The Presidency

• Article II of the Constitution– 4 year term of office with no limit until 1951– 22nd Amendment – 10 years max; 2 electoral victories

• Electoral College– No direct popular vote

• Constitutional Qualifications– At least 35 years old– Natural born citizen– Resident of U.S. for 14 years

Presidential Oath

• "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The Evolution of the Presidency

• Until the 20th century, the presidency played a back seat to Congress

• Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln were exceptions to this

• Only in the 20th century has the presidency evolved into the powerful institution that it is today

Enumerated/Delegated Powers

• Article II, Section 2– Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces– Can pardon federal crimes (Ford)– Make treaties– Appoints ambassadors, federal judges– Give a state of the union address– Faithfully execute the laws – Chief Executive

Presidential Powers

• National Security• Diplomatic• Appointment• Legislative• Executive

National Security Powers

• The founders made a civilian the highest military authority in the U.S. Why?– To minimize/check the power of the military

• He leads the entire defense establishment in the U.S.– The Department of Defense (DOD)– The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)– The National Security Agency (NSA) and the

National Security Counsel (NSC)– The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

War Making Power

• Congress has the power to declare war but the last time this was done was on December 8, 1941

• Since then, presidents have asserted their authority to deploy U.S. troops as the Commander-in-Chief

• Since Korea, Congress has funded U.S. military actions (they don’t have to) and given resolutions of support for them(Remember the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?)

The War Powers Act (1973)

• At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress tried to limit the president’s war making powers

• Without congressional authorization, the president can only send troops into combat for up to 90 days

• Since 1973, this has been largely ignored and Congress has continuously authorized and funded military actions taken by U.S. presidents

Domestic Power

• The president also has the authority to protect the states against “invasion” and “domestic violence”

• This has been interpreted to mean the president has a broad range of authority– Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock in 1957– Declaring a “state of emergency” after natural

disasters like hurricanes (FEMA)

Diplomatic Powers

• Chief of State – President represents U.S. in dealing with other countries

• Meets and greets foreign dignitaries (State dinners)

• Negotiates treaties (2/3 ratification in Senate)

• “Recognizes” other countries (Diplomatic Recognition)

Executive Agreements

• In order to avoid the difficulty of receiving a 2/3 vote to ratify a treaty, presidents have often used executive agreements

• Executive Agreements carry the weight of treaties but do not require Senate approval (but Congress can refuse to fund them)

Appointment Powers

• The President fills all vacancies in federal judgeships, appoints the heads of the executive departments (The Cabinet), and appoints the heads of federal agencies including the Federal Reserve (all with Senate “advice and consent”)

• The President can also grant pardons (Ford of Nixon)

Legislative Powers

• The modern president initiates legislation (legislative initiative)

• The State of the Union address outlines the President’s legislative agenda

• The most influential presidents are successful in getting Congress to pass legislation they desire

Legislative Powers

• The President also submits an annual budget to Congress• The Veto–See Website Page 3 link

Executive Orders

• Congress gives the President the power to issue Executive Orders

• Carry the weight of law• Expire at the end of their presidency• Have been used for a variety of reasons

historically

Executive Orders

• Famous Executive Orders– Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was an

Executive Order– FDR issued Executive Order 9066 which led to the

establishment of Japanese internment camps during WWII

– Truman issued Executive Order 9835 to establish a program of determining if Communist sympathizers were in the federal government (Loyalty program)

– See Website Page 3 links

Executive Powers

• The Chief Executive• The President heads the Executive Branch of

the federal government and is charged with “executing,” or enforcing, the laws passed by Congress

• Nearly 2 million Americans work in the Executive Branch of the federal government (The Federal Bureaucracy)

• 4 million if you include the armed forces

The Institutional Presidency• The modern presidency is multi-

faceted• There is an intricate support system

in place that is designed to assist the president in doing his job• This is known as the Institutional

Presidency

The White House

The White House

• Take White House tour

The White House Staff

• The closest personal advisors to the president• They do NOT need to be approved by the

Senate• Chief of Staff• Press Secretary• Senior Advisors• Counselor to the President• Director of Speech Writing

Chief of Staff

• Denis McDonough• Since

February 2013

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)

• Established by FDR in 1939• Agencies that assist the president

with a wide range of tasks• The Chief of Staff coordinates this

group of agencies as they work with the president

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• The National Security Council (NSC)• The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)• Office of National Drug Control Policy• Includes the VP of the United States

The Vice Presidency

• "Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected vice president of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again"

The Vice Presidency

• John Nance Garner once claimed that the Vice Presidency “is not worth a bucket of warm spit.”

• Why did he feel this way?–Virtually no constitutional power–Break ties in Senate votes–“A heartbeat away from the

presidency”

The Vice Presidency

• Traditionally, the VP was used to “balance the ticket” for the general election

• Usually a geographic balance– JFK needed to win some southern support

in 1960 so he asked the Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson of Texas, to be his running mate

The Vice Presidency

• The Vice Presidency has evolved into a more powerful position in recent history

• Al Gore was an important advisor in the Clinton presidency

• Dick Cheney was perhaps the most powerful VP in U.S. history

• President Obama has given Joe Biden a wide range of responsibilities in the realm of foreign policy

The First Lady

• Modern First Ladies adopt causes to devote themselves to

• Nancy Reagan – War on Drugs

• Hillary Clinton – Health Care

• Laura Bush – Education

• Michelle Obama – Fitness and health

The Cabinet

• The appointed heads of the 15 Executive Departments (with Senate approval)

• The Cabinet is another part of the Institutional Presidency

• George Washington began the practice of using the Cabinet as advisors

The Cabinet

• Modern presidents tend to confide more in the White House Staff than the Cabinet

• The secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury as well as the Attorney General are part of the National Security Council (NSC)

The Executive Departments

• Name the 15 Executive Departments and the years they were established

• Cabinet scavenger hunt

Secretary of State

• John Kerry (D-MA)

Secretary of Defense

• Chuck Hagel (R- NE)

Attorney General

• Eric Holder• First

African American Attorney General

Secretary of the Treasury

• Jack Lew• Former

Director of the OMB

• Obama’s Chief of Staff in 2012 and 2013

Secretary of Homeland Security

• Jeh (Jay) Johnson

Executive Department Employees

• Which Executive Departments do you think employ the most people? (top 4)–Justice (114K)–Homeland Security (216K)–Veterans Affairs (235K)–Defense (3 Million)

Executive Department Budgets

• Which Executive Departments have the largest budgets? (Top 4)–Veterans Affairs ($90B)–Agriculture ($95B)–Defense ($527B)–Health and Human Services ($700B)

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947

• Established an order of succession if the President and VP died unexpectedly– 1. Speaker of the House– 2. Senate president pro tempore– 3. Secretary of State– 4. Secretary of the Treasury– 5. Secretary of Defense– 6. Attorney General– ***The rest of the Cabinet in the order their

department was created

The Imperial Presidency

• Read Schlesinger handout• Discuss NYT article on Obama as an Imperial

President

“Lame Duck”

• From November 8, 2016 to January 20, 2017 President Obama will be a lame duck. What does this mean?

• He will still be in office but will not have the real authority and power that he used to

• This term applies to other people in a similar situation

The Independent Executive Agencies

• They are independent of the Executive Departments and they are independent of most presidential control (although he does nominate the agency heads).

• Established by Congress and their actions carry the weight of law

• Nature of the Independent Agencies– Regulatory– Provide special services

Regulatory Agencies

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)– Protect investors and watches over stock market

activity• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)– Issues environmental regulations

• Federal Election Commission (FEC)– Campaign finance laws

Regulatory Agencies

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)– TV, Radio

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)– Nuclear power plants

• Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

Special Services

• Social Security Administration• U.S. Postal Service• National Endowment for the Arts• Federal Reserve System• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Sabato’s Crystal Ball

2nd Term Curse?

• Website Link – Page 3

A Day Without Bureaucracies is a Day Without Sunshine

• Construct a story of the day in the life of a college student where they are affected by at least 8 bureaucratic agencies.

• USDA, ATF, BEA, CIA, CPSC, Dept. of Education, EPA, FDA, NASA, NEH, Social Security Administration, Weather Service

The Federal Bureaucracy

• What do you think we’d find if we compared the number of people employed by the federal government in 1962 compared to today?

• What about just in the Executive Branch?• The Uniformed Military?• The Legislative and Judicial Branches ?• See Website Page 3

The Federal Bureaucracy

• The same is true of federal spending• In nominal numbers, spending has

dramatically increased• But as a percentage of our economy and

in relation to the growth of our society, the changes are much less dramatic

The Federal Bureaucracy

• The bureaucracy consists of the large number of offices and agencies that carry out the tasks of government

• Bureaucracies are hierarchical organizations with a chain of command and a established set of rules and policies (Standard Operating Procedures – SOPs)

The Federal Bureaucracy

• Bureaucrats – the non-elected workers in a bureaucracy (aka Civil Servants)

• Bureaucrat has a negative connotation• Perceived to be a rule follower, mechanical,

unimaginative, not caring about personal situations…

• Someone who shuffles papers, keeps files, is lazy, and not very intelligent

• Read – Who are Bureaucrats (Website Page 3)

The Federal Bureaucracy• Bureaucracies and Bureaucrats carry out the

laws that Congress establishes • Congress lacks the expertise of these

bureaucrats and doesn’t have the time to devote to each of these areas

• The bureaucracies establish rules and procedures to do this that carry the weight of law and are published in the Federal Register

• They also play a role similar to the courts in that they adjudicate cases involving the violations of these rules

How Do Bureaucrats Get Their Jobs?

• Prior to the 1880s it was a system of patronage…aka the spoils system(who you knew and who you supported politically)

• Today, it is mostly through a merit system established by the 1883 Civil Service Reform Act (aka the Pendleton Act)

• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does most of the hiring

The Plum Book

• Lists the top bureaucratic positions available through presidential appointment– Agency heads and other top officials

Red Tape

• The forms and procedures necessary to receive bureaucratic approval

Congressional Oversight

• Congress creates the bureaucratic agencies, gives them some independence, and watches over them

• No agency can spend money unless authorized and appropriated by Congress

• Congress rarely gives any one job to a single agency

Congressional Oversight

• For example: The Drug War falls under the jurisdiction of – The Customs Service– The Border Patrol– The FBI– The Drug Enforcement Agency– The Defense Department

Congressional Oversight

• This spreads power but it also can inhibit the government’s response

• Congress also conducts hearings to watch over the bureaucracy (Remember the hearings into the IRS scandal)

• Finally, Congress can rewrite legislation and provide detailed orders to particular federal agencies

The President and the Bureaucracy

• The agencies are ultimately responsible to the President

• He appoints the senior bureaucrats including the agency heads

• Sometimes the career bureaucrats conflict with the new agency heads

The President and the Bureaucracy

• The President can issue executive orders that must be followed

• The President can recommend, through the OMB, to increase or reduce an agency’s budget

• The President can play a role in reorganizing or combining agencies (Homeland Security)

• Q&A on Page 3

Iron Triangles (Subgovernments)

• The alliance that exists between Congressional committees and subcommittees, Interest Groups, and Bureaucratic agencies• This is an alliance of cooperation

and mutual benefits

Iron Triangles

• Boeing-DOD-Armed Services Committee• American Federation of Teachers-

Department of Education-Subcommittee on Secondary Education

• AARP-Social Security Administration-Subcommittee on Aging

• Identify 3 others

Issue Networks

• In essence, these iron triangles are a complex issue network• This includes the citizens,

academics, mass media, bureaucratic agencies, and politicians that regularly discuss and debate certain issues