The Presidency Chapter 8

Presidential Qualifications Natural Born citizen (including the Vice President) 35 years of age Resident of the united states for the past 14 years Facts of Presidents Youngest president to assume office: teddy Roosevelt, 42 Youngest president elected into office: john f. Kennedy, 43 Oldest president elected into office: Ronald Reagan, 69

Terms of the President 4 year term with eligibility for reelection George Washington set precedent for two-term Limit Ulysses S. Grant sought a third term, but failed Two terms established by Washington remained standard for 150 years FDR; four terms Led to the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the constitution Maximum 10 years

Office of the Vice President Two duties listed in the constitution Serve as the presiding officer in the Senate; break a tie (not a member of the senate) Assume the office of the president in case of death or some other emergency

Impeachment Included in Article II of the Constitution; adopted as a check on the power of the president The House is empowered to vote to impeach Simple majority vote The Senate acts as a court of Law and tries the president Chief justice of the supreme court presides Two-thirds majority vote in the senate is necessary for removal

Impeachment Resigned from office to avoid impeachment and removal from office Impeached by House; neither was removed by the Senate

Richard M. Nixon Watergate scandal Executive privilege U.s. v. Nixon Covering up details about a break-in at the Democratic Party’s national Headquarters Executive privilege An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to congress U.s. v. Nixon Supreme court ruling on power od the president Holding that there is no absolute constitutional executive privilege allowing a president to refuse to comply with a court order to produce information needed in a criminal trial

Presidential Succession Framers created the vice-president to fulfill the role of president Congress passed the presidential succession act; 1947 25th Amendment; 1967 Filling vacancies in the office of the president and vice president Determine if the president is unable to fulfill duties (VP and Cabinet member) (George w. Bush)

Presidential Succession 1. Vice President 10. Secretary of Commerce 2. Speaker of the House 11. Secretary of Labor 3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate 12. Secretary of Health and Human Services 4. Secretary of State 13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 5. Secretary of Treasury 14. Secretary of Transportation 6. Secretary of Defense 15. Secretary of Energy 7. Attorney General 16. Secretary of Education 8. Secretary of Interior 17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 9. Secretary of Agriculture 18. Secretary of Homeland Security

The Constitutional Powers of the president

The appointment Power Article II; most important sentence “the executive power shall be vested in a president of the united states of America” The Appointment power With the advice and consent of the senate; Ambassadors, judges of the supreme court, federal judges, cabinet members 3,500 appointment; senate confirms just over 1,000 Cabinet; advising the president to help him make decision and execute laws Prior to Clinton; 97% of all presidential nominations were confirmed Recess appointments

Powers of the President Power to Convene Congress Power to Make Treaties Can call a special session of congress 12/7/1941 More important when congress did not sit in nearly year-round sessions Treaties must be approved by at least two- thirds of the members of Senate 90% approve; 21 treaties have been rejected Treaty of Versailles; W. Wilson, 1919 League of Nations Panama Canal Treaty; revisions Executive Agreements; formal international agreements entered into by the president that no not require advice or consent of the U.S. Senate

Veto Power Veto Power; the authority to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress Congress can override veto with two-thirds vote in each house (full membership) 200 years 2,500 presidential vetoes; approx. 100 have been overridden Line-item veto; a power to disapprove of individual items within a spending bill and not just the bill in its entirety 1996; Congress gave President Power NYC Challenged; Clinton v. New York (1998) line-item veto is unconstitutional FDR has most presidential vetoes; 635

The President’s Roles Commander-in-Chief Leader of Party Chief Legislator Chief of State Chief Law enforcer Shapes public policy

Commander-in-Chief Article II states the president is “Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States Constitution expressly grants Congress authority to declare war Presidents, since Lincoln, have used the commander-in-chief clause in conjunction with the chief executive’s duty to “take Care that laws be faithfully executed” to wage war Vietnam War War Powers Act, 1973 President is limited in deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime (90 days)

Pardoning Power The president grants reprieves or pardons An executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to a specific individual charged or convicted of a crime Impeachment cannot be pardoned Most famous: Ford’s pardon of Nixon Washington, Adams, madison, Lincoln, Johnson, Roosevelt, Truman and carter granted pardons to large group of individuals for illegal acts Carter: 10,000 draft dogers

Pardon Presidents and Pardons Famous Pardons Turkey Pardons

The Development and Expansion of Presidential Power

Establishing Presidential Authority: The First Presidents April 30, 1789: George Washington Entire budget $40 million; $10 per citizen 2010; budget $3.55 trillion, or $11,500 per citizen George Washington Established the idea of Federal Supremacy & the Authority of the executive Branch Whiskey Rebellion and to collect taxes levied by Congress Created a cabinet system Created treaties Inherent Powers

Expansion of Presidential Powers: 1809 - 1933 Andrew Jackson Abraham Lincoln First President not to be either a Virginian or an Adams Rewarded loyal followers with democratic appointments Reasserted the supremacy of the national government Frequently took action without Congress’s approval Suspended the writ of habeas corpus Expanded the size of the U.S. Army above congressionally mandated ceilings Blocked southern ports Closed U.S. mail to treasonable correspondence

The Growth of Modern Presidency Franklin D. Roosevelt (Elected into four terms; twelve years in office) Great Depression; WWII New Deal: programs designed to invigorate the failing American Economy Established new Relationships between president and the people Fireside chats Left the presidency with a burgeoning federal bureaucracy; active role in foreign policy and legislation Used technology to bring public closer to the office Barack Obama Twitter Barack Obama Facebook

The Presidential Establishment The vice president “the most insignificant office that was the invention of man…or his imagination conceived” – John Adams President chose the vice president to balance out his ticket Barack Obama…weak in foreign policy; joe biden…strong in foreign policy Fdr…liberal new Yorker; john garner…a conservative texan

The cabinet Has no official basis in the constitution Implied through Article II, Section 2 Presidents include their vice president Major function is to help the president execute laws and assist in making decisions

The First Lady Assisted presidents as informal advisers while making other, more public, significant contributions to American society Abagail Adams Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Eleanor Roosevelt Jaqueline Kennedy Nancy Reagan Michelle Obama

The Executive office of the President Established by FDr in 1939 to oversee his new deal programs National Security Council (NSC) COUNCIL OF Economic advisers Office of Management and Budget (OMb) Office of the vice president Office of the U.S. Trade representative

The White House Staff Has no independent legal authority Power is derived from their personal relationships to the president Chief of staff White House aides Communication staff 1943; 51…The Obama White house 490

Presidential leadership and the importance of public opinion

The President: Popular? Mobilizing public opinion Barack Obama Slow Jams the News Approval Ratings

Barack Obama Approval rating

The President as a policy maker “It is the duty of the president to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose” – FDR Budgetary process and legislative implementation President sets national policy and priorities through his budget proposals and his continued insistence on their congressional passage Office of Management and budget (OMD) Prepares presidents annual budget Supplies economic forecasts for the president

Policy making through executive order Executive order: rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. All executive orders must be published in the federal register.