3.2 Informal powers Flashcards
(47 cards)
the cabinet
How has the cabinet developed? how many originally, how many departments now?
- originally: state, war, treasury, attorney general
- now: 15 heads of departments
cabinet power
how do cabinet members show power through specialism?
- they should be policy specialists
- able to offer opinions on policy that lend support to the president in their policy objectives
cabinet power
example: Timothy Geithner obama’s choice…what was his plan? how was it effectivde?
- secretary of the treasury
- introduced a Financial Stability Plan
- committed billions of dollars to a ‘lending initiative’ to boost the economy
- while also requiring ‘stress tests’ to ensure they could withstand and prevent a further economic crash
cabinet power
how do the cabinet’s show power just by existing
- president would not be able to manage so many departments alone
cabinet power
president maintains…
- final say over policy
- cabinet has no constitutional power
cabinet power
Obama’s secretary of defense example
- churck hagel (republican)
- obama compared Islamic State to a junior varsirty basketball team
- Hagel described it as ‘An imminent threat to every interest we have’ … later in 2014 Obama was concerned Hagel was not transferring detainees out of Guantanamo Bay quickly enough
- Hagel publicly replied ‘I owe that to the American people, to ensure that any decision i make is, in my mind, responsible’
- By November 2014 he resigned
cabinet power
what work can cabinet level officials also undertake?
Mike Pompeo
- work on behalf of the president
- on the election of a new president of Mexico in July 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was sent to meet him to improve relations
cabinet power
Finally, what does the cabinet represent?
- symbolic value of presidential power
- media presence at government meetings allows president to project the image of their government to the public
cabinet power
clinton’s cabinet
- famously wanted his cabinet to ‘look like America’
- Clinton aimed for greater diversity made the cabinet more representative of America and therefore reflected a government governing all of America
cabinet power
Biden’s cabinet
- 45% women and 55% non-white members
- most diverse in history
power of persuasion
what is the power of persuasion? what does it mean?
Neustadt quote
- ‘the power of the presidency is the power to persuade
- the president has the same constitutional powers that are checked by congress, so must rely on persuasion
power of persuasion
first method of persuasion?
congress and morals
obama in 2013
- appealing morally to congress through the media
- Eg. Obama in his Rose Garden speech in 2013 when he maintained the view that military action was needed in Syria over it’s government’s use of chemical weapons
power of persuasion
second power of persuasion?
white house
Obama 2015
- white house as a stage
- the oval office is particularly useful, as it represents the whole office rather than the president
- Obama used this platform to call for gun control after the San Bernardino shooting in 2015
- Trump bussed the entire senate to the white house for a briefing on North Korea in 2017
power of persuasion
third power of persuasion, president himself?
personal
Obamas chief of staff
- personal gravitas
- Eg. Obama’s chief of staff Jim Messina called senators to ensure they would still vote to ratify Sonia Sotomayor after a controversial quote came to light during her confirmation hearings
power of persuasion
fourth power of persuasion, cameras?
2011 Obama
- media
- 2011 Obama asked the public to contact their members of congress to ask them to agree to raise the debt cieling
- Speaker Boehner had 203 calls waiting on 1 day in july
- press conferences/interviews
power of persuasion
last power of persuasion, appeasement?
Obama
- offering Inducements to members of congress in return for their support
- Eg. Obama’s promises about syrian intervention being limited
- Eg. Obama deported more people than any other president to show he could be trusted with immigration policy and to show he could be trusted with immigration policy and to gain support for his reforms
power of persuasion
other factors that help with power of persuasion: popularity?
- popularity helps greatly
- Obama was well spoken and intellectual but averse to schmoozing congressional leaders
- Trump was more aggressive but frequently in touch directly with people
Vice President
2 constitutional power
- take over the role of president if necessary
- cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the senate
Vice President
Biden (OBAMA) what was his experience? what was his expertise?
- 30 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meant he was well versed on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
- as well as economic issues
Vice President
Pence (trump): who did he make resign? publicly, how was he presented?
- Michael Flynn as national security adviser
- had lots of power in the white house
- publicly disagreed with Trump who calimed the VP could invalidate teh election result on 6 Jan 2021
Vice President
Harris (BIDEN): how was she unique in history?
- casted more tie breaking votes in 1 year than any vice president in history
- first woman to hold presidential powers when Biden underwent a health check for 85 minutes in November 2021
Vice President
what does the power of the VP depend on?
- how much the president delegates to them, but this is increasingly common
the executive office of the president
what is EXOP
- refers to agencies that work within the white house
- organised by the president
the office of management and budget
key role? what does it also oversee? which role is subject to senate confirmation
- develop the annual budget for the presdient for submission to congress
- it also oversees effectiveness of federal programmes and advises the president on policy, budget, and legality
- director of the OMB is subject to senate confirmation