Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Ch. 14

The Growth of Presidential Power

#1: Art. II of the Const. Says, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”


Art. II of the Const. Says, “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

The Anti-Federalists wanted to severely limit the powers of the President.

“Considered the executive magistracy as nothing more than an institution for carrying the will of the legislature into effect, that the persons ought to be appointed by and accountable to the legislature only, which was the depository of the supreme will of the Society.”


Why has the power grown?


Why has the power grown?Unity of the presidency.

#5: More complex social and economic life.

#6: Frequent need for extraordinary and decisive action in times of national emergency.

#7: Congress has passed thousands of laws, strengthening the office.

Mass media.


Presidential Views#8: Stewardship Theory:

“My belief was that it was not only right but his duty to do anything that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws.”

Theodore Roosevelt, 1913


Presidential ViewsLiteralist View:“…the President can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power or justly implied and included within such express grant…Such specific grant must be either in the Federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof.”

William Howard Taft, 1916


#9: Critics of strong presidential power condemn what they call the imperial presidency.

Term used frequently to refer to Nixon.

What about Bush 43?

Who are our best Presidents?

Did Bush expand Presidential power too much?

Power of the Presidency

Executive Powers

Ordinance PowerExecutive orders

Directives, rules, or regulations that have the power of law.

Executive Powers

Appointment PowerP. appoints most of the top-ranking officers of the Federal Gov., such as:

Ambassadors & other diplomats;Cabinet members and their top aides;Heads of independent agencies.All federal judges, U.S. marshals, and attorneys.All officers in the armed forces.

Must have Senate confirmation.

Executive Powers

Removal PowerDoes not require Senate approval.

Cannot remove federal judges. Why not?

X

Chief Citizen

Annual White House Easter Egg Roll

Diplomatic & Military Powers

Treaty PowerLong-term agreements with other nations.

Require Senate ratification.

President Bush, Russian President Putin Sign Nuclear Arms Treaty May 24, 2002


Executive AgreementsShort-term agreements with other nations.

Do not require Senate ratification.


Power of RecognitionAcknowledges the legal existence of a country and its government.


Commander-in-ChiefIn charge of the military and foreign affairs.


War-time powers

Congress can (and usually does) give the P. authorization to do all kinds of things.


War-time powersWar Powers Resolution

Meant to limit presidential war-making powers.


Crimes on the high seas—piracy.

How did Obama use the military to deal with the Somali pirates?

4/13/09: “President Barack Obama, who gave permission for the military operation to free Phillips, is coordinating the U.S. response to piracy with other countries and the shipping industry to reduce vessels’ vulnerability to attack, boost operations to foil attacks and prosecute any captured suspects, said a senior administration official.”

Legislative Powers

Recommend Legislation

President Promotes his Stimulus Package Remarks by the President at the 2009 On-Line Public Town hall Meeting

Legislative Powers

Veto

Legislative Powers

VetoDoes the P. have the line-item veto?

Legislative Powers

Call Congress into special session.

Judicial Powers

CLEMENCY—3 TYPES:REPRIEVE

COMMUTATION

PARDON

Judicial Powers

ReprieveTemporary

postponement

of the sentence.

Judicial PowersCommutation

substitution of a lesser for a greater punishment. A commutation may be conditional or unconditional

•White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby faced 30 months in prison.•Libby will not serve that sentence but will pay $200,000 fine.•Libby convicted of in relation to 2003 CIA leak of operative's identity

Below is the text of the clemency state signed by President Bush Monday that commuted I Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence.

GRANT OF EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITEDSTATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS Lewis Libby was convicted in the United States District Court for theDistrict of Columbia in the case United States v. Libby, Crim. No. 05-394 (RBW),for which a sentence of 30 months' imprisonment, 2 years' supervised release, afine of $250,000, and a special assessment of $400 was imposed on June 22,2007.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United Statesof America, pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution,do hereby commute the prison terms imposed by the sentence upon the said LewisLibby to expire immediately, leaving intact and in effect the two-year term ofsupervised release, with all its conditions, and all other components of thesentence.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day ofJuly, in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven, and of the Independence ofthe United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

/signed/GEORGE W. BUSH

Judicial Powers

PardonRemission of a penalty. It is an act of grace or forgiveness that relieves the person pardoned from some or all of the ramifications of lawful punishment Susan McDougal received a full

Presidential pardon from outgoing President Bill Clinton in the final hours of his presidency in 2001

Will Bush pardon Libby?

Judicial PowersAmnesty: Pardon for a group.

What will Obama’s top priorities be as President?

Stabilize the financial system.

Energy independence.

Health care reform.

Tax cuts for the middle class.

Educational system reform.

What about the economy?

Presidential Power

Documents

Transcript of Presidential Power