The President and executive branch Flashcards
(79 cards)
1
Q
Define what The President is
A
The head of state and government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, elected every 4 years
2
Q
Define Veto
A
The president’s constitutional power to reject legislation passed by congress
3
Q
Define Executive Orders
A
Directives issued by the president that have the force of law without requiring congressional approval
4
Q
Define what The Cabinet is
A
A group of senator officials, typically heads of executive departments, who advise the president
5
Q
Define Impeachment
A
The Process by which Congress can remove the president, vice president, or other federal officials for high crime and misdemeanours
6
Q
what are ennumerated powers
A
powers explicitly granted to the president in article 2 of the constitution
7
Q
What are implied powers
A
powers implied by the US constitution - for example the president being head of the US military
8
Q
what are inherrent powers
A
powers not set out in the constituion but are neccessary to preform the role of head of executive
9
Q
How has the presidents use of formal powers changed?
A
George washington passed 3 laws and this pattern continues until FDR interprets presidential formal powers in a different way and passed 77 laws and created the notion that passing legislation is a significant formal power of the president
10
Q
Presidential powers
What are 3 types of formal presidential powers
A
- ennumerated powers
- implied powers
- inherent powers
11
Q
Presidential powers
What are 3 types of informal powers
A
- setting the agenda
- power to pursuade
- world leader
12
Q
In 2008 how much % of the popular vote did Obama win
A
52.9%
13
Q
how many departments make up the US cabinet
A
15
14
Q
Where does the president appoint executive members from?
A
congress, city mayors, state governors or university acedemics
15
Q
Give an example of a member of the executive branch being appointed from congress
A
2013 - John Kerry resigned from the senate when appointed to be Obamas secretary of state
16
Q
Give an example of an acedemic being appointed to the cabinet
A
Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu to be his secretary of energy
17
Q
Give an example of an expert being appointed to the executive branch
A
Steven Mnuchin - trumps secretary of the treasury from 2017 was a former investment banker and hedge fund manager
18
Q
What is EXOP
A
executive office of the president
19
Q
Who set up EXOP
A
FDR in the 1930s as the government grew in response to the great depression
20
Q
What are the two most important parts of EXOP
A
The white house office and The national security council
21
Q
What special role does the white house chief of staff have
A
to decide who has access to the president - so can determine the balance of opinions that the president recieves
22
Q
What does the national security council do
A
main forum for discussing national and foreign security policy issues
23
Q
Give an example of the national security council preforming its role
A
2011 - situation room was used for obama to watch the mission in which osama bin laden was killed
24
Q
What is the federal bureaucracy
A
The 15 executive departments
25
Give an example of an executive department
Homeland Security
26
Give an example of an independent federal agency
Central itelligence Agency
27
What are 3 things that affect the presidents relationship with their cabinet
1. relationship between president and their chieff of staff
2. the presidents approach towards their wider staff
3. the extent to which the president uses EXOP to dominate the cabinet
28
Give an example of the relationship between the president and their chief of staff having a positive affect
Obamas first COS Rahn Emanuel had authority such as coordinating the work of cabinet officers and national security advisers
under his watch relationships between presidents and other institutions were tightly organised
29
Give an example of the relationship between the president and their chief of staff having a negative effect
Trump - John kelly - mark meadows - 4 COS's in 4 years shows less atbility in trumps administration than of George W. Bush who had 2 in 8 years
30
what are the 3 sources of executive power in the US
1. Implied powers
2. Ennumerated powers
3. Inherent powers
31
give an example of FDR expanding implied powers
1942 after the japanese bombed the US naval base at pearl harbour FDR issued an executive order that suspended the civil liberties of 120,000 japanese americans and forced them into internment camps for the duration of the war
overuled by SC in 1945
32
Give an example of a president using inherent powers
After 9/11 GWB argued that he could use his inherrent powers to ignore civil liberties and anti-terrorist laws as he detained suspects for an indefinite period
- he was critiqued for interpreting this power so loosely to increase his own power
33
# Formal powers
Give an example of a presidents power over a budget
power to prepare the annusal federal budget
February 2020 Trumps budget for the year took government spending to a record $4.8 trillion
34
where does the president usually propose legislation
Usually in the January of each year in the annual State of the Union Address
35
How many of executive appointments ahve to be approved by the senate
more than 1000 out of 4000 including cabinet secretaries
36
# formal powers
In theory how should the power to declare war be utilised
Congress but has not been this way since 1941
The War powers act 1973 requires presidents to get congress' consent in military action but manny presidents have used commander-in-cheif role to overide this
37
# formal powers
Give an example other than GWB of presidents not asking congress' approval for military action
1990's Bill Clinton who sent US troops into Kosovo and other countries
2014 Obama who ordered military intervention in Libya
38
# formal powers
give an example of a president being criticised for using pardonign power
Bill clinton for pardoning his brother for drug offences
39
# Informal powers
What is the power to persuade
presidents using personal influence, the authroity of office and their political office to win support from key political figures
40
Give an example of how presidential support scores drop and therefore hinder the presidents power to persuade
Obama in 2009 - 96.7% - democrcats held both houses
Obama in 2011 - 57% - republicans won abck the house
41
# informal powers
give an example of deal making
Donald Trump made bipartisan deals to pass the First Step act 2018
42
# informal powers
Give an example of a president influencing the agenda of american politics
2019 tweeted that the 4 democrat congress women of colour should 'go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested' countries that they came from' describing them as 'socialist' and portraying the democrats as ideologically extreme to advance his own party in elections
43
# informal powers
Give an example of a president being a world leader
Obama convinced nations to sign up to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
44
How many executive orders did FDR use
3,721
45
Explain executive orders
Order made by president directly to the federal government, has the effect of law but can easily be reversed with next president
not set out in constitution - it is an interpretation of implied powers
46
What are executive agreements
agreements made between the US and an international government - like a treaty but doesn't require senate ratifacation
increase in use since the 2nd world war
47
Give an example of Congress 'checking' the presidents power over legislation
2012 Sandy Hook shooting, 20 children were killed, Obama released plans for stricter gun control including a ban on assault weapons
Congress rejected this legislation
48
Explain the watergate scandal
The Select committee on presidential campaign activities was set up in 1973 to investigate Nixons 1972 campaign including the break in at the Democrat headquaters in the watergate office building
Hearings were broadcasted on tv with 85% of populations viewing at least a portion of it
Supreme court ordered tapes between Nixon and administrative officials and white house staff that revealed how he tried to cover up activities taking place after the break in
he resdigned to avoid impeachment in August 1974
49
Explain trumps first impeachment 2019
For abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, ussing aid to compel the Ukrainian president to investigate his political apponent Biden
Trump said this was not a 'high crime' or 'misdemeanor'
50
Explain Trumps second impeachment
CHarged with 'incitement of insurrection' after encouraging his supporters to 'fight like hell' before storming the capitol
was not in office when he was impeached so some thought it was unconstitutional
did not get a 2/3 majority in senate so he was acquitted a second time
51
Giev an exampel of the supreme court checking executive orders
Trumps 2017 travel ban on 7 muslim countries, had to be amended so it included non-muslim countries such as North Korea so this was not a muslim ban
52
give an example of the media constrainig the president
Obama felt that his administration was unfairly attacked by the conservative channel Fox News
53
what is the composition of the cabinet
VIce -president and 15 heads of department including the sec of state
(may include other advisors)
54
Give an example of a cabinet member being a former politician
Hilary clinton was a former senator and then was Obama's sec of state from 2009-2013
55
Give an example of a cabinet member being appointed for being an acedemic
Obama appointed NObel prize winning physicist Steven Chu as his secretary of energy
56
Give an exampel of a cabinet member being appointed from being a lobbyist
Trump was criticised for appointing former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to head of environment Protection agency in 2018
57
Give an example of the president having authority over their cabinet
Trump famously sacked the secretary of state Rex Tillerson via twitter on 2018
58
Give an example of different number of cabinet meetings in different presidents
Reagan held more than many presidents
Obama on average 3.5 times a year
GWB 6 times a year
59
What is The White House Chief of Staff
The most senior adviser to the president, Head of EXOP and within it the white house office
60
Give an example of how the presidents approach towards wider staff had a negative effect
After 2 years in office Trump failed to fill 280 positions, frequently sacked officials and many resigned leading to reports of chaos
61
what is a 'policy czar'
Government officials in the US who are responsible for a particular area of policy
62
Give an example of a 'policy czar'
In 2009-2011 Paul Volcker acted as an economic czar in his poition as chair of the economic recovery advisory board under Obama
63
Give an example of EXOP dominating the cabinet
Trumps son-in-law jared jushner acted as a policy czar on multiple issues and during the COVID-19 crisis a special post was set up for him at the federal emergency Management, allowing him to take charge fo the federal response to the pandemic
64
Criticism of 'policy czars'
may be given greater acess to president than cabinet officers without being approved by the senate
65
giev an example of the president increasing the side of the federal government
Obama increased the number of federal employees by 8%
66
Give an example of the waxing and waning of presidential power
elected in 2008 and had democrat control over both chambers of congress so could pass major legislation such as Affordable care act 2010
Novemeber 2010 - republicans won the house but still was able ot have some sucesses like killing osama bin laden in 2011
Novemebr 2014 senate was lost to republicans so relied on executive orders and agreements to prevent being a lame-duck president
67
Define Imperial presidency
The idea that teh presidency has an imperial or 'emporar-like' character
68
Define imperilled presidency
The idea that the presidency is weak and its effectiveness is limited by congress and an excessively large federal bureaucacy that prevemts it from taking action
69
Who has been described as an imperial president
Richard Nixon 1969-1974
70
What were the 'imperial' actions of Nixon
1. He authorised military intervention in Cambodia and Laos without telling congress
2. The watergate scandal shows his corrupt and illegal methods to advance his own interests
3. Continued war in vietnam without congressional approval
71
How was president Ford 'imperilled'
1. congress responded to Nixon by passing laws restricting the power of the president e.g. the war powers act 1973
2. Federal beaucracy size was working against his agenda to reduce government intervention and spending
72
What are the 4 areas of debate around whether the president is imperial or imperilled
1. military action
2. Emergency powers
3. Opposition from congress
4. Presidential style
73
What does a presidents declaration of a national emergency do
Unlocks federal funding and more than a hundred powers granted by congress
74
Give 3 examples of how Emergency powers have been used to limit civil liberties
1. FDR internment of japenese-americans
2. following 9/11 GWB detained terrorist suspects without trial at Guantanamo Bay detention center and used interrogation techniques that were widely criticised as torture
3. Trump declared a national emergency in 2020 in response to COVID -19 and banned US citizens from travelling to european countries
75
Give an example of how the opposition from congress can imperill a president
Trumps 2019 impeachment - imperilled by the house
76
Give an example of how the opposition from congress in limited
Trumps 2020 trial - acquitted by the republican senate deciding to not hear any new evidence
77
what are the aspects of trumps presidency that were imperial
1. used executive orders to cancel major international agreements
2. declared a national emergenncy to fund his border wall
3. tweet in 2018 - he had an 'absolute right' to pardon himself
4. during COVID -19 trump claimed to have 'total authority' over the states so ignoring the concept of federalism
78
How was trump imperilled as a president
1. state governors could respond individually to COVID-19 crisis despite Trumps rhetoric
2.legal challenges afiled to overturn the 2020 election resuolts and he was forced to leave office
79
What are inherent powers
powers that the president has that are neccessary to preform their role as head of state
not specifically listen in the us constitution
