Executive Branch Notes

 SSCG12 The student will analyze the various roles played by the President of the United States; include Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, chief executive, chief agenda setter,

The Executive Branch

Ch 8 – 10

 SSCG12 The student will analyze the

various roles played by the President of the United States; include Commander-in-Chief

of the Armed Forces, chief executive, chief agenda setter, representative of the nation, chief of state, foreign policy leader, and

party leader.

 SSCG13 The student will describe the qualifications for becoming President

of the United States.

 Explain the written qualifications for

President of the United States

 Describe unwritten qualifications common to past presidents

 SSCG14 The student will explain the impeachment process and its usage for elected officials.

 Explain the impeachment process as defined

in the U.S Constitution

 Describe the impeachment proceedings of

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton

 SSCG15 The student will explain the functions of the departments and

agencies of the federal bureaucracy

 Compare and contrast the organization and responsibilities of independent regulatory agencies, government corporations, and

executive agencies

 Explain the functions of the Cabinet

 SSCG20 The student will describe the tools used to carry out United States

foreign policy (diplomacy; economic,

military, and humanitarian aid; treaties; sanctions; and military intervention).

The President of the United States

Duties of the President

 Constitutional Duties of the President:

- make sure the national laws are fully

President’s Term and Salary

 The 22nd Amendment limits to two terms

Before this, George Washington set a

precedent of two presidential terms FDR was the only president elected to more than 2

terms – he was elected 4 times

 Congress determines the president’s salary

($400,000 beginning in 2001);

 Benefits are provided for presidents while in

office and in retirement

 Camp David Resort

 Medical & Dental Care

 Secret service life

protection- Pension

 Transportation

Presidential Qualifications

 The Constitution sets 3 requirements for the president:

1 a candidate must be a natural-born citizen

2 at least 35 years old

3 a resident of the United States for 14 years

 Experience in government is an unwritten but important qualification

Qualifications and Characteristics

 What do you consider the most important

qualifications/characteristics for the office of

president? Explain

Presidential Succession

 The 25th Amendment established the order of succession to the presidency:

 vice president

 Speaker of the House

 president pro tempore of the Senate

 secretary of state

 other cabinet members

 The 25th Amendment also set forth rules to be followed if a president becomes disabled and spelled out what happens when the vice

presidency is vacant

RICHARD NIXON & 25th

 Nixon elected 1968 & 1972

 1 ST V P Spiro Agnew resigned because of income tax evasion

 Nixon appointed Gerald Ford VP

 Nixon Resigned because of Watergate scandal

 Ford is President

 Ford appoints Nelson Rockefeller VP

Presidential Succession

 Two conditions under which a vice

president becomes acting president:

1. If the President informs Congress of an

inability to perform duties of office.

2. If Vice-President and a majority of the

Cabinet (or another body) authorized by law informs Congress that the President

is disabled.

Presidential Succession

The Vice President

 Joe Biden

 47th Vice President of the United States

 Former Senator for Delaware

 Democrat

The Vice President’s Role

 Two duties:

1. Presides over the Senate and votes in case

of a tie

2. Helps decide if the President is disabled

 Work load depends on the duties

assigned by the President

Electing our President

Electoral Process

Did You Know?

 In the presidential election of 1992, third-party candidate Ross Perot received 19.7 million

popular votes President George Bush received 39.1 million popular votes, and the winning

candidate, Democrat Bill Clinton, received 44.9 million popular votes The results in the

electoral college vote, however, were very

different Ross Perot did not win a single

electoral vote, while Clinton received 370

electoral votes and Bush, 168 electoral votes

So you want to be President….

What is the Process?

 Step One: you have to earn the nomination of your party To get that nomination – you have

to win several Primary elections

 Primary elections are elections held before the general election that determine the candidates

for each party

 Democrats run against each other to decide who

is the best candidate to represent their party

 Republicans follow the same procedure

 The Constitution does not mention how

Presidential candidates should be nominated

Primaries serve two functions…

1. To select delegates to the convention

2. To show voter preferences for Presidential

candidates and present issues to the public

• Each party schedules a national convention – a

meeting of all the party delegates to officially select their candidate to run for President

Step Two: National Convention

 During the convention, the delegates cast votes for the candidate who won their particular state The number of delegates per state is based on

population The candidate who receives an

absolute majority of votes from the delegates

receives the party’s nomination

 Conduct official party business – set the

platform – party’s positions on issues

 Try to unify the party for the campaign against the other party’s nominee

Step Three: Campaign

 After the conventions – the two remaining

candidates face off against each other during

several months of campaigning

 They often tour the country, give speeches,

attend rallies, and participate in debates

 Advertising campaigns try to persuade the voter

in their favor These campaigns cost millions of dollars

Step Four: The Election

 Election day is …Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

 The GENERAL ELECTION is held to choose the President

 People vote for the candidate of their choice by secret ballot: also called the Australian Ballot

 An absentee ballot is a ballot requested by a voter

before the election – it will be mailed in.

Electoral College

 The framers of the Constitution agreed that the President should not be elected directly by the people The founders feared the people and the choices they might make

 The small states feared that they would never

have any real power in helping to elect the

president

 The Constitution requires that a process known

as the Electoral College ultimately decides who will win the general election

Electoral College

 Electors cast their votes based on the popular vote in each state The candidate who receives the most votes from a state gets all of the electoral votes from that

state Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions to this

rule.

 Legally, the electors may vote for someone other than the candidate for whom they were pledged to vote This phenomenon is known as the "unfaithful" or "faithless" elector.

 Each state has the same number of electors as it has

senators and representatives.

 538 electoral votes are available (3 for DC), a candidate needs 270 to win the office

What about a tie?

 Should no presidential candidate receive an

absolute majority (270 electoral votes), the

House of Representatives determines who the next president will be from the top three

Electoral College vote.

 The Founders believed that the Electoral

College would never make a clear choice and

that the House of Representatives would

ultimately choose the president.

Criticisms of the Electoral College

1. A candidate can actually win the popular

vote and still lose the election (this has

occurred 4 times – J.Q Adams in 1824, R Hayes in 1876, B Harrison in 1888, and G.W Bush in 2000).

2. A strong third party candidate could keep

a candidate from winning the number of votes needed for election

Selection of the Cabinet

 The president must consider whether potential cabinet members’ backgrounds suit their cabinet posts, whether they bring geographical balance to the cabinet, whether they satisfy interest groups, whether they have high-

level administrative skills, and whether they include

ethnic and racial minorities and women.

 The Senate must approve cabinet appointees, and it

usually does so out of courtesy to the president

 There are 15 major executive departments in the

Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet

Role of the Cabinet

 Cabinet members are heads of the executive

departments

 Influence the president’s decisions on matters

related to their departments’ areas of interest

 Certain cabinet members—the secretaries of

State, Defense, and Treasury, plus the

Attorney General—form the “inner cabinet”

Executive Office Agencies

 The Executive Office of the President (EOP)

was created in 1939 by Congress

 The EOP has grown for 3 reasons:

1. presidents add new agencies to it as problems

arise;

2. presidents want experts nearby to advise them;

3. federal programs require special staff to

coordinate the efforts of executive departments and agencies working together

Executive Office Agencies

 The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) prepares the national budget that the president submits to Congress each year

 Each agency and department submits a budget

to the OMB each year The OMB

recommends to the president where to make cuts and therefore has significant influence

over the executive branch agencies

Executive Office Agencies (cont.)

 Advises the President

 Coordinates American military and foreign

policy

 Members include: President, Vice President,

Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense

Executive Office Agencies (cont.)

 The National Homeland Security Council

1. Began in 2002

2. Coordinates all federal agencies working in counter-terrorism

Executive Office Agencies

 The Council of Economic Advisors

1. Makes economic policy for US

2. Keeps track of economic health

3. Predicts future economic conditions

4. Aids other departments involved in economic planning

The White House Office

 The president appoints White House staff without

Senate confirmation

 The White House staff perform whatever duties the

president assigns them:

1 gathering information and providing advice on key

issues;

2 ensuring that executive departments and agencies

carry out key directives from the president;

3 presenting the president’s views to the outside world;

4 deciding who and what information gets through to

the president

The Whitehouse

Did You Know?

 Strong presidents sometimes defy even the Supreme Court President Andrew Jackson was determined to force Native Americans in the Southeast to move west

to the Oklahoma Territory When Chief Justice

Marshall ruled that the Cherokee nation’s treaty with Georgia protected its rights and property, Jackson

reportedly refused to accept the decision “John

Marshall has made his decision Now let him enforce it,” Jackson said He ignored the Court and carried out the Indian Removal Act passed by Congress in 1830.

Constitutional Powers of the

Presidential Expansion of Power

 Theodore Roosevelt declared his intent to do

anything the needs of the nation required if such action was not expressly forbidden by the

Constitution

 During national crises, presidents like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt, and George W Bush greatly expanded the powers of the

presidency as the federal government dealt with dangers facing the United States

Limits of Presidential Power

 Congress has the power to limit presidential

authority by overriding a veto or impeaching

and removing the president from office for

abuse of power

 The Supreme Court can overturn presidential actions

 Public opinion can limit the president’s actions,

as it did with President Lyndon Johnson’s

policies in Vietnam and President Clinton’s

proposed national health care program

Presidential Roles

 The President has 7 major roles.

1 As head of state:

- represents the nation at ceremonial functions; - is

considered more than a politician, but rather a symbol

of the entire United States

President as Head of State

 Entertaining the leaders of the Republic of India

at an official state dinner

 Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey

Chief Executive

 President Obama signing a bill into law

Presidential Roles (cont.)

3 As chief legislator, the president:

- proposes legislation to Congress, usually in the State of the Union Address, his annual address

to Congress

4 As economic planner, the president:

- promotes high employment, production, and purchasing power; and is required to prepare the federal budget each year

President as Chief Legislature

 The State of the Union Address

Presidential Roles (cont.)

President as Party Leader

 The President at the Republican National Convention

President as Commander in Chief

 The President meeting with soldiers

Presidential Roles

7 As chief diplomat:

- directs foreign policy and

oversees foreign affairs

information agencies; has power to

make treaties, with Senate

approval; may make, without

congressional approval, executive

agreements having the force of

treaties with foreign nations; has

the power to recognize foreign

governments

Clinton with a leader of

Pakistan.

President as Chief Diplomat

 Reagan with Soviet President Gorbachaf

 Obama with Chinese Foreign Minister

Leadership Qualities and Skills

 Presidents must understand the people

 Presidents must be able to communicate

effectively and explain their policies clearly in order to inspire public support

 Presidents must know when the time is right to introduce new policies or make key decisions

Leadership Qualities and Skills

 Successful presidents must:

 be flexible and open to new ideas

 be able to compromise

 have political courage

All the living Presidents

Other Past Presidents

Presidents back in the day

Presidents in Chairs

The Federal Bureaucracy

Ch 10

The Cabinet Departments

 A civilian that works for the federal government

is called a bureaucrat or a civil servant

 The 15 executive departments are a major part

of the federal bureaucracy and are headed by

secretaries and staffed with assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, and directors of major units

The Cabinet Departments

services directly for the executive branch

 Government corporations are independent agencies

that directly serve the public, such as the Federal

Deposit Insurance Corporation and the United States Postal Service

 Include NASA, EPA, FEMA.

 have become more limited in their powers because

critics have complained that they over regulate the

Regulatory Commissions