Notes: The Executive Branch

1. For choosing a president some wanted a direct election for the Chief
Executive. What were some prolems associated with this idea!
1. Fear of an excessively strong President.
a. Fear that the presidency would be the "fetus of monarchy" (Edmund Randolph.
b. !oncern over no term limits (no ""nd #mendment until 1$%1.
". Fear of an excessively wea& President who would become a "tool of the 'enate"
because of its ratification and confirmation powers.
(. )he basic problem of creating a presidency was expressed by *ouverneur +orris,
"+a&e him too wea&, the legislature will usurp his powers. +a&e him too strong, he will
usurp the legislature."
". What does impeachment mean as it relates to the presidenc#!
If President found guilty of High Crimes and Misdemeanors or unfit, He will be tried for
impeachment in the House. Then trial begins in Senate for removal.

$. Wh# have people demanded that the federal government pla# a larger role in
areas of pulic concern! What are the ma%or areas of concern! &as the executive
ranch gotten larger or smaller in response to meeting those pulic demands!
*rowing complexity of society, -ith a highly industrial and technological society.
people have demanded that the federal government play a larger role in areas of
public concern. e.g.. pollution. labor issues. air travel safety. )he executive branch
has thus grown to meet those public demands.
'. (s the result of the emergence of the ).*. as the great superpower after WW++
and the developments of the Cold War, how have these events affected the powers
of the -resident in dealing with various foreign crises!
Emergence of the /.'. as the great superpower after --00. 1evelopment of the
!old -ar placed the /.'. into a virtual non2stop crisis situation after 1$3% 2224
assumption of great powers by the President to deal with various foreign crises.
.. What happens to the president/s popularit# over time! Wh# do #ou
thin0 this happens!
"+ove it or lose it." Presidents should get things done early in their terms when
their popularity is at its highest (e.g.. Reagan5s tax cuts in 1$61.
1. 2oes the president have the line item veto! What did the *upreme
Court sa# aout its legalit#!
)he line item veto 22 struc& down by 'upreme !ourt because of conflict with
separation of powers.
3. &ow often does the president ma0e a *tate of the )nion (ddress to Congress!
This Constitutional duty is given once a year in front of Congress. He shall
from time to time!"
8. Congress can override a presidential veto with a #$% ma%orit# in oth houses.
True dat.
4. &ow is a president removed from office! What does the &ouse do! The
*enate!
Impeachment (by House) and removal (by Senate
15. (s Commander in Chief, what power does the Chief Executive have in relation
to the armed forces! Who is supreme to the -resident in relation to his6her
power with the armed forces!
)he !ommander in !hief is head of the armed forces (lin& w7civilian
supremacy.
11.(s Chief 2iplomat, name his6her . powers
a. 'ets overall foreign policy (confirmed by /' v. !urtiss2-right. 1$(8
b. #ppoints and receives ambassadors.
c. 9egotiates both treaties and executive agreements.
d. 9egotiates :congressional2executive agreements; with leaders of
other nations that re<uire the simple ma=ority consent of both houses
of !ongress. Example, 9#F)#.
e. *ives diplomatic recognition to foreign governments.
1". (s chief %urist, name two powers. What does 7pardon8 mean!
To forgive" criminals and have them released from &ail. It is a chec'
on the &udiciary.
1$. (s head of the political part#, list two responsiilities
1. 'elects the party5s chairman of the national committee and v.p. nominee.
". Reward political patronage.(#mbassadorships. Federal =ob positions. etc.
1'. 2escrie some features of the White &ouse 9ffice6White &ouse staff.
They are the immediate staff of the President. They assist him in
formulating policy. (enerally, they are his most trusted and loyal
assistants.
1..2o appointments to the White &ouse 9ffice, e.g. Chief of *taff, generall#
re:uire *enate consent!
)o, they don*t.
1.. What 0inds of people do -residents t#picall# see0 for their inner circle ;White
&ouse *taff<! &ow does this differ from the 7lo#alties8 of Cainet
memers!
+s mentioned above, the most loyal fol's who advise the President. The
closer one is ,rule of propin-uity"., the more influential she is!
11. What does 9=B stand for and what function does it serve for the Chief
Executive!
/ffice of Management and 0udget ,/M0.. Prepares and audits annual
budget from 12ecutive +gencies. 3eports on the economy as well.
13. Explain wh# there are divided lo#alties of Cainet officials to the -resident.
Explain what lo#alties Cainet officials owe to the following groups:
*ecretaries, Congress, client groups, and emplo#ees within the departments.
a. A reason for this is the divided loyalties of Cabinet officials: are
the Secretaries most loyal to the resident! "o the Congress
(#hich funds the departments)! "o client groups (#hich
depend upon the departments)! "o the employees #ithin the
departments (#ith #hom the Secretaries must deal on a daily
basis)!
b. Another reason is that the resident$s goals often conflict #ith
Cabinet %ept. goals.
1>. &ow do the -resident/s goals often conflict with Cainet 2ept. goals!
)he President may want to cut spending. but !abinet 'ecretaries generally
want to see their departments grow rather than shrin&.
14. &ow does ?ice -resident 7preside over *enate!8 What does he6she do in case of
a tie!
He$she can literally brea' a tie vote if votes are 45$45 in Senate.
"5. What does balancing the ticket mean!
0alancing the tic'et means choosing a 6P who will attract votes from
the candidate*s region or through e2perience" in Congress or some
other matter that seems to boost the president*s standing.
"1. The -resident can easil# go directl# to the people with his case ;the
7Bull#-ulpit8<. +s this an advantage and wh#!
&se of media. 'edia focuses more on a single person than on ()( people.
resident can easily go directly to the people #ith his case. :Presidential
power is the power to persuade; (9eustadt

"". What 0ind of powers did Congress delegate to the executive ranch and in what
area in particular!
7oreign policy powers, especially war powers.
"$. What are executive agreements! 2o the# re:uire *enate ratification! Wh#
or wh# not, do #ou thin0!
1. Executive #greements are *deals* bet#een the resident and the head
of another nation (e.g.. the destroyers2for2bases deal between F1R and
!hurchill in 1$3>.
".. -hat is particularly galling to !ongress is that treaties are often on relatively
trivial issues (e.g.. archaeological artifacts in +exico. but executive
agreements are often on matters of great importance (e.g.. military
commitments to various nations.
"'. *ince WW++, What has happened to the numer of executive agreements in
relation to the numer of treaties! Wh# do #ou thin0 this is the case!
'ince --00. the number of executive agreements has vastly outnumbered
the number of treaties. ?etween 1$6>21$$1. there were 4 31>> of the
former. and less than ">> of the latter. 1oesn@t re<uire 'enate ratification.
"1. What is the definition of 7Executive -rivilege!8 -rovide an example.
%ef.: the right of resident to not divulge conversations bet#een
himself and his advisers. Example, ?ush refused to tell !ongress who
sat in on !heney@s energy tas& force
"1. What was the )* *upreme Court/s ruling in U.S. v. Nixon (1974<! (re
-residents entitled to executive privilege in criminal cases!
0n /.'. v. 9ixon (1$A3. the 'upreme !ourt stated that
Presidents are in fact entitled to executive privilege most of the
time. but not in criminal cases.
"3. @ist out provisions of the War -owers Aesolution of 143$ ;e.g. @etter (, 1B'<.
1. !onstitutional conflict of !ongress5 power to declare war vs. President5s
power as !ommander in !hief.
". 0n the 16th century. !ongress had more time to deliberate war issuesB in the
modern era. however. Presidents have argued that they need more
flexibility to meet rapidly changing conditions.
(. Presidents have sent troops without a congressional declaration of war
more than 1"% times. )his has happened very fre<uently since 1$3% (cite
examples.
3. !ongress has in fact generally gone along with these operations. and has of
course funded them. as well. -hen public opinion turns against the
operations. however.
!ongress has often responded (e.g.. Cietnam -ar.
%. Dne of the reasons !ongress has gone along with these operations without
a formal declaration of war is that such a declaration carries with it the
transfer of great emergency powers to the President that the !ongress may
not want to grant him.
">. @ist out provisions of the Budget and +mpoundment Control (ct of 143' ;(BE<
1. 1ef., the refusal of the President to spend money that has been
appropriated by !ongress. 0n the past. this was done when there was an
obvious need. e.g.. reducing defense spending after a war ended..
". -ithout a line item veto. Presidents must either sign an entire bill or veto it.
#s a result. Presidents may be unhappy with funding amounts for certain
parts of a bill. and want to withhold such funding.
(. 9ixon impounded funds for policy ob=ectives. 'ome members of !ongress
were livid that money was not spent when it had been lawfully appropriated
by legislation. 'uch impoundment seemed unconstitutional.
"4. Explain legislative veto, its intent, and the *C ruling!
The legislative veto was a way of forcing the bureaucracy to conform to
congressional intent. Supreme Court said legislative veto can be an
unconstitutional violation of separation of powers.