The Executive/President Flashcards
(17 cards)
- Explain and analyse three different types of presidential power. p329-330 and your notes.
4 (3 formal 1 informal)
P – Informal powers
E - informal powers are political and not constitutional. Informal powers derive from a variety of different sources, including the president’s popularity with the public, their standing within their party, and their reputation among the international community. They include the ability to set the political agenda, and the use of direct democracy.
P – Enumerated powers
E – Formal powers explicitly granted to the President by Article 2 of the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the national government, headed by a single President. Enumerated powers include the presidential pardon, and the power to approve or veto bills and passed by Congress
P – Inherent powers
E – These are not set out in the Constitution but are needed by the president to carry out their constitutional role as head of the executive. After the 9/11 terror attacks, George W. Bush’s administration argued that the president’s inherent powers gave him the authority to ignore civil liberties and anti-torture laws. Bush ordered the detention of terrorist suspects for an indefinite period.
P - Implied powers
E - these are implied by the text of the Constitution. For example, the power to use emergency powers in a national emergency. . In 1942, shortly after
the Japanese bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbor leading to the USA
entering into the Second World War, Roosevelt issued a notorious executive order that suspended the civil liberties of approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans and forced them into internment camps for the duration of the war.
- Explain and analyse three formal powers of the president
P -Executive powers
E – The president is the chief executive of the federal government. This means they control the federal bureaucracy which is made up of executive departments, each with their own area of responsibility. The president also has the power to set the federal budget.
A – In reality, it is the president’s office of management and budget that writes the budget, not the president themselves.
P – Appointment powers
E – The president nominates all officials to key posts in the executive branch, as well as Supreme Court judges. The Senate confirms this by a simple majority vote. The impact of presidential appointments continue long after the president has left office. Trump appointed 3 Conservative judges to the Supreme Court.
P – Foreign policy powers
E – The president is commander in chief of the US military. This power makes the president the Head of the US armed forces and allows the president to initiate military action. For example, Bush used this power in the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as part of his war on terror. The most deadly power of the commander-in-chief is of course the ability
to use nuclear weapons. To ensure that this power is constantly available,
when the president is away from the White House they are accompanied
by a military officer carrying the ‘nuclear football’. This is a black briefcase
containing nuclear codes and guidance for their use. Nuclear weapons may
act as a deterrent to enemies of the USA, but only one president has ever
authorised their use. In August 1945, keen to hasten the end of the Second
World War, Harry Truman ordered two nuclear bombs to be dropped on the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 250,000 people.
P - Power of the Pardon
E - Trump granted executive clemency to 237 individuals in his first term, all of whom were charged or convicted of federal criminal offenses.
A - Clinton criticised for pardoning his brother for a drug offence
- Explain and analyse three informal powers of the president and their significance. p333-337 and your notes. (ZigZag)
P - Direct authority means the power of the president to take action directly, without consulting Congress
E – This can involve executive orders. An executive order is an official order made by the president directly to the federal government. Dwight D. Eisenhower famously used an executive order in 1957 to send federal troops to enforce racial desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Also an executive agreement is one made between the USA and an international government. Executive agreements are signed by the president and do not require Senate ratification as a formal treaty would.
P - The Executive Office of the President (EXOP) is a collection of offices providing both policy advice and administrative support to the president.
E - Together these offices help the president to run the federal government, develop policy, write legislation and more. EXOP was set up by Franklin D. Roosevelt and is yet another example of how he expanded the power of the presidency.
P -Presidents command the media spotlight and can set the political agenda.
E - More than any other figure in the USA, the president determines what issues are discussed by journalists, political commentators and the public. They can also shape public opinion by making speeches or statements that argue their position. President Trump utilised this power widely, commandeering the political agenda with controversial tweets. In 2019 he tweeted that the four Democrat congresswomen of colour, known as ‘The Squad’, should ‘go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested’ countries that they came from.
- Explain and analyse three ways in which executive power can be constrained by the other branches of government. p337-344 and your notes. (2022)
P – Amending/blocking legislation from the president
E - Without the support of Congress, a president cannot pass legislation, even if public opinion is on the president’s side. This was evident after the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in which 26 people were shot and killed, 20 of whom were children. Obama released plans for stricter gun controls including a ban on assault weapons. A majority of the US public supported these reforms but Congress rejected the legislation.
P – Judicial review
E - In 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that the president had no absolute right to refuse to give his personal financial records to criminal prosecutors as no one is above the law. When federal courts halted Trump’s 2017 ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries, he was forced to amend his original executive order to include North Korea, Venezuela and Chad. The Supreme Court then ruled that the expanded ban was not a ‘Muslim ban’ and therefore was constitutional.
P – Impeachment
E - The House of Representatives can impeach the president with a simple majority vote. The president is then tried by the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed for a guilty verdict. If found guilty, the president is removed from office. Nixon resigned in 1972 in fear of impeachment after the Watergate scandal.
- Explain and analyse three Congressional constraints on presidential power.
p337-341 your notes.
P – Amending/blocking legislation from the president
E - Without the support of Congress, a president cannot pass legislation, even if public opinion is on the president’s side. This was evident after the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in which 26 people were shot and killed, 20 of whom were children. Obama released plans for stricter gun controls including a ban on assault weapons. A majority of the US public supported these reforms but Congress rejected the legislation.
P - The power of the purse is a powerful check on the president
E - Requires Congress to pass the federal budget and therefore fund the federal government. Leaders in Congress have significant leverage in negotiations with the executive, as they can extract key concessions from the president in return for passing the budget. If Congress refuses to pass the president’s budget, it can force a government shutdown, putting pressure on the president to agree to its demands
P – Impeachment
E - The House of Representatives can impeach the president with a simple majority vote. The president is then tried by the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed for a guilty verdict. If found guilty, the president is removed from office. Nixon resigned in 1972 in fear of impeachment after the Watergate scandal.
- Explain and analyse three judicial constraints on presidential power. p341 and your notes.
P – Judicial review
E - In 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that the president had no absolute right to refuse to give his personal financial records to criminal prosecutors as no one is above the law. When federal courts halted Trump’s 2017 ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries, he was forced to amend his original executive order to include North Korea, Venezuela and Chad. The Supreme Court then ruled that the expanded ban was not a ‘Muslim ban’ and therefore was constitutional.
P – The prevailing judicial philosophy of the Supreme Court
E - Presidents who share a different ideology as the majority of the Supreme Court are less likely to receive favourable rulings on government actions and government-supported legislation.
E – Roe V Wade 2022 overturned by a Conservative supermajority court whilst Biden was president. Called their decision a “tragic error” and promised to restore Roe V Wade if re-elected.
P – Voting against them regarding personal affairs
E - US Vs Nixon (1974) The Court unanimously ordered President Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court.
- Explain and analyse three informal constraints on presidential power. p342-344 and your notes.
P – The prevailing judicial philosophy of the Supreme Court
E - Presidents who share the same ideology as the majority of the Supreme Court are also more likely to receive favourable rulings on government actions and government-supported legislation.
A – Conservative majorities can still go against a Republican president. In 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that the president had no absolute right to refuse to give his personal financial records to criminal prosecutors
P – Attitudes of the media
E - The media can constrain the president’s actions by informing public opinion. Many presidents have argued that the media gave them unfavourable coverage. Obama, for example, felt that his administration was unfairly attacked by conservative channel Fox News.
P – Party support in Congress
E - Presidents generally find it more difficult to pass legislation or get nominees confirmed during periods of divided government, as they lack party support in Congress. Many presidents start their terms with united government but lose a chamber in the midterm elections.
- Explain and analyse three roles of the cabinet in US politics. p345-346 and your notes.
P - Cabinet members are policy specialists and usually give advice on their specific department as opposed to general political advice.
E – Advisors can include former politicians, academics, lobbyists and experts in their fields. Obama appointed the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu as his secretary of energy. In 2024, Trump selected Elon Musk to be Head of Government Efficiency
P - Presidents also have one-to one meetings with cabinet officers.
E - The exact frequency of formal cabinet meetings depends on the president’s wishes. Reagan held many more than most presidents, suggesting that he valued meeting his cabinet members in person and hearing their thoughts. Under Obama the cabinet met on average just 3.5 times a year.
P - All cabinet officers ‘serve at the pleasure of the president’
E – This means they can be dismissed if the president is not satisfied with their performance. Trump famously sacked the secretary of state Rex Tillerson via Twitter in 2018. In 2019 Trump said that he liked having ‘acting’ cabinet members (those acting in a temporary capacity who have not been formally confirmed by the Senate) as it gave him ‘more flexibility’
- Explain and analyse three roles of the Executive Office of the President. p346 and your notes.
P – White House Office
E - The White House Office is the part of EXOP that works most closely with the president. It is a large organisation, with more than 400 employees in 2019. It supports the president on a daily basis through offices such as they Office of Legislative affairs, Office of Cabinet affairs and the National Economic Council.
P – National Security council
E - he National Security Council (NSC) is the president’s main forum for discussing and managing national security or foreign policy issues. The NSC coordinates national security and foreign policy within the executive branch and all its agencies, including US military forces around the world.
P – The Office of Management and Budget
E – Advises president on allocation of federal funds in the annual budget.
- Explain and analyse three ways in which the relationship between the presidency and other institutions can affect decision making. p348-350 and your notes.
P - The relationship between the president and their chief of staff
E - This is arguably the most important relationship within the president’s administration, and is crucial to the effective running of the executive branch. Obama allowed his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, considerable authority. Emanuel coordinated the work of policy czars, cabinet officers and national security advisers. Emanuel checked policy suggestions before they were presented to the president, and was criticised by some for encouraging the president to pursue moderate rather than ideological policies. Under his watch, relationships between the presidency and other institutions were tightly organised, and Obama’s administration achieved some important policy successes, including the Affordable Care Act 2010.
P - The president’s approach towards their wider staff
E - Obama’s White House appeared to be run effectively, with a sense of shared purpose among most of the staff. In contrast, Trump initially left many positions in his administration unfilled. After over 2 years in office, he had failed to fill more than 280 positions requiring Senate confirmation. Trump’s frequent sacking of officials, and the number of resignations by senior staff, quickly led to reports of chaos.
P - The president’s view of the federal bureaucracy and federal agencies
E - Some presidents aim to increase the scope of the federal bureaucracy. They are generally Democrats, and believe that the federal government plays a positive role in improving society. Other presidents aim to reduce the size of the federal government, fearing that the federal bureaucracy is wasteful, inefficient and removes too much power from individual states
- Explain and analyse three ways in which the relationship between the presidency and other government institutions has varied from one president to another. p348-350 and your notes.
P - The relationship between the president and their chief of staff
E - This is arguably the most important relationship within the president’s administration, and is crucial to the effective running of the executive branch. Obama allowed his first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, considerable authority. Emanuel coordinated the work of policy czars, cabinet officers and national security advisers. Emanuel checked policy suggestions before they were presented to the president, and was criticised by some for encouraging the president to pursue moderate rather than ideological policies. Under his watch, relationships between the presidency and other institutions were tightly organised, and Obama’s administration achieved some important policy successes, including the Affordable Care Act 2010. In contrast, Trump’s relationship with his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, deteriorated quickly amid claims of a dysfunctional administration and the appointment of a fourth chief of staff in less than 4 years suggested less stability within Trump’s administration
P - The president’s approach towards their wider staff
E - Obama’s White House appeared to be run effectively, with a sense of shared purpose among most of the staff. In contrast, Trump initially left many positions in his administration unfilled. After over 2 years in office, he had failed to fill more than 280 positions requiring Senate confirmation. Trump’s frequent sacking of officials, and the number of resignations by senior staff, quickly led to reports of chaos.
E - Some presidents aim to increase the scope of the federal bureaucracy. They are generally Democrats, and believe that the federal government plays a positive role in improving society. Other presidents aim to reduce the size of the federal government, fearing that the federal bureaucracy is wasteful, inefficient and removes too much power from individual states. Franklin D. Roosevelt dramatically expanded the federal government during the Great Depression in the 1930s whilst Trump promised to ‘drain the swamp’ in Washington, DC.
- Explain and analyse three ways in which a president’s power can be imperial. p350-351 and your notes.
P - Declaring a national emergency
E - allows a president to unlock federal funding and more than a hundred powers granted by Congress to presidents in case of emergency. Trump declaring a national emergency to build his wall.
P – Direct authority
E - The use of executive orders, signing statements and executive agreements shows the willingness of presidents to stretch their powers. Trump has already issued 130 executive orders including closing the department of education and imposing tariffs on around 90 countries including 145% for China. Some critics have argued these undermine the rule of law and damage the democratic process
A - However, it could be argued that the use of direct authority is an expression of weakness and not strength, given that it is a lesser alternative to legislation when they lack the support of Congress, and can easily be overridden by future presidents.
P - Strong partisan support in Congress can prevent a president from being held to account.
E – In periods of united government checks and balances aren’t as strong
- Explain and analyse three ways in which the USA can be described as having an imperilled presidency. p350-354 and your notes.
P – Federalism
E - the states’ reserved powers are protected by the Constitution, which is why, despite his rhetoric, Trump was forced to allow state governors to respond individually to the COVID-19 crisis.
P - Frequent gridlock, particularly during periods of divided government, provides plenty of evidence for an imperilled presidency.
E - Presidents are also often forced to make budgetary compromises to avoid a government shutdown. Trump, Bush and Raegan blamed Congress for forcing them to sign budgets that increased the size of the deficit
P – Impeachment
E - Trump’s 2019 impeachment might appear to suggest that the president’s position was imperilled by opposition from the House of Representatives.
A - However, his 2020 trial and acquittal by the Republican controlled Senate, particularly given its decision not to hear new evidence, demonstrates the limitations of Congress in opposing the president, if one chamber is controlled by the president’s party
- Explain and analyse three ways in which rational theory can be used to study the relationships of the PM and President to their respective cabinets.
P – Selection of cabinet members
E - The president’s appointments to the executive branch positions require Senate confirmation, prime ministers can hire/fire cabinet members at will without requesting the approval of anyone. Thatcher’s cabinet had a great singularity of purpose, bolstering her power. However, in the US, the cabinet is ‘hand picked’ by the president and he can chose anyone. This also means they are more expert and experienced than UK cabinets- where the PM is limited to choosing members of Parliament. For example, Steven Chu appointed by President Obama as secretary of energy in 2009 and had won a Nobel Prize in Physics.
P – Importance of loyalty
E - The US cabinet has no power to threaten the president’s position (other than invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, which has never occured). The prime minister can fall from power if they lose the support of their cabinet, especially important in cases of hung government. Without the agreement of both parties to Cameron’s policies, the coalition would have ended, so his emphasis on collective decision-making was a rational response to the circumstance of a hung parliament.
P – Cabinet Reshuffles
E - Cabinet reshuffles in the US are not used to increase the president’s control of their party as the officers tend to be policy specialists and thus are better to stay in the same department. In the UK, Cabinet reshuffles are used as a form of control. Theresa May removed 15 of Camerons cabinet ministers. She attempted to deal with her minority and lack of support by bringing into cabinet Johnson and other Brexiteers as a means to control them under collective responsibility.
- Explain and analyse three ways in which rational theory can be used to study the roles of three different Prime Ministers and three different Presidents. P366 and p367 and your notes.
P - Responding to a weak legislative position: Barack Obama and David Cameron
E - Cameron’s Conservatives lacked a majority in parliament from 2010 to 2015, so formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. Cameron was therefore highly focused on his cabinet during his first term, particularly the Quad committee, so his emphasis on collective decision-making was a rational response to the circumstance of a hung parliament. After losing the House in the 2010 midterms, the Democrats lost the Senate in 2014. However, whereas Cameron was able to forge an alliance with the Liberal Democrats and govern through a coalition cabinet, Obama rarely met with his cabinet. His rational response was to use direct authority to govern. Where Cameron’s strategy was focused on control of parliament, Obama used executive orders and executive agreements to avoid asking Congress to pass legislation or ratify treaties, as he knew these would be rejected
P - Responding to national emergency: George W. Bush and Tony Blair
E - Both leaders maximised control during a time of war. Bush used emergency powers to authorise the extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects and their detention without trial. Blair was accused of a ‘presidential’ style of government in which he ignored his cabinet: two ministers resigned in protest against the Iraq War. Cabinet meetings were criticised for resembling briefings as opposed to discussions – ‘sofa government’. Bush and Blair knew that the public and politicians tolerate a more assertive style of government and foreign policy during times of national emergency.
P - Responding to media criticism: Donald Trump and Boris Johnson
E -Both took a different approach, which can be explained using rational theory. Both leaders adopted populist policies to win elections, and subsequently harnessed the informal Johnson answered ‘People’s PMQs’ sent in by Facebook users and gave statements directly to an in-house camera team as opposed to the media. Trump pushed back against criticism from traditional media, dismissing it as ‘fake news’. His confrontational relationship with liberal news organisations led to him claiming the New York Times and the Washington Post were ‘siding with China’ against the USA. These tactics were intended to bolster the distrust felt by many Trump supporters towards liberal news outlets, and to defend him from attack.
- Explain and analyse three ways in which structural theory can be used to compare the similarities and differences between the powers of the UK Prime Minister and US President. p358-362 and your notes.
P – Passage of legislation
E - Both leaders initiate legislation within their respective legislatures, but the US separation of powers means that the president’s powers are significantly more limited in this area. Congress is separate from the executive and therefore develops its own programme of legislation. Congress is separate from the executive and therefore develops its own programme of legislation. The president can suggest legislation to Congress, but it may be rejected. In the UK, the executive is part of the legislature. As a result, the government’s programme of legislation receives the vast majority of parliamentary time. In addition, the UK’s parliamentary democracy allows the prime minister more opportunities to influence voting on legislation, provided that their party has a majority in the House of Commons. Prime ministers can use their position as party leader to influence MPs from their party. The fusion of powers allows the prime minister to use their powers of patronage to offer government jobs to MPs as inducements to vote for legislation. The whip system helps to ensure party discipline. A prime minister with a sizeable majority and strong support from their party enjoys a position so strong that it has been described as an ‘elective dictatorship’. There are few checks and balances on the UK government’s ability to pass legislation, provided it has sufficient support within parliament. Parliament is sovereign, so the UK Supreme Court cannot strike down its laws, whereas the US Supreme Court can rule laws unconstitutional. The House of Lords can only delay legislation for up to a year, unlike in the USA, where the Senate can block legislation entirely.
Congress must approve the president’s budget each year. Agreement is often difficult to achieve and requires significant compromises. In the UK, with a majority they can often easily pass their budget.
A - During periods of minority government, however, the prime minister may also struggle to get legislation through parliament. Theresa May failed to pass her EU withdrawal bill through parliament, which led to her resignation. Even prime ministers with a majority can find it difficult to get their way in parliament if they do not have tight party discipline. For example, John Major’s premiership was hampered by divisions and rebellions within his own party over Europe.
P – Head of state
E - In the USA the president is the head of state, whereas in the UK this role is performed by the monarch. The US president therefore receives the type of ceremony and pageantry that is reserved for the monarch in the UK
P – Job security
E - Different processes for removal from office give the US president greater job security. It is very difficult for Congress to impeach and convict the president. In contrast, the UK House of Commons can remove the prime minister with a simple majority vote. This makes it essential for the prime minister to retain the support of the Commons, whereas a president who loses the support of Congress will continue in office, barring impeachment.
P – Term limits
E - The prime minister has no term limits, whereas the US Constitution prevents the president from being elected for more than two terms. This weakens the power of the president in the final years of their second term. Thatcher served for almost 12 years.
P – Chief executive
E - The president is a singular executive, so has sole executive authority. The prime minister heads a collective executive. Under the system of cabinet government, the prime minister is primus inter pares, and shares power with cabinet members who hold collective responsibility for all cabinet decisions. The president has greater executive power than the prime minister, including the ability to use direct authority to issue executive orders, executive agreements and signing statements
P – Military powers
E - The president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, whereas in the UK the monarch formally performs this role. However, the prime minister can declare war using royal prerogative power. Unlike the prime minister, the president cannot declare war, as this is done by Congress.
The War Powers Act 1973 places a legal requirement on the president to seek the approval of Congress for military action, although presidents do not always adhere to this. In contrast, there is no legal need for the prime minister to consult parliament before committing troops. Some argue that a constitutional convention of parliamentary approval has emerged since 2003, when parliament supported UK involvement in the Iraq War. However, military action was taken in Libya in 2011 and in Mali in 2013 without a preceding vote
P – Appointments
E - The president’s appointments to executive branch positions require Senate confirmation, whereas the UK prime minister can appoint whomever they choose. However, the president has the right to nominate federal judges. These need Senate approval but give the president influence over the judiciary that the UK prime minister lacks
- Explain and analyse three ways in which cultural theory can be used to explain the similarities and differences between the Prime Minister and President. p368-369 and your notes. (ZigZag)
P - US political culture generally affords the president a greater degree of respect than the UK prime minister.
E - As head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president has an important ceremonial role. This is reflected by the grandeur of the White House and Air Force One, the president’s personal aircraft. When a president’s term ends they retain the title of president and retire with the highest possible status. In contrast, when a prime minister resigns they continue to be a member of parliament. Many, including Theresa May and Gordon Brown, choose to return to the backbenches. In recent years, respect for the presidency as an institution has been eroded by increasing division within US politics. Trump’s 2020 State of the Union Address in which the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, publicly ripped up his speech.
P - Limited government versus parliamentary government.
E - The USA was created as an alternative to British rule, so hostility to an overly powerful government is at the heart of its political culture. In contrast, the office of prime minister evolved in the context of parliamentary government. Parliament’s sovereignty has been rooted in British culture since the English Civil War and allows the prime minister to exercise enormous power with little restraint, provided that they maintain the support of parliament. Furthermore, within parliament only the House of Commons can fundamentally block the prime minister’s plans, whereas in the USA the president can face opposition from two independent chambers: the House and the Senate.
P - Imperial versus presidential criticism
E - The US public expect their president to act independently of Congress and take executive action as required. The president is only likely to be criticised for acting in an ‘imperial’ fashion if they exceed the normal parameters of presidential authority. In the UK, public expectations of the prime minister are very different. Prime ministers who do not follow a sufficiently collegiate approach with their cabinet colleagues are portrayed as ‘domineering’ and, often, ‘presidential’. The expectation is that prime ministers work collaboratively with cabinet ministers and their party within parliament
