Intro to the Presidency Policy Makers

How does the President of the United States run the government? Presidency intro How does the President of the United States run the government?

Constitution The President

Presidency Constitution Articles of Confederation Under the Articles, there was no independent executive branch The president was chosen by the members of the Congress to serve one year terms They were the presiding officer of Congress and served other administrative functions There were 8 different people who served in this position

Presidency Constitution Constitution It is the second thing set up in the Constitution It is not as long as Article 1 and the powers expressed for the president are much more vague The powers prescribed to the president are open to interpretation Much more of the constitution is devoted to the election and removal process than the day to day job

Section 1 sets up the office of the presidency Constitution Article II Section 1 sets up the office of the presidency The President, with the Vice President, is the head of the executive branch “Vesting clause” – all executive power of the United States shall be vested in the President of the United States It sets up the Electoral College process by giving state legislatures the power to deicide how they choose electors

The process set up was later changed by the 12th Amendment Presidency Constitution Article II The process set up was later changed by the 12th Amendment If no majority is reached by the EC, the House chooses POTUS & Senate chooses the Vice President The official qualifications for president are that he is 35 years old, lived in the US for 14 years, and is a “natural born citizen” ** natural born has been interpreted by the courts to mean citizen at birth, not necessarily born in the United States

The Vice President takes over for if there is a vacancy Presidency Constitution Article II The Vice President takes over for if there is a vacancy This was clarified by the 25th Amendment which makes it official that he serves as president for the remainder of the term The VP first took over when W.H.Harrison died & Tyler took the title of POTUS and finished his term – creating precedent

The president’s salary cannot be changed during a term of office. Presidency Constitution Article II The president’s salary cannot be changed during a term of office. He cannot be paid by any other part of the federal government or state govt. The president’s term must begin with the oath of office (the rest is all tradition)

Presidency Constitution Article II Section 2 outlines the power of POTUS He is the commander in chief of the military The president can grant pardons With the “Advice and Consent” of the Senate he can enter into treaties and make appointments to the Cabinet, judiciary, and ambassadors.

Presidency Constitution Article II Section 2 outlines the power of POTUS He is the “commander in chief” of the military The president can grant pardons With the “Advice and Consent” of the Senate he can enter into treaties and make appointments to the Cabinet, judiciary, and ambassadors. He also makes “recess appointments” when Senate is not in session.

Presidency Constitution Article II Section 3 outlines the responsibilities of the president He is to report to Congress on the state of the union “from time to time” The SOTU address is all tradition now. He recommends major policy actions to Congress – they do not have to comply. This has become one of the major roles of the SOTU address

Presidency Constitution Article II He can call Congress into session He can adjourn Congress which serves as a check This has never been exercised. He receives ambassadors from other countries – so he is in charge of diplomatic recognition

Presidency Constitution Article II The POTUS must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” This is the “take care clause” or “faithful execution clause” This is basically an elastic clause for the president. It also states his job is to carry out the law, even if he disagrees with it.

Section 4 sets up the process of impeachment Presidency Constitution Article II Section 4 sets up the process of impeachment He can be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” The House impeaches the president. Any member can start the process and it just requires a simple majority The Senate votes on removal from office. 2/3 majority is required to remove

Presidency Constitution 12th Amendment Fixes problems with the Electoral College The president and vice president are on separate ballots – no longer 1st place is president and 2nd place is VP The president and VP must be from different states. This was a reaction to the development of political parties

Presidency Constitution 22nd Amendment Sets a two term limit on POTUS The VP that takes over for the POTUS can serve 2 of their own terms if they serve less than ½ of the POTUS’s term The maximum time a person could be president is ten years. The 22nd and 12th amendment together create a problem – can a former president be a vice president?!?!

Presidential Succession The President

Presidency Constitution 25th Amendment Clarifies the process of presidential succession The VP officially becomes POTUS if there is a vacancy If the VP is vacant, POTUS appoints a replacement that must be approved by a majority of both houses of Congress The POTUS can give written declaration to the President Pro Tempore and Speaker of the house that makes the VP the acting president until he informs them in writing he is able to resume duties

Presidency Constitution 25th Amendment The Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet can submit in writing to the President Pro Tempore and Speaker of the House that POTUS is unable to perform duties & VP If the POTUS wants to come back and they still say he’s unable, both houses of Congress can make VP the POTUS with a 2/3 vote. This process deals with the temporary disability of the president or when he is alive, but unable to serve as POTUS because of modern medical advances

Presidential Succession Act Presidency Succession Act Presidential Succession Act Most recent version from 1947 outlines the order in which people are to serve as acting president in the event of vacancy If the offices of president & VP are both vacant, the Speaker of the House serves as president until one of those positions is filled again. If there’s no Speaker either, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate fills the role. Followed by Secretaries of Cabinet Departments in the order they were created

Presidency Succession Act Order of Succession Secretary of Defense Secretary of HUD Attorney General Secretary of Transportation Vice President Secretary of Interior Secretary of Energy Speaker of the House Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Education President Pro Tempore Secretary of Commerce Secretary of VA Secretary of State Secretary of Labor Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of HHS

Roles of the President The President

Presidency Constitutional Chief of State The president is Head of State for the United States This means he is responsible for meeting other important world leaders He speaks as the voice of the US. He is our representative on the global stage Think of this as the “mascot role”

Presidency Constitutional Chief Executive The president is Head of Govt for the United States This means he is responsible for implementing policy He carries out the laws of the US whether he agrees with them or not He has powers to do what is necessary to carry out those policies

Presidency Constitutional Chief Administrator The president is the manager of the federal government This means he is responsible for running the govt like a business He is the head of every specialized department and chooses their leaders He has powers to do control the budget, to hire and remove federal employees, makes decisions about HOW laws will be enforced.

Presidency Constitutional Chief Legislator The president is the director of lawmaking for the government He has the final say on every policy passed by Congress – sign or veto it. He can make policy on his own through executive orders He usually announces his legislative agenda at the SOTU address

Presidency Constitutional Chief Diplomat The president is in charge of US foreign policy He picks all of the ambassadors to every country He decides which governments we have normal relations with (diplomatic recognition) He makes treaties and executive agreements with other world leaders

Presidency Constitutional Commander in Chief The president is in charge of the US military He makes decisions about when and how to use the military He is the head of every branch of our military Congress declares war, but the president “makes war” This is the role that has evolved the most from Washington to Obama.

Informal Roles of the President

Presidency Informal Role Chief of Party The president is the de facto head of his political party The party organizes itself around defending or criticizing the president The president decides the direction of his political party while in office He is an important ally in campaigns for elections

Presidency Informal Role Chief Citizen They are supposed to serve as a role model or example for citizens to follow In general, the president is expected to lead and live by example The president is expected to have a strong set of morals he lives by The president performs ceremonial tasks and charity work

Compensation The President

Presidency Perks Compensation $400,000 per year salary $50,000 per year for expenses Lives in the White House with an elaborate White House Staff Air Force One (airplane), Marine One (helicopter) & fleet of armored cars Camp David – a vacation home for the president to use when he wants Secret Service protection for life

Bigly Ideas Beliefs & Behaviors

Presidential Succession Presidency Wrap Up Article 2 Constitutional Roles Presidential Succession Electoral College Focus on these things: