Bell Work Work on your Unit 4 vocabulary activity. Don’t forget! It is due on test day.

The Executive Branch Unit 4, Lesson 2

Learning Goal As a result of what we do today, you will be able to explain the 8 roles of the President and create political cartoons or acrostics explaining them.

Activity 1 Take a copy of the handout entitled “Presidential Worksheet.” Use your book and background knowledge to answer questions about the President of the United States.

The Executive Branch The Executive Branch includes more than just the President. It includes the President’s cabinet, who lead a variety of departments and agencies. Undoubtedly, though, people think of the President when they think about the Executive Branch.

Constitutional Requirements The President must… 1.Be at least 35 years old 2.Be a natural born citizen of the United States 3.Have lived in the U.S. for 14 years before becoming President

Term The President serves a 4 year term. They can only be elected to 2 terms. -22 nd Amendment (1951)

President’s Pay The President is paid…. 1.$400,000 annual salary 2.$50,000 expense account 3.$100,000 nontaxable travel account 4.$19,000 entertainment account

President’s Travels -Air Force One -Marine One

Roles of the President 1.Chief of State 2.Chief Executive 3.Chief Administrator 4.Chief Diplomat 5.Commander in Chief 6.Chief Legislator 7.Chief of the Party 8.Chief Citizen

Roles of the President Chief of State – Ceremonial head of the government. Chief executive – Power to execute and enforce laws. Chief Administrator – Chief director of all government agencies.

Roles of the President, cont. Chief Diplomat – Represents the country in foreign affairs. Commander in Chief – Highest commander of the U.S. military Chief Legislator – Sets overall shape of Congress’s agenda.

Roles of the President, Cont. Chief of the Party – Leader of his political party (not in the Constitution) Chief Citizen – Represents all of the people. Represents the public interest against the many private interests.

The Cabinet President chooses the Secretary of each Cabinet, and the Senate must approve. -Serves as the person in charge of the department. -Serves as an advisor from that department Cabinet members are generally chosen for the experience and qualifications, not their political views.

Why does the Senate have to approve? -Another way to check and balance power. The Senate must also ratify treaties the President negotiates and confirm Justices of the Supreme Court whom the President nominates.

The President’s Cabinet Department of State – Hillary Clinton Department of the Treasury – Timothy Geithner Department of Defense – Leon Panetta Department of Justice – Eric Holder Department of the Interior – Ken Salazar Department of Agriculture – Tom Vilsack Department of Commerce – John Bryson Department of Labor – Hilda Solis Department of Health and Human Services – Kathleen Sebelius Department of Housing and Urban Development – Shaun Donovan Department of Transportation – Ray LaHood Department of Energy – Stephen Chu Department of Education – Arne Duncan Department of Veteran’s Affairs – Eric Shinseki Department of Homeland Security – Janet Napolitano

Bureaucracy The Executive Branch of the government has a rather large bureaucracy. The bureaucracy consists of the many administrators and officials in the various departments and agencies. Often, the bureaucracy is not very efficient simply because of its size.

Size of the Bureaucracy In time, the number of departments in the Executive Branch grew because of the increased workload of the government.

Presidential Succession Act of 1947 In the event the President dies or is incapacitated, the order of succession is as follows: 1.Vice President 2.Speaker of the House of Representatives 3.Senate President Pro Tempore 4.President’s Cabinet (See page 359)

Presidential Powers The President has the power to issue executive orders without the approval of Congress. He also has the power to appoint cabinet members, Justices, federal judges, ambassadors, U.S. marshals, and U.S. attorneys, and military officers with the approval of the Senate.

Treaties The President, usually through the State Department, can negotiate treaties. The Senate must confirm a treaty by a 2/3 majority vote. The Supreme Court can rule a treaty unconstitutional if it violates the Constitution.

End of Today’s Notes

Activity Using your notes and pp , either draw a political cartoon (there should be 8) or write an acrostic (there should be 8) describing each role of the President.