Section 6: Powers of the Presidency

What powers does the executive branch have?

Powers of the President Alone

Commander-in-Chief

Commission officers in the armed forces

Grant reprieves and pardons (except for impeached persons)

Cont

Convene Congress in special sessions

Receive ambassadors

Take care that laws are faithfully executed

Cont.

Wield “executive power”

Appoint officials to lesser offices

Powers Shared with Senate

Make Treaties

Appoint Ambassadors, judges, and high officials

Power shared with Congress as a whole (House and Senate)

Approve legislation

Taken alone and interpreted narrowly this list is not very impressive.

This interpretation has grown, especially using the “faithfully executed” clause, its seen as elastic

Executing the law

Executes, enforces, and carries out the provisions of federal law

Rests on the oath of office that “laws be faithfully executed”

Executive Powers

cont.

Executes all federal laws

Also interprets law. The president can use his discretion with how vigorously and in what particular way a law will be applied in practice

Laws of Congress are written in broad terms, executive branch must set out basic policies in day-to-day usage

Ordinance Power

Power to issue executive orders

An executive order is a rule or directive issued by the president...sort of like a law, but NOT a law

Appointment Power

President needs loyal subordinates to presidential policies

Ambassadors, Cabinet Ministers, heads to independent agencies, Judges, US Marshals, Attorneys

Senatorial Courtesy applies

Removal Power

Should Senate have to give consent to remove someone from office or does the President have this discretion?

General Rule - President can only remove those that he appoints (EXCEPT FEDERAL JUDGES)

Power to make treaties

Formal agreement between two or more sovereign states

Senate must give approval by two-thirds present before a treaty made by the president can become effective

Treaties have the same legal standing as a law (last enacted is the law)

Executive Agreements

Pact between the president and a foreign state

Do not require Senate consent

Must flow out of legislature already passed, usually routine matters

Power of Recognition

Acknowledge the legal existence of a country and its government

Persona non grata - recall that nations ambassadors an unwelcome person or remove ours from their nation

Commander-in-Chief

Almost without limit

Delegates most of command authority to military subordinates

Presidents often use armed forces abroad without a declaration of war

Congress has not declared war since WWII.

It has enacted joint resolutions to authorize the president to meet certain international crises with military force

Where it has used force

Cuban Missile Crisis

Military Reaction to the Berlin Wall

Drive Iraq out of Kuwait 1991

Use force against those responsible for 9/11

2002- what is necessary and appropriate to remove threat posed by Hussein

President has used forces without military joint resolutions

Reagan in Grenada

Invasion of Panama in 1989

Balkans in 1995 and 1999

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964

Gave president broad powers to commit unlimited numbers of troops for an unlimited amount of time

Never really a success with LBJ or post-LBJ era presidents

War Powers Act -

President must be able to respond rapidly but not drag US into undeclared or illegal war

i. Within 48 hours of committing troops to combat abroad president must report to Congress detailed circumstances and scope

ii. Combat must end within 60 days unless Congress agrees to longer. It can be extended up to 30 days to allow for safe withdrawal of American forces

iii. Congress may end the combat commitment at any time by passing a concurrent resolution

Recommend legislation in the State of the Union (message power)

Three major messages to Capitol Hill each year, first is the State of the Union

Legislative and Judicial Powers

Veto Power

a. Sign It

b. Pocket veto

c. Not signed within 10 days - law

Veto it

Line-Item Veto

1996 - Gives president power to reject individual items in spending bills and to eliminate any provisions of a tax bill that benefits fewer than 100 people

Line-Item cont.

It was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

Gave the president legislative power, not keeping the branches separate

Budget Impoundment Control Act

President can refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress

ex. JFK did not spend money appropriated for a new weapons system or LBJ did not spend all appropriated for highway constructions

Impoundment cont.

the Constitution is silent on whether President MUST spend that money

Nixon impounded funds under laws he had not vetoed...Congress was mad

Led to Budget Impoundment Control Act 1974

Budget Impoundment Control Act 1974

requires president to spend all appropriated funds unless he first tells Congress which he wishes not to spend and within 45 days Congress deletes it

Federal courts have upheld that the president must spend what has been appropriated

Grant Reprieves (postponement of execution of a sentence)

Grant Pardons (legal forgiveness)

Commutation - a change of legal punishment to a lesser one

Judicial Powers

Amnesty

Blanket pardon offered to a group of law violators

ex 1977- Carter granted amnesty to Vietnam War draft dodgers

Executive Privilege

Constitution says nothing about whether the president has to divulge private communications between himself and principle advisors.

Should he have this right? It could weaken the number of officials the pres can speak to in confidence

US v Nixon

1973 - Watergate Tapes

Supreme Court to decide on executive privilege directly

There is no unqualified executive privilege from the judicial process but there might be a sound basis

US v Nixon cont

It is ok to use if the information is so sensitive that it requires protection

Watergate tapes were not sensitive materials

Clinton and Paula Jones (Clinton v Jones) - no immunity from civil litigation