Extra credit: this image illustrates what vocab term... That could be used to discuss incumbency advantages A members facsimile signature, which is used.

Extra credit: this image illustrates what vocab term . . . That could be used to discuss incumbency advantages

A member’s facsimile signature, which is used on envelopes in lieu of stamps, for the member’s official outgoing mail. The “franking privilege” is the right to send mail postage-free

POTUS

_________ of ___________: titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government. __________ of _______________ top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government.

, in the UK, the __________ is the head of state, and the _________ ________is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government. Cabinet includes the official name for this body

of high-ranking advisers and the method for selection of members

Head of State AND Head of Government

Try a google image search on head of state vs head of government

http://cominganarchy.com/2008/12/28/female-heads-of-state-and-indirect-democracy/

Female Heads of State and Indirect Democracy

Modern Flourishes at Obamas’ State Dinner

WASHINGTON —Nov 24 2009 It is an old tradition, a White House dinner governed by ritual and protocol that happens to be this city’s hottest social event. But at their first state dinner on Tuesday night, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, made sure to infuse the glittering gala with distinctive touches.

President Obama and his wife, Michelle, hosted their first state dinner for their guests of honor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, on Tuesday night. The Obamas greeted their guests at the White House.

Gursharan Kaur, the first lady of India, Michelle Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, and President Obama arrived for the state Dinner

Mrs. Obama made a splash by showcasing deep, rich colors -- apple green for the tablecloths and varying shades of plum, purple and fuchsia in the hydrangea, roses and sweet peas in the centerpieces. A member of the staff prepared an example of a table setting.

Last but not least, the dinner plates were an eclectic mix of Clinton and Bush China. For Mr. Obama, it was a rare break from the bruising business of governance, allowing him to showcase his role as a world leader and gracious host

They hired a new florist, Laura Dowling, who bedecked the tented outdoor dining room with locally grown, sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy. Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit was the guest chef.

The meatless menu included a mix of Indian and American favorites, including some African-American standards. Collard greens and curried prawns, chickpeas and okra, nan and cornbread were served to the 320 guests. A member of the kitchen staff left the kitchen with a representative dish from the dinner.

Presidents vs Prime Ministers • Both Democratic• Parliamentary 2X as common• Fused vs Separated powers• Guaranteed majority• Insider vs outsider• Cohesive vs independent members• Fixed vs variable terms • Ability to dissolve leg• Question hour for PM and other members

of government• Cabinets members are MPs and have

“collective responsibility”• Removal of chief exec impeach vs Vote of

ConfRole of individual legislators in legislating• different emphasis of systems:

Parliamentary model emphasizes efficient policy delivery and the ability of a gov't to deliver on its promises—versus Congressional model: deliberations and checks on power

It purposefully creates conflict by separating powers, checks and balances. It gives different constituencies and staggers terms of elections so that it is hard to gain excessive power for any given length ofIt gives sketchy powers to president—compare article II to article I

“I sit here all day, trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have the sense enough to do without my persuading them ……… That’s all the powers of the President amount to”

President Harry S Truman

We have a system that tries to make it hard for a President to get things done

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6X28byZZbI

In a lot of ways PM is stronger-- but ultimately he depends on (is accountable to the ) legislature in a way that President does not

Another reason the Pres can not be a dictator: Rule of Law

“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 _________________of the United States.”

See: am is not a democracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04n6qrBwFBE

State of the Union Address, Jan 31, 2006

CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT: “Formal Powers”“Expressed Powers”

NOT MANY

President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin

delegated versus expressed powers: 

Delegated powers are those powers generally granted to the president (orCongress) by the people through the Constitution.  Delegated includes bothexpressed (formal) and implied powers. 

Expressed powers are those powers specifically stated in the Constitution.  The President has the expressed power to appoint ambassadors and make treaties (with the consent of the Senate), thus also delegating him the implied power to formulate and take the lead on foreign policy.  The Constitution does not specifically state the president can commit troops to hostile actions overseas; however, it has been implied under his duty expressly stated as commander in chief. 

Formal and Informal powers of the President

Domestic Policy and Foreign Policy

Veto Power: Article I, Section VIIEvery Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law

Formal or informal?

President Obama signed his first bill into law on Thursday, approving the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law named for Ms. Ledbetter, fourth from left, an Alabama woman who at the end of a 19-year career as a supervisor in a tire factory

complained that she had been paid less than men.

Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes

See:

What did the Supreme Court say and why? What are you going to do about it?

Government by Veto mere threat can often influence changes because it takes 2/3 vote of EACH house to override--only 4% ever overridden . . But it is a  blunt and reactive (not proactive) tool

The power to appoint: 2 types

First . . the president has the power to appoint whom?

Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law

Subject of course to the _______ and ________ of the __________

Formal or informal?

The New 5-to-4 Supreme Court

4/22/2007 AFTER the 5-to-4 decision last week in which the Supreme Court reversed course on abortion, upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, many court watchers were wondering what to expect next. For guidance, law professors and Supreme Court specialists looked to lists of 5-to-4 cases in which Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired last year, had been the swing vote. One list, compiled by Martin S. Lederman at Georgetown University, had 31 entries, with cases on religion and race, elections and crime, medicine and free speech. Last week’s abortion decision, Gonzales v. Carhart, demonstrated the court’s new math. With the justice who took the O’Connor seat, Samuel A. Alito, in the majority, and the new swing justice, Anthony M. Kennedy, writing the decision, the court upheld, by a single vote, the abortion act. Just seven years ago, Justice O’Connor voted with the court’s liberals to strike down a similar Nebraska law banning the procedure, known medically as intact dilation and extraction. It involves removing an intact fetus rather than dismembering the fetus in the uterus. The decision recast the court’s approach to abortion, shifting its emphasis toward fetal life and away from deference to medical judgments about women’s health.The decision last week brought into focus the greatest hopes of conservatives and the worst fears of liberals.

RECESS APPOINTMENTS:

Article ______, section2, clause 2 says: The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

See article about pending su ct case http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0624/Were-Obama-recess-appointments-constitutional-Supreme-Court-takes-case

Why would a president facing a Senate of his same party ever resort to a recess appt?

Rand Paul Leads Filibuster of Brennan Nomination

Senator Rand Paul held the floor of the Senate in a bid to prevent a vote on the nomination of John O. Brennan to be Central Intelligence Agency Director on Wednesday.

Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, began an old-school, speak-until-you-can-speak-no-more filibuster on Wednesday just before noon, and was still going strong hours later.Mr. Paul, who opposes the nomination of John O. Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, had previously said he would filibuster President Obama’s nominee after receiving a letter this month from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that refused to rule out the use of drone strikes within the United States in “extraordinary circumstances” like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.On Wednesday, Mr. Paul did exactly as promised, taking to the Senate floor to filibuster Mr. Brennan’s nomination.“I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination for the C.I.A.,” Mr. Paul began. “I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court.”

Filibusetr explained you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQIG-kfT9bI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IFxkt9rctg

Rand Paul ends filibuster

Can you go to the bathroom? http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-filibuster-to-defund-obamacare-bathroom-breaks-2013-9

Article _______, Section 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

The power to _______________the laws

"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."

October 18, 2009

New Medical Marijuana Policy Issued By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:59 p.m. ET Oct 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Obama pardons turkey Nov 2009

Formal power

THE FORMAL POWERS OF THE US PRESIDENT: Article ____ (mostly)

The _______ power of the federal government is vested in the president.

With the ________ and ___________ of the Senate, the president has the power to appoint a__________, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the ________ Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law

The president may recommend to _____________such legislative measures as he believes are necessary and he may (subject to 2/3rds of both Houses of Congress overriding his decision) veto bills emerging from Congress. (Article I)

The president has the power to make __________with other nations with the advice and consent of 2/3rds of the Senate.

The president is ___________ in ________of the armed forces.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the ________of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

The president can grant reprieves and _______(except in the case of impeachment).

He is bound by the laws of the land and he can be removed from office for treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanours

Informal sources of presidential power

Garnering public support:• “govern by campaigning”• Advantage of unity of office/bully pulpit/symbolism of head of state• Honeymoon period• “Mandate” from an election (Bush’s “political capital”)• Crisis • Good economy• More power in Foreign affairs

President Bush with Tillman Shiplett, 8 months, at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. President Bush greeted supporters at a rally in Grand Island, Neb.

NYT Nov 6, 2006

Garnering Public Support

President Obama held a prime-time news conference on health care reform

Informal power

Crisis

The US Constitution gives much of the foreign policy decision-making to the presidency, but the Senate has a role in ratifying treaties, and the Supreme Court interprets treaties when cases are presented to it.

. an official (esp. the president) in the final period of office, after the election of a successor. . . . The term is often used to describe sitting presidents who have served two terms, and have entered their last year

Presidential Coattails and Midterm Loss

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_midterm_election

So . . . When it comes to making law . . . . The president can’t

“The Constitution also authorizes the president to “recommend to [Congress's] Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Unlike the veto, which is a limited and somewhat negative instrument for stopping legislation, the duty to recommend legislation has over time become the primary mechanism by which chief executives influence the nation's political agenda. Given the presidency's relatively weak array of formal devices for mandating government policy, no other facet of the office today is as critical to presidential success or failure. The ability to shape the agenda of government—to decide what is or is not a priority—is in essence the power to influence what government will or will not do”

Sources of power implicit in the job of Chief Executive (so they are

________ powers)

• Executive orders• Executive privilege• Executive agreements• Signing statements?

More areas of expanded exec authority

Executive Privilege

Defined: The claim that confidential communications between a president and his close advisors should not be revealed without the consent of the president.

Not in constitution-based on

principles of Separation of powers and idea that effective statesmanship makes it necessary.

Sup. Court upheld idea—but limited in U.S v. Nixon –pres. are entitled to exec. Priv. Most of the time (and especially for national security), but not in criminal cases.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/when-presidents-invoke-executive-privilege/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvRpN5Y23UE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZibkmwVgFUY

A.      More areas of expanded exec authorityImpoundment

The president's refusal to spend what Congress has appropriated

In past, Nixon especially did for policy objectives in civil rights area.

Congress tried to prevent with: the Congressional Budget Control and Impoundment Act

More areas of expanded exec authoritySigning Statements

RAY SUAREZ: The president's veto of a stem-cell research bill last week was the first of his presidency. But more often than other presidents, George W. Bush has claimed the constitutional authority to ignore, reject, or interpret bills after signing them into law. He's done so by issuing "signing statements" with many of the bills he's signed. Last December, when President Bush signed a bill outlawing the torture of military-held detainees, the attached signing statement left open his prerogative to ignore that restriction.The president wrote, "The executive branch shall construe the act in a matter consistent with the constitutional authority of the president as commander in chief, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the president of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks.“ PBS July 24,2006

October 15, 2008

Bush Declares Exceptions to Sections of Two Bills He Signed Into Law WASHINGTON — President Bush asserted on Tuesday that he had the executive power to bypass several parts of two bills: a military authorization act and a measure giving inspectors general greater independence from White House control.Mr. Bush signed the two measures into law. But he then issued a so-called signing statement in which he instructed the executive branch to view parts of each as unconstitutional constraints on presidential power .In the authorization bill, Mr. Bush challenged four sections. One forbid the money from being used “to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq”; another required negotiations for an agreement by which Iraq would share some of the costs of the American military operations there.The sections “purport to impose requirements that could inhibit the president’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations,” including as commander in chief, Mr. Bush wrote.In the other bill, he raised concerns about two sections that strengthen legal protections against political interference with the internal watchdog officials at each executive agency. One section gives the inspectors general a right to counsels who report directly to them. But Mr. Bush wrote in his signing statement that such lawyers would be bound to follow the legal interpretations of the politically appointed counsels at each agency.The other section requires the White House to tell Congress what each inspector general said about the administration’s budget proposal for their offices. Such a requirement, Mr. Bush wrote, would infringe on “the president’s constitutional authority” to decide what to recommend to Congress. Mr. Bush will not submit another budget request before his administration ends in January, so his objections are unlikely to face a test on his watch. Still, the bill’s sponsor, Representative Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, said he hoped that the next president would overturn Mr. Bush’s signing statements.“These things create uncertainty in the law that should not be there,” Mr. Cooper said. The White House has defended Mr. Bush’s use of signing statements as lawful and appropriate. But in 2006, the American Bar Association called the device “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers.”Mr. Bush has used the signing statements to assert a right to bypass more than 1,100 sections of laws. By comparison, all previous presidents combined challenged about 600 sections of bills.

After approving the bill President Bush issued a signing statement: an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law. In it Bush said:"The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks."

Bush signing statement on prohibition of torture

March 10, 2009

Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws By CHARLIE SAVAGE

WASHINGTON — Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama ordered executive officials on Monday to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. before relying on any of them to bypass a statute.But Mr. Obama also signaled that he intended to use signing statements himself if Congress sent him legislation with provisions he decided were unconstitutional. He promised to take a modest approach when using the statements, legal documents issued by a president the day he signs bills into law that instruct executive officials how to put the statutes into effect. But Mr. Obama said there was a role for the practice if used appropriately. “In exercising my responsibility to determine whether a provision of an enrolled bill is unconstitutional, I will act with caution and restraint, based only on interpretations of the Constitution that are well-founded,” Mr. Obama wrote in a memorandum to the heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch.Mr. Bush’s use of signing statements led to fierce controversy. He frequently used them to declare that provisions in the bills he was signing were unconstitutional constraints on executive power, and that the laws did not need to be enforced or obeyed as written. The laws he challenged included a ban on torture and requirements that Congress be given detailed reports about how the Justice Department was using the counterterrorism powers in the USA Patriot Act.

Since the 19th century, presidents have occasionally signed a bill while declaring that one or more provisions were unconstitutional. The practice became more frequent with the Reagan administration, but it initially drew little attention.

That changed under Mr. Bush, who broke all records, using signing statements to challenge about 1,200 sections of bills over his eight years in office, about twice the number challenged by all previous presidents combined, according to data compiled by Christopher Kelley, a political science professor at Miami University in Ohio.

Many of Mr. Bush’s challenges were based on an expansive view of the president’s power, as commander in chief, to take actions he believes necessary, regardless of what Congress says in legislation. The American Bar Association declared that such signing statements were “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers,” and called on Mr. Bush and future presidents to stop using them and to return to a system of either signing a bill and then enforcing all of it, or vetoing the bill and giving Congress a chance to override that veto.

The Bush administration defended its use of signing statements as lawful and appropriate. And other legal scholars, while critical of Mr. Bush’s use of the device, said the bar association’s view was too extreme, because Congress sometimes passed important legislation that had minor constitutional flaws. They said it would be impractical to expect a president to veto the entire bill in such instances.

March 12, 2009Obama Says He Can Ignore Some Parts of Spending Bill One of the budget bill’s provisions that Mr. Obama said he could circumvent concerns United

Nations peacekeeping missions. It says money may not be spent on any such mission if it entails putting United States troops under a foreign commander, unless Mr. Obama’s military advisers so recommend.“This provision,” Mr. Obama wrote, “raises constitutional concerns by constraining my choice of particular persons to perform specific command functions in military missions, by conditioning the exercise of my authority as commander in chief on the recommendations of subordinates within the military chain of command, and by constraining my diplomatic negotiating authority.”He also raised concerns about a section that establishes whistle-blower protections for federal employees who give information to Congress. “I do not interpret this provision,” he wrote, “to detract from my authority to direct the heads of executive departments to supervise, control and correct employees’ communications with the Congress in cases where such communications would be unlawful or would reveal information that is properly privileged or otherwise confidential.”In addition, the president singled out four areas of the bill that direct negotiations with other countries on certain matters, and three that issue directions about what agencies should include in budget requests.But a majority of the challenged provisions are those allowing money to be reallocated to a different program only with the approval of a Congressional committee. Mr. Obama called the provisions “impermissible forms of legislative aggrandizement” and declared that while executive-branch officials would notify lawmakers of any reallocation, “spending decisions shall not be treated as dependent on the approval of Congressional committees.”

Government by ________ ___________  An order from the President, as Chief Executive, to a federal agency or agencies to authorize or prohibit a specified action. An executive order may be a simple, routine exercise of authority, or it may be a far-reaching policy that challenges congressional control of policy.

Criticized as “presidential lawmaking”

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/ad-lib/2012/jun/22/DREAM-Act-questions-answers-Obama-immigration-undo/

More areas of expanded exec authority

On July 25, 2003, in celebration of the 13th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 12994, continuing the work of the Committee, but renaming it the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID). (From the President's Committee on Mental Retardation”

.

2002: Executive order to ensure faith based charity groups get funding: First, in a few minutes -- you'll be happy to hear -- (laughter) -- I am going to sign an executive order directing all federal agencies to follow the principle of equal treatment in rewarding social service grants

Can be straight forward . . . Or controversial

Presidential Law making?

Obama Issues Directives on Detainees, Interrogation, Guantanamo

President Obama on Thursday issued at least three executive orders and one presidential directive relating to national security and one abortion policy order, all reversals of Bush administration policy.

President Obama caps his pen after he signed an executive order closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, in the Oval Office of the White House.

. . . the administration in the afternoon issued a reversal of a ban on federal funding for non-governmental organizations working outside the U.S. that offer abortions or abortion counseling. Obama signed the executive order on the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/22/obama-issues-directives-detainees-interrogation-guantanamo/

Legislative powers (recommend, veto, pocket veto, signing legislation).

State of the Union address

Appointment power (to a domestic office).

Calling Congress into session.

•Execute the law (“faithfully execute the law” clause).

• Commander-in-chief role (must connect it to domestic policy in order to earn the point).

Formal Powers of the President:

Domestic Policy

2004 question

Without saying so directly, the Constitution created the Cabinet with those words. Note, however, that the Constitution does not go into what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties should be.

[The President] may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices.

Since cabinet members are usually department heads, they are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Other than confirmation, there are no legal or constitutional requirements for the job. They serve at the whim of the President. They may, however, be impeached as any federal officer may be. Unlike in many other countries, members of the cabinet are not members of the legislature. In fact, the Constitution prohibits any member of the Congress from being an officer of the government.Typically, the cabinet meets on a regular basis, such as weekly. However, because the cabinet is not a legal institution, meetings can be at any interval. In fact, the cabinet may not necessarily ever meet at all. In fact, there need not even be a cabinet. Some have questioned the need for a cabinet, and some modern presidents made little use of them. Since the subject matter apropos to any department varies so widely with that of the others, discussions can break down into turf wars. Former cabinet member Zbigniew Brzezinski told of using the time to catch up on newspapers and magazines.So what role does the cabinet play? It is a place of support for the President and his policies, and the press play the cabinet up as a big source for consensus and discussion in any government. Probably closer to the truth is that the President meets with those cabinet officers whose departments have authority over the crisis of the day, and the whole cabinet is just a useful way to refer to all the people that make it up.—there is no notion of _____________ responsibility as seen in the British system.

President Obama’s Cabinet

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

To see them, go to: hhttp://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/11/politics/obama-cabinet/

ttp://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html

Order of Presidential Succession

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947, signed by President Harry Truman, changed the order again to what it is today. The cabinet members are ordered in the line of succession according to the date their offices were established.

Prior to the ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967, there was no provision for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency. When a president died in office, the vice president succeeded him, and the vice presidency then remained vacant. The first vice president to take office under the new procedure was Gerald Ford, who was nominated by Nixon on Oct. 12, 1973, and confirmed by Congress the following Dec. 6.

NOTE: An official cannot succeed to the Presidency unless that person meets the Constitutional requirements.1. The president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. The president pro tempore is elected by the Senate, but by tradition the position is held by the senior member of the majority party.2. Pending confirmation.

SEE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession

“Shrouded in anonymity, protected by executive privilege, but with no legal or constitutional authority of their own, the 5,900 people in 125 offices collectively known as the White House Staff assist the chief executive by shaping, focusing and amplifying presidential policy.

Whom does the President really rely on to get things done? ?

Winning four consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, creator Aaron Sorkin's powerful political epic chronicles the triumphs and travails of White House senior staff under the administration of President Josiah Bartlet.

President Bush's chief of staff Andrew Card, left, senior advisor Karl Rove, center, and press secretary Scott McClellan, right, leave

the White House on Tuesday, April 20, 2004. AP Photo/Ron Edmonds

Why prefer WH Staff?• They don't have to be confirmed by senate• Officials are less subject to testifying before Congress since they have a greater degree of

executive privilege protection• Presidents seek people to be loyal (compare to cabinet where picked for other reasons)--

so less divided loyalties

The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking employee of the White House Office inside the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The position began as the Assistant to the President in 1946 and acquired its current name in 1961.The current White House Chief of Staff is Denis McDonough, who assumed the position on January 25, 2013, after Jack Lew resigned in order to accept appointment as Secretary of the Treasury.

Leo McGarry

September 11, 2001. Chief of Staff Andrew Card whispers the news to President Bush in Sarasota, Florida.

Age and Citizenship requirements - US Constitution, Article II, Section 1No person except a ________ _______citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of _______-______years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

Term limit amendment - US Constitution, Amendment_________, Section 1 – ratified February 27, 1951 No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than _____and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

Saturday, October 25, 2008A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Barack Obama's qualifications to be president. U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick on Friday night rejected the suit by attorney Philip J. Berg, who alleged that Obama was not a U.S. citizen and therefore ineligible for the presidency. Berg claimed that Obama is either a citizen of his father's native Kenya or became a citizen of Indonesia after he moved there as a boy.Obama was born in Hawaii to an American mother and a Kenyan father. His parents divorced and his mother married an Indonesian man.Internet-fueled conspiracy theories question whether Obama is a "natural-born citizen" as required by the Constitution for a presidential candidate and whether he lost his citizenship while living abroad.Surrick ruled that Berg lacked standing to bring the case, saying any harm from an allegedly ineligible candidate was "too vague and its effects too attenuated to confer standing on any and all voters."Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Judge tosses lawsuit challenging Obama citizenship

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2008Oct25/0,4675,ObamaCitizenship,00.html

Imperial Congress vs. Imperial Presidency

The framers thought that Congress would . .

“In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconvenience is to divide the legislature… [And] the executive… should be fortified.” James Madison The Federalist, Number 51 

. . . But . . .

SO who “Dominates” in the relation between C and the P

FLIP SIDES President Diocletian and Emperor Bush? No, but Roman parallels are a perennial temptation

Thesis for the imperial presidency: Since 1972, the presidency has become an imperial institution, which threatens the delicate balance of the Constitution. The President was able to rule by decree without limitation by the Congress or Courts." --Arthur Schlesingerr Jr.

Areas of Increased Presidential Powers

In War . . . constitutional conflict: President: commander in chief so –he can order troops about: Haiti, Grenada, etc versus Congress: “power to tax and spend” and it declares war

Examples: Vietnam War (LBJ gets Congress to issue the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) Nixon’s "secret" war in Cambodia, Carter aiding Iran, Regan and Grenada, Clinton’s troops in Haiti       Cold War in general gave President lots of power

And of course. . . .

Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against IraqWhereas blah balh balh wmds blah balh WMDs blah balh balh]Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. (a) AUTHORIZATION. The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-2.html

Areas of Increased Presidential Powers in war cont . . . .USA Patriot Act gives expanded powers to executive branchSecret wiretappingMilitary tribunals (by executive order)

More areas of expanded exec authority

Diplomacy by Executive Agreement rather than treaties

Defined: “deals” between the Pres. and the head of another nation which has the force of a treaty but does not require Senate's "advise and Consent" (2/3)

Example: America's involvement in Vietnam in part because of secret agreements between the US president and South Vietnam in 50s and 60s

There are limits because Congress has the power of the ________and the Case Amendment passed in 1972 requires that the president inform Congress of any executive agreement within 60 days of it being passed

Other ways Congress can assert itself:

Legislation in general can become more specific: this lets them take credit for goodies AND it takes away discretion from Executive Branch

Confirmation of presidential employees: increase number which need confirmation --140 in 1969--310 now and abandon deference

Increasing oversight: Watergate, Iran Contra, Independent Council, torture, hold more hearings; issue more supoenas

Impeachment

Use of legislative veto: Congress grants the president the authority to act, but reserves the right to reject his actions. Sp. Ct. held unconstitutional, (INS v. Chadha) but Congress still passes laws with leg. veto and the president signs them

Power of purse: funding in Iraq

It helps if President’s popularity ratings go down

More likely to be assertive if ________ govt

Overall, vetoes were rare events – only about 2% of all enactments were vetoed. However, among very important enactments during divided party government, the veto rate was as high as 20%. Overall, Congress attempted to over-ride about half of the post-war regular vetoes. (Recall that the Constitution allows the president to “pocket veto” legislation passed in the closing days of a Congress; pocket-vetoes cannot be over-ridden. So-called “regular” vetoes (non-pocket vetoes) can be over-ridden by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress.) Notably, Congress attempted to over-ride about 80% of regular vetoes of consequential legislation during divided party government. The success rate on over-ride attempts was about 45%.

Mr. Gonzales, with his mother, Maria, his son Graham and Mr. Bush, as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor swore him into office

It’s a system o f SHARED powers really

1. Presidents are generally thought to have advantages over Congress in conducting foreign policy because of the formal and informal powers of the presidency.

a. Identify two formal constitutional powers of the President in making foreign policy.

b. Identify two formal constitutional powers of Congress in making foreign policy.

c. Identify two informal powers of the President that contribute to the President’s advantage over congress in conducting foreign policy.

d. Explain how each of the informal powers identified in c. contributes to the President’s advantage over Congress in conducting foreign policy.

Part a: (2 points) 1 for each of the two identifications

Acceptable identifications of explicit, formal constitutional powers of the President may include• Commander in chief, power to commit troops• Appointment of ambassadors and foreign policy officials• Negotiate/ make treaties• Recognition of nations• Receive ambassadors and make other public ministers

Part b: (2 points) 1 point for each of two identifications

Acceptable identifications of explicit, formal constitutional powers of Congress may include• Confirm ambassadors• Power of purse in military/ foreign policy matters• Declare war• Pass laws/ resolutions re: foreign policy issues• Regulate foreign commerce (including free trade agreements)• Ratify treaties

Part c: (2 points) 1 for each of the two identifications

Acceptable identifications of informal powers may include• Executive agreements• Access to media/ bully pulpit/ morale building• Agenda setting• Meet with world leaders• Crisis manager• International coalition building• Recognized as global leader• President has access to more information , knowledge, or expertise than

does congress

Part b: (2 points) 1 point for each of two explanations

Response must show how or why the identified power gives the President advantages over Congress. Acceptable explanations of the President’s advantages over Congress may include: • Persuade congress: negotiate, offer support, threats, etc.• Persuade the public: on foreign policy process/ issues • Ability to circumvent he formal process.

Senator Strom Thurmond, left, swears in Chief Justice Rehnquist to preside during the Clinton impeachment trial in 1999.

NYT 9/4/05

House Votes to Issue Contempt Citations

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, at lectern, led Republicans out of the House in protest

The power as Chief executive to write ______________

EVERY president comes into office complaining about the 11th-hour judicial appointments and midnight regulations left on the White House doorstep by his predecessor. And every president turns around and does the same to his successor.Adams did it to Jefferson. Teddy Roosevelt did it to Taft. Carter did it to Reagan. Bush I did it to Clinton. Clinton really did it to Bush II.

With Congress in Democratic hands and his political capital all but spent by the Iraq war, Mr. Bush has scant hope of pushing significant domestic legislation through Congress. But he still controls the executive branch and can still accomplish much through regulation and executive edict.Mr. Clinton found himself in much the same position in 1999, after surviving an impeachment trial but still facing a hostile Republican Congress. He put his minions to work scouring the federal rule books looking for ways to leave his imprint.  That led to a flurry of last-minute rule making that included declaring nearly 60 million acres of national forests off limits to logging and road building, significantly tightening the standards for arsenic in drinking water, increasing energy efficiency of appliances, reducing tolerance for lead in paint and soil and setting new rules for privacy of medical records.“Starting in early 1999 we had people down in the White House basement with word processors and legal pads making lists of things we wanted to get done before we left,” said John Podesta, the White House chief of staff from late 1998 through the end of Mr. Clinton’s term. “They’ve probably got people down there right now with chain saws and drilling rigs doing the same thing,” he added with a laugh. “I’m sure they’re going to want to have some impact as they walk out the door.”

Democrats Look for Ways to Undo Late Bush Administration Rules January 12, 2009

WASHINGTON — Democrats are hoping to roll back a series of regulations issued late in the Bush administration that weaken environmental protections and other restrictions.

Potential targets include regulations allowing concealed weapons in some national parks and forbidding medical facilities that get federal money from discriminating against doctors and nurses who refuse, on religious grounds, to assist with abortions.

“Congress is going to have to roll up its sleeves and review these midnight regulations,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said in an interview, “because it’s clear that they are part of a desire for the administration, as it heads out the door, to put some ideological trophies on the wall.”

Specific Acts

War Powers Act of 1973 : Requires presidents to consult with Congress whenever possible prior to using military force and to withdraw forces after 60 days unless Congress declares war or grants an extension; At any time Congress could pass concurrent resolution which could not be vetoed ending American involvementBudget Control and Impoundment Act 1974 Which gave Congress more control over the budget by establishing a budget calendar, a budget committee and the CBO. It also said presidents must spend moneyCase Amendment: must submit executive agreements to usEthics in Govt Act of 1978- indep. CouncilWhy all this stuff in the in the 70’s: Watergate, Pentagon Papers, Vietnam, Nixon impounding funds, FECA means less coattails and patronage down, Rise of new groups like civil rights, anti-war, environment, consumer turn to courts and Congress—fall of old groups like organized labor, heavy industry and urban political machines which had been linked to President

• A more recent example: McCain Amendment to 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (2005) prohibits torture

Note two things—first it was a rider—offered by senators . . . And second, it is one of the things Bush used a signing statement for

How Does Congress try to assert itself?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvRpN5Y23UE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZibkmwVgFUY