Article II

                       The Executive Branch

      Qualifications

      -Must be at least 35 years old 

           -Natural born citizen

 

 -Lived in the United States at least 14 years

 

 -Term of office - 4 years

 

 

 

 

      Compensation-                                     

40     400,000 annual salary

50      50,000 expense account

 

 

*   The total benefit package of the President would exceed the net amount of 15 million dollars.

 

     *Constitutional Amendments concerning           the Presidency

12th Amendment - Established the President and the Vice- President as a single ballot. 

 

In the Presidential election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same amount of electoral votes, even though they represented the same party and it was acknowledged that Jefferson was the Presidential candidate and Burr the Vice- Presidential candidate.

 

*House of Representatives decides if  a majority of electoral votes is not

clearly achieved.

 

 

20th Amendment- The Lame-duck Amendment moving the Presidents term from beginning on March 4, to Jan 20.

 

22nd Amendment- 2 term, 10 year maximum in office. (1951)

 

25th Amendment- Presidential                                              Succession

 

President

Vice-President

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Secretary of State

 

 

If the office of the Vice-President is vacant, the President shall appoint and Congress shall approve

 

                               ***

 

The Vice-President

(1) to preside over the Senate

(2) to succeed if necessary

 

He sits on the Security Council and continuously supports the President.  He keeps himself ready, just in case

 

VP is not always a factor and sometimes at odds with the President

 

EG. Andrew Jackson and John Calhoun

 

 Franklin D. Roosevelt and

 Harry S Truman

 

 John F. Kennedy and

 Lyndon B. Johnson

 

****Carter/Mondale

Mondale method

 

Clinton/Gore

 

Bush /Cheney

 

 

 

 

The Electoral College - The means of choosing the American President

 

The Framers felt that the common man wasn't qualified enough to elect a president.  They feared special interest and partisanship.

 

a)  protection against the tyranny of the majority

b)  keep standards voting high

 

c)  not totally in the hands of the states

 

 

 

however, the voice of the states

 

We are a Republic,

In a system of Federalism

Presidential electors, who cast their votes in a Federal Election,

 are chosen by State Legislatures

 

 

 

Major defects of the

Electoral College process

 

1)       Winner take all theory, even if the vote is close in a specific state

 

2) Not casting proper vote

 

 

 

 

3)       In a 3 party race, a candidate with a small percentage of the popular vote could be elected if he has support in the

House of Representatives

 

 

 

Amendments proposed

 

Electoral votes be cast by existing Congressional District.

 

Awarding the proper percentage to each candidate

 

(They would still have to cast their ballots on election day)

 

reinforces 1 man, 1 vote

 

 

Problem: Amending process

Has to pass through state legislatures ¾= 37 states

 

 

Maine and Nebraska exceptions

 

Each district has an elector and the state has 2 others over-all

 

 

**

 

Duties and Responsibilities

 

*   To enforce the Law;

 

*   To make Treaties;

 

*   To make foreign policy;

 

*   Commander-in-Chief;

 

*   To approve of,

or veto acts of Congress;

 

*   To send or receive diplomats;

 

*   To grant pardons or amnesty.

 

 

 

Question - How do we define the scope of his power?  

 

                       Answer -  We don't!

 

                              Reason

 

*   Strong presidents use their executive power to shape their office

 

 

 

 

 

George Washington - Leadership; Cabinet; Farewell Address

 

*Inherent power*

(By virtue of his office)

 

Derived or inferred from specific powers in the Constitution

“neutrality”

 

Thomas Jefferson - Promoting equality; Louisiana Purchase

 

Andrew Jackson

- Jacksonian Democracy

Common Man; Initiating Legislation

 

 

Abraham Lincoln

- Strong Leadership;

exercising executive power when regulating public opinion, and as commander-in-chief

Ex Parte Milligan (1866)

 

Theodore Roosevelt - thought the office of the American President  could do anything not specifically restricted by the Constitution. (Stewardship)

 

Franklin Roosevelt - The only 4 term President, used his office while attempting to solve the problems of the American economy

 

Lyndon B. Johnson - A most skilled politician using his influence to pass his programs and strengthen his powers (Gulf of Tonkin)

 

Richard M. Nixon - The Imperial President.  Attempted to control inflation through a price freeze.  A powerful foreign affairs President

 

 

Ronald R. Reagan - Strong and unwavering in foreign affairs.  Less government control; deregulation

 

Executive Office of the President  (EOP)

OMB (Budget)

CIA (Intelligence)

CEA (Economics)

OPM (Personnel)

US Trade Representative

 

The White House Office

400 people who work for the President.  Lawyers, doctors, Press Secretary. 

 

*Also a special staff for the First Lady)

 

 

located in the White House and the adjacent executive offices

 

·                    All Headed by

the Chief of Staff

 

                  Pyramid Structure

                   President

               Chief of Staff

 

Office #1        #2        #3        #4

 

Circular Structure

(reporting directly to the President) 

                Carter

 

 

Ad hoc Structure

 

Special Groups and specific advisers report to the President

 

                               **

 

 

National Security Council

President,

Chief of Staff

Vice-President,

Secretary of State,

Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA,

Chair of the Joint Chiefs.

 

 

 

Office of Policy and Development

Domestic Affairs- headed by the Assistant to the President for Development

 

 

Office of Management and Budget

Each Federal agency must present their Budget for the coming year.  Each Dept Head  must defend his plan at hearings.  Final draft is revised , added or slashed and fitted into the

 

President's over all plan.

 

 

Plan         Revision              Approval

OMB          President             Congress

 

 

The OMB gives the President:

a) close control over budget

b) an agency that will monitor congressional spending

c) information that will help check Congress.  President can veto any inconsistent spending.

 

Congress Budget Office counters

 

 

Council of Economic Advisers

Group that advises the President on the Economy by watching for trends and Indicators

 

Council on Environmental Quality

Environmental Policies

 

Office of US Trade Representative

Represents President in Foreign Trade negotiations

 

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Science and technological advances

 

Office of Drug Control Policy

 

Office of Administration

Clerical work for all agencies

 

 

                               ***

 

The President's Cabinet

An informal advisory body aiding the President.

 

*(Courtesy

Mr. George Washington)*

 

The President picks each head with confirmation of the Senate.

 

EG. Washington chose

 

Thomas Jefferson

- Sec. of State

 

Alexander Hamilton

- Sec. of Treasury

 

Henry Knox           

- Sec. of War

 

Edmund Randolph

- Attorney General

 

 

Benjamin Franklin

-PostMaster General

 

*Naturally, each person has a special expertise in the area of his Dept.

 

 

Appointees are loyal, but not always from the same Political Party

 

 

They serve as:

a) Heads of their departments

b) Advisers to the President

 

Almost always approved of by Congress, hence the President's pick capable people

 

 

Some Presidents rely heavily on their Cabinet members - Ronald Reagan

 

Others did not

-Andrew Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet

-JFK and his brother Bobby

 

 

Secretary of State       

Treasury-                  

Defense-             

Attorney General-  

Interior-                

Agriculture-    

Commerce-                  

Labor-                   

H&H Services-        

HUD-                        

    Transportation- 

Energy-                

Education-             

Veteran Affairs-     

    Homeland Security

 

                               ***

 

The Powers of the President

 

The Framers of the Constitution had to decide which direction the Executive Office should take.

 

 

1) An institution to carry out the will of Congress.

         (Congressionalist view)

 

2) A separate single Executive independent of Congress with its own field of Powers.

         (Presidentialist view)

*  The vast power of the Executive Branch is concentrated in one man.

 

*  He is one person, easy to identify with and can be called a leader.

 

 

 

How does the President increase his power? 

1.       Congress has passed laws to strengthen the presidency

 

* FDR received extra power to help lead us out of the Great Depression

 

2.       A President's influence and charisma may enable him to expand his executive power.

 

 

Stewardship Theory

* T.R. "President is a steward- do everything within the power of the Constitution and expand beyond if necessary"

 

Taftian Theory

TR’s successor                  

The president is limited by specific grants of power found in the Constitution

 

***

 

Chief Executive - the President is the head of the Department, described by the Constitution in Article 2

 

The President has to enforce and carry out law because

1) his oath of office

2) the constitution commands so

 

Congress may pass a law in broad terms.  The responsibility of interpretation falls upon the President.

 

Eg. Literacy Tests

Congress passes the laws;

President sets the requirements

 

Chief Administrator - he presides over the huge executive department. 

 

3 million people are subordinate to the President                   

 

-He has the power to issue executive orders which have the effect of law.

Eg.  -A wage and price freeze.

-deregulation

He has the Power of Appointment (with the advise and consent of the Senate)

 

He has the Power of Removal - he can remove any appointed official except Federal Judges.

 

Test cases

Tenure of Office Act-

Andrew Johnson's Impeachment

 

Meyers v US (1926) - Wilson's removal of Frank Meyers viewed Constitutional

 

 

Humphrey's Executor v US (1935)- FDR removed his FTC because of political reasons.  He died.  His heirs sued for back salary and were successful.  The SC cited the FTC as

 

"quasi legislative,

quasi judicial" in character.

 

 

Chief Diplomat - The Power to make Treaties.  He is responsible for foreign policy.  He sends and receives ambassadors for the American People.

 

Formal Agreements- require 2/3 Senatorial Approval.  (joint resolutions can  override the defeat)

 

Executive Agreement- Informal Agreement can be made without Congressional approval.  Eg

-Jimmy Carter's Camp David Accords

 

-Ronald Reagan at Reykjavik

 

Power of Recognition

An inherent power of the president

 

-a very important tool.  Truman recognized Israel minutes after their Declaration of Independence.

 

Recall of an Ambassador is a sharp negative statement, usually leading to war.       Persona-non-grata.

 

 

 

Chief of Party- He is the leader of his Political Party. 

 

He will carry out his party's platform (might be a coalition candidate)

 

Chief of State- ceremonial head of the American Government

 

Chief Citizen

 

Commander-in-Chief- The President is the civilian head of the military

Eg.      *Truman's decision to drop the    Atomic Bomb in 1945

 

*Truman fired the American Caesar in 1953 (MacArthur)

 

*LBJ upgraded US Forces in South Vietnam in 1965

 

*Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia

 

*Reagan and Beirut in 1982

 

 

 

*Bush  - Persian Gulf 1990

Somalia -1991

 

*Clinton in Bosnia 1995

 

         *Clinton and Iraq

 

         *Bush and Afghanistan

                               Iraq

 

 

 

No. Vietnamese fired

upon US Gunboat

 

***The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

in 1964 gave the President complete authority and approval of Congress to send troops anywhere in the world to protect American interests.