Presidency Flashcards
(42 cards)
Which article of the Constitution prescribes the powers of the president?
Article 2
What are the formal needs the president must meet?
- 35 years old
- US born
- Resident for the past 14 years
What are the first 4 sections of article 2?
Section 1 - nature
Section 2 - powers
Section 3 - responsibilities
Section 4 - impeachment
What is the nature of the presidency?
- Executive powers
- 4 year terms
- Presidential election explanations
⤷ i.e. age requirements etc
What are the powers of the president?
- Commander in Chief
- Pardons and reprieves
- Treaties
- Appointment of ambassadors
- Recess appointments
What are the responsibilities of the president?
- State of Union address
- Special sessions
- Receive ambassadors
- Faithfully execute laws
What is meant by impeachment?
- For ‘treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours’
What else can the president control?
The federal bureaucracy
What is the executive branch made up of?
President
Vice President
Executive Office of the president (EXOP)
White House, Office of Management and Budget, National Security Council
Cabinet - 15 Heads of Departments (HOD) + other officers
Federal Bureaucracy
⤷ Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Corporations
Approx 2m civilian employees and 1.5m uniformed and military employees
What are the enumerated powers of the president?
- Commander in chief
- Negotiate treaties
- State of Union address
- Appointment of ambassadors/judges
- Recess appointments
- Pardon
- Convene special sessions
- Approval/ veto of legislation
What are the implied powers of the president?
- Establish a cabinet
- Executive agreements
- Executive orders
- Executive privilege
Which amendments relate to the president?
12th - refines presidential electoral procedures
20th - inauguration moved earlier
22nd - limits 2 term presidents
25th - clarifies line of succession and the procedure for an incapacitated president
What are the 12 formal sources of presidential power?
- Approval of legislation
⤷ i.e. signing bill, veto, pocket veto - State of Union address
- Appointments
- Executive orders
- Executive memoranda
- Presidential proclamations
- Signing statements
- Pardons and reprieves
- Special sessions
- Treaties and executive agreements
- Commander in Chief
- Receival of ambassadors
What are examples for approval of legislation?
- Bill signing
⤷ Bush - No Child Left Behind (bipartisan, standard levels)
⤷ Obamacare 2010
⤷ Trump - signed a $1.4tr spending bill hours after tweeting he’d veto it to avoid a third govt shutdown - Veto
⤷ Roosevelt - 635 total, 9 overridden
⤷ Obama - Keystone Pipeline bill 2015 (environmental concerns)
⤷ Trump - Iran War Powers Resolution (would have removed armed forced from Iran unless Congress declared war) had 49-44 to override but not 2/3
⤷ Trump - Yemen War Powers Resolution (same as Iran) - Veto override
⤷ Obama - 1/12 - Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASRA) 97-1 - Pocket veto
⤷ if Congress isn’t adjourned and the president doesn’t sign a bill within 10 days, it gets sent back to the beginning
⤷ e.g. Bankruptcy Reform Act 2000
What are examples of state of union successes?
Clinton - Assault weapons ban 1995
⤷ 10 year ban
W Bush - Healthcare reform 2003
⤷ made prescriptions more affordable
Obama - gay rights 2010
⤷ Don’t ask, Don’t tell Repeal Act (gays in the military)
Biden - abortion 2022
⤷ appointed Kentaji Brown Jackson
What are examples of state of union failures?
Clinton - healthcare reform 1994
⤷ failed in congress
Obama - gun control 2013
Trump - repeal Obamacare 2018
⤷ failed and courts left to decide
Trump - $1.5tr infrastructure bill 2018
⤷ longest govt shutdown over the wall
Biden - abortion 2022
⤷ Dobbs v Jackson
What are appointment successes?
Obama - Sotomayor
Trump - Kavanaugh and Barrett
Biden - Brown Jackson
Trump - all cabinet confirmed
⤷ e.g. RFK, Pete Hegseth, Musk
What are appointment failures?
w. Bush - Harriet Miers withdrew SC
H.W Bush - John Tower denied defence as he had rumoured to be a drunk
Obama - Judd Gregg for commerce withdrew over differences
Obama - Garland
What are examples of executive orders?
Obama - Congress refused to raise the min wage so he signed one to raise wage of federal employees to $10.10
Trump (1st) - weakening of Obamacare
Trump (2nd) - DOGE, ended covid vaccines mandates in schools, ending DEI, withdrawal from WHO, Gulf of America
How many EOs did Trump sign? Why was this controversial?
58 in his first year
72 in his first month 2025
controversial as he criticised their use under Obama
What is executive memoranda?
Acts to manage the actions of departments in the exec branch
What is an example of exec memoranda?
Trump 2025
- hiring freeze for all federal civilian positions
- return to in-person work
⤷ terminate remote work arrangements
What are presidential proclamations?
- Mainly ceremonial
- Mostly highlight a day of importance
⤷ Clinton - 554
⤷ Bush - 941, e.g. Sep 13th - National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
⤷ Trump - Feb 9th - Gulf of America Day 2025
What is the signing of statements?
Highlights the positives/negatives of a bill before signing it into law
