congress stop Obama from circumventing it in 2009 with closing Guantanamo bay?

Answer 38

o President Obama-executive order 13492 2009-ordered to close Guantanamo bay detention camp within a year.
o Supplemental appropriations Act 2009 blocked funds for the transfer and release of detainees.

Question 39

2018 government shutdown- congress limiting the presidents financial powers

Answer 39

in 2018, president trump promised to veto any omnibus appropriations bill that lacked $25 billion to fund the construction of a wall at the southern border.
o Democrats in Congress refused to vote for border wall funds, and no appropriations were made in time resulting in a 35 day shutdown-the longest in history

Question 40

how have republican congresses limited the prime ministers power?

Answer 40

In 2013 and 2023, House Republicans said that they would only pass bill raising the debt ceiling if it included cuts to discretionary spending. The threat of a US default lead presidents Obama and Biden to sign the bills and accept cuts

Question 41

In 2017, what did senate republicans do to make it easier to appoint nominees to the sc?

Answer 41

In 2017 Senate Republicans then took the remaining step to change the rules to allow a 51 majority vote to end filibusters for even Supreme Court nominations.

Question 42

what powers do the executive have regarding treaties and congress?

Answer 42

• 2/3 of senators must approve treaties but Congress also grants the executive the power to negotiate congressional executive agreements that only requires simple majorities in the House and Senate

Question 43

what effect has 9/11 had on congresses war powers?

Answer 43

• Only Congress can declare war and appropriate funds for the military, but after the 9/11 attacks Congress passed sweeping authorizations for the use of military force that presidents have continued to cite for over 2 decades.

Question 44

The 1996 congressional review act

Answer 44

gives Congress 60 legislative days to review and object new regulations. If a majority in the House and Senate reject the rule, a new “joint resolution of disapproval” is submitted to the president for their signature.

Question 45

power of committee hearings- Nixon

Answer 45

The Senate Select Committee on campaign practises investigation into the Watergate scandal led to several convictions, and pressure Nixon to resign.

Question 46

appointing justices with thier judicial philosophy: Trump

Answer 46

Donald Trump promise to appoint originalist justices who were critical of Roe V wade 1973. He got to nominate 3 new justices in just four years: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett. This created a six to three conservative majority on the court, meaning Dobbs V Jackson Women’s Health organisation 2022, in a six three decision the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi State law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Question 47

Death of Scalia vs RBG

Answer 47

After the death of justice Scalia in 2016, Senate Republicans announced that they would not even consider Obama’s appointment to replace him. When the liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020 just 46 days before the 2020 elections Democrats argued her seat should be left open however republican senators argued having retained their majority in the 2018 midterms they had a mandate.

Question 48

cases expanding the presidents power:Trump V Hawaii 2018

Answer 48

the court ruled 5-4 that trump had delegated power under the immigration and nationality act to deny entry of non citizens into the country if their entry is detrimental to the interests of the United states- upholding the “muslim ban”.

Question 49

The United states V Nixon 1974

Answer 49

the Supreme Court ruled that while executive privilege exists, it is not unlimited and did not allow Nixon to block the release of the tapes withheld in order to cover up the Watergate scandal.