To Be a President…

Rules of Succession 1947 Presidential Succession Act 25th Amendment 1-18 25th Amendment President can name a Vice President if the VP resigns or dies Your president if 17 other important people die at once

Formal Powers of the President The Appointment Power “Ambassadors, public ministers, consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and other offices” Over 3,000 appointments during a President’s term Court appointments to the Supreme Court and federal bench give the president broad influence that lasts beyond his term in office Appointing Cabinet members is not a Constitutional Power of the President

Veto Power President can reject any congressional legislation either through a general veto or a pocket veto Types of Vetos Pocket Veto A special veto power exercised at the end of a legislative session whereby bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specified time Constitution- If the president holds a bill for ten days without signing or vetoing it, the bill becomes a law if Congress is in session and is pocket vetoed if congress is out of session. Line-Item Veto (UNCONSTITUTIONAL) Used by most Governors in most states to veto sections of appropriations bills while signing the remainder of the bill into law Clinton v. New York- UNCONSTITUIONAL FOR PRESIDENTS BASED ON ______________________ Veto- The entire law is ruled invalid. Can be overridden Congress with a 2/3rds vote.

Informal Power Executive Order A rule or regulation passed by the President that has the effect of a law. Power comes from precedents, custom, and constitutional interpretation Emancipation Proclamation New Deal How we deal with “enemy combatants” freezing assets, interrogation, and due process rights Recruiting and Hiring recent graduates Threat of a Veto (informal power) Historically there have been over 2,500 presidential vetoes… About 100 have been overridden You do the Math I didn’t

The Power to Make Treaties The President has the Power but 2/3rds of the Senate has to approve Also President can receive Ambassadors Also has the power to formally recognize the existence of a country President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev

Informal Power Executive Agreements Checks on Executive Agreements Force of a treaty without the “Advice and Consent of the Senate” Expires when a President Leaves office Constitutional-Over 9,000 executive agreements and only 1300 treaties WW2 Roosevelt traded 50 overage destroyers to Britain for air bases in western Britain Checks on Executive Agreements Expires when the president leaves office Congress can choose not to fund the agreement

Power to Convene Congress According to the Constitution the President MUST give a State of The Union

Pardoning Power Check on the Judiciary Releases the Individual from the punishment or legal consequences from a crime. Restores all rights and privileges Gerald Ford Pardoned Richard Nixon after the Watergate Scandal

Informal Power United States v. Nixon Executive Privilege Executive Privilege does not extend to criminal matters Clinton v. Reno Executive Privilege does not extend to personal matters Nixon v. Fitzgerald The president can’t be sued for actions taken in office Executive Privilege The right of executive officials to refuse to appear before or to withhold information from a legislative committee or a court.

Number 1 Power of the President Power of Persuasion The ability to form a direct link between the executive office and the people If you get the people on your side, then you get Congress on your side.