GOV4AThe Government of the US

Scott Thomas | May 2013

Exam success is not a lottery!

Know your terms

Know the Articles

Know the Examples

Session 4The Executive Branch

of the US

The Executive Branch

Constitution & Executive Branch

Presidential PowerLimitations & ConstraintsPower and Influence:

Cabinet EXOP

Federal Bureaucracy & Federal Agencies

Executive & The Constitution

Found in Article 2All executive power is

vested in one President

Commander in ChiefCabinet not a requirement

Electoral College outlined Term limits added via amendments

Some Key Presidents

George Washington• First President • Bill of Rights• Two term convention

Abraham Lincoln• Abolished Slavery• President during Civil War

Franklin D Roosevelt• Longest serving 12 years• The New Deal

Richard M Nixon• Watergate• New Federalism

Ronald Reagan• Iran-Contra Affair• Robert Bork – SC Nominee

Bill J Clinton• Failed Impeachment• Failed Healthcare Reform

Some Key Presidents

• 9/11• Anti terror legislation• Education & AIDS• War on Terror• 2008 Financial Crisis

George W Bush

• Obamacare• Gun Control• Immigration Reform• Osama Bin Laden• Bailouts

Barack H Obama

Role of the President

Head of State

Chief Diplomat

Chief Legislator

Commander in Chief

Chief Executive

Increasing Role of the President

Only national political institution that can act quickly and decisively in times of crisis

Only nationally elected politician – claim a mandate

EBBS AND FLOWSCrisis – Flows towards POTUSPeace – Congress Reasserts itself

Powers of the President

• Propose Legislation– Bush – No Child Left Behind

• Submit the Annual Budget• Sign Legislation• Veto Legislation

– Bush Stem Cell Research• Act as Chief Executive• Nominations Chief• Commander in Chief• Negotiate Treaties • Pardon

Power of Veto

Presidents can veto legislation, i.e. not make it lawStandard Veto

Sends it back to CongressPocket Veto

Doesn’t sign within last 10 days of CongressLine Item Veto

Power to veto certain parts of legislation, ruled unconstitutional by Clinton v New York 1998

The Power to Persuade

Why only persuade:Cabinet is not a reward to Congress due to the separation of powers Lack of an honours system in the US unlike the UKCan’t remove the whip

Who Persuades: VP EXOP (Office of

Legislative Affairs) Party Leadership Interest Groups

Neustadt:Presidential Power is the Power to Persuade

The President Persuades

Sometimes the Presidents wades into the persuasion personally

Phone CallsBudget Vote 1993 Clinton rang Marjorie Margolies

Mezvinsky to get her to cast her voteSupport LegislationCampaign in District

Only if Popular!!!!

Vice President of the United States

Vice President

The most insignificant office that man has ever imaginedJohn Adams (1733 – 1826) – First VP

First Vice President’s were the people who came second in a Presidential Race

The role as moved on since its formation in the early days

Modern VP Candidates

VPs chosen through a Joint Ticket System

A balance ticket is often crucial in electionsBalance can be in the form of Experience, Ideology, Age, Region.

Are race and gender now important as well?

Enumerated Powers of the VP

Presiding Officer of the Senate• Votes in Senate Deadlocks• Cheney voted to protect Bush's $1.6bn tax cut

Announces Electoral College Votes• January 2001 – Al Gore announces his own defeat

First in line of Succession• If President dies, resigns or is removed from office• Has happened a total of 9 times

Acting President• 25th Amendment: Cheney was President for 2 hours whilst Bush

was sedated

However... Powers have IncreasedSince Eisenhower the Vice Presidency has been a breeding ground for PresidentsMany distinguished politicians battle for the role – Bush Senior, Joe Biden

Presidents give VP more responsibility and some become advisorsVPs now see daily intelligence briefings and all have an office in the West Wing

Additional Powers

VPs are now a major spokesperson for the administration– Gore: Environment– Cheney: Foreign Policy

The VP is a major fundraiserVPs can play the ‘Washington Insider’ guiding POTUS

Cheney as Vice President

Portfolio Contained the Iron Issues Economic Issues Security Issues Energy Issues Party Caucus

The Most Powerful Vice President in History

The President and I have a different understanding

Biden as Vice President

Less powerful relatively than Cheney

Focus on Foreign Policy

Washington Insider Senate Judiciary

Committee 36 years as a Senator

He was the Second poorest member of Congress

The US Cabinet

15 Heads of Department+ Vice President+ Director of OMB

No constitutional requirement

StateJohn Kerry

TreasuryJack Lew

DefenseChuck Hagel

Attorney GeneralEric Holder

The advisory group selected by the President to aid him in making decisions and coordinating the work of the Federal Government. Membership is at the pleasure of

the President

Frequency of Meetings

Varies between President to President.

Reagan in his first year held 36 Meetings

Meeting number tends to decline towards an election year as election demands eat into his time

George W Bush’s MeetingsYear Frequency

2001 9

2002 5

2003 8

2004 6

2005 5

2006 6

2007 4

2008 5

2009 1

Functions of the CabinetFor the President

Team Spirit

Consensual

Information Gathering

Debate

Big Picture

See all Departments

Functions of the CabinetFor the Cabinet

Get to know

Resolve Disputes

Contact Points

Catch the President

Increased Standing

Cabinet Synoptic Links

UK:Cabinet members sit in the legislature Cabinet posts are part of the PM’s powers of PatronageMPs want to be in CabinetCollective Ministerial Responsibility

USA:Cabinet members must only be in the executiveNot a reward, more of a final posting before retirementNo Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Federal Bureaucracy

Similar to the UK Civil Service the Federal Bureaucracy is the back bone of the US Government. They carry out policy and work out the finer details of the bills passed by Congress

2.7million employees

$13.8 billion payroll

11% of employees in

DC

Roughly 900 Departments

Unelected, Administrative Body in the Executive Branch, set out into departments agencies and commissions. They carry out policy on a day to day basis.

Federal Bureaucracy

Executive Departments

Department of the Treasury

Executive Agencies

Federal Bureau of

Investigation

Independent Regulatory

Commissions

Federal Election

Commission

Government Corporations

United States Postal Service

Problems with the Bureaucracy

Clientelism• Agencies serve the interests of those the are supposed to be overseeing• Lap Dogs rather than Watchdogs

Imperialism• Agencies seek to expand their own power at the expense of other

agencies • Turf Battles

Incrementalism• Agencies may act slowly and cautiously, with a nature to resist change• Argument very similar to the UK Civil Service

Iron Triangles

Strong relationship between three political bodies• Interest Groups• Congressional

Committees• Agency

Generally considered as having a negative impact on policy

Iron Triangles Example

Department of Defense

Defense Committees

Defense Contractor

Elec

tion

Dona

tions

Support for Dept.

Favours and Less Regulation

Support Dept.

Low

Reg

ulati

on

Low

Ove

rsigh

t Execution of

Policy

Executive Office of the President

Executive Office of the President

Formed in 1939 as a result of the Brownlow Committee

“The President Needs Help”

Expansion of Federal Government

Top staff agencies in the White House that give the president advice and support in his role. It focuses on coordination,

personnel management and advice giving

Executive Office of the President

Office of Management and

Budget

National Security Council

White House Office(The West Wing)

White House Office

Most trusted advisors and aides

Chief of Staff

Press Secretary

Director of Communications

Cabinet Secretary

White House Office

Liaison between President and Federal Bureaucracy and Cabinet

Liaison between President and Congress Screening of Telephone calls Screening of Documents Advisory Role Draw up Presidential Schedule ‘Lightening Conductors’

Remember this is just the Public Schedule,WHO will create a more private one

White House Office Staff

President chooses them

‘Honest Brokers’

Staff should be following the Presidents Agenda,Not their own, like Sununu may have been

Should not be in the media spotlight

The Chief of Staff

Head of EXOPMost Crucial Role‘Deputy President’Gate Keeper to the Oval

Protect the interests of the President and advise him accordingly

A Chief of Staff’s power is will depend on how strong they are

Denis McDonough

The Chief of Staff

Bob Halderman• Richard Nixon

John Sununu• George H W Bush

Mack Mclarty• William J Clinton

Leon Panetta• William J Clinton

Andrew Card• George W Bush

Rahm Emanuel • Barack Obama

Office of Management and Budget

Created by Nixon in 1970

Oversees the spending by all Federal departments and agencies

Advises the President on the allocation of Federal Funds

Director is the only Senate confirmed position within EXOP.

National Security Council

Headed by National Security Advisor

Nixon politicised the way in which worked, running Foreign Policy through Kissinger from the West Wing

Clinton returned it to its honest broker role

EXOP v Cabinet

From EXOP Perspective

Regard Cabinet as too distant and disloyal from the President

From Cabinet Perspective See EXOP as too close

and too loyal to the President

Large rivalries existed during the Nixon Years as EXOP ran Foreign Policy with Henry Kissinger as National Security Advisor instead of the State Department

Why?

NSA Office

Why?

US State Department

White House

1.7 Mile Journey between the twoNSA – 30 seconds from the Oval

An Imperial President?

Term Originates from the 1970s by Schlesinger

Focuses on abuse of power by Johnson and Nixon

EXOP becomes the Court of an Emperor

Why?

Executive branch dominates over the other branches

Presidents craft Foreign Policy as Commander in Chief and use the vagueness of the Constitution to go to War

Johnson and Nixon personified this

Evidence

1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving Johnson a ‘blank cheque’ for Vietnam War

Nixon – Wire tapping, bombing of Laos and Cambodia, executive privilege claims

Imperilled Presidency

However it can be imperilledPresident Ford is a good example• Lack of Party leadership in Congress• Unable to control Federal Bureaucracy

A principal weakness in the presidency is the inability of the White House to maintain control over the large federal bureaucracy. G . Ford

‘Bifurcated’ presidencyIt can be argued that the presidency is almost like two separate roles, with different levels of power:• Foreign policy – almost unchecked power• Domestic policy – hugely constrained by Congress

• So is Congress ‘too effective’ a check and balance domestically, yet too weak on foreign issues?

Clinton was easily able to send troops to Bosnia and Kosovo, whilst he couldn’t pass his healthcare bill

However!There are contrasting examples too; • Foreign policy – Congress dried

up funds for the Vietnam conflict under Ford (power of the purse)

• Domestic policy – FDR was able to pass much legislation in the 1930s (New Deal), as was Johnson (Great Society)

George W BushYes No

Presidential Authority – Only response in War on Terror

Congress refuses to extend Patriot Act

Many in Administration saw Congress as below the White House in National DefencePassing of Anti Terror Legislation (Patriot Act)

Executive Synoptic LinksUK Fusion of Powers vs US Separation of Powers Importance of CabinetUK PM stronger domestically than US PresidentUS President stronger on foreign policy than UK PMUK PM has bigger sticks and tastier carrotsUS Term limits vs no limits on PM tenureUK PMs can be presidential whereas US President’s can be

imperial

Exam success is not a lottery!

Know your terms

Know the Articles

Know the Examples

Answer the question, the whole question and nothing but the

question